Dawn Reichman
Owner/Founder
Hi! I’m Dawn Reichman, the founder of Handwriting Picasso.
As a school occupational therapist, I found that my passion was among kindergarteners who were struggling with writing and drawing tasks when they were not developmentally ready. I also had older students on my caseload who struggled to initiate and complete writing assignments, as they also did not have foundational skills for this task. It made sense to establish a friendly setting for any child to improve fine motor skills and achieve handwriting success, under the guidance of an experienced occupational therapist. After 20 years in the schools, and with encouragement from my family and friends, I launched Handwriting Picasso!
I live in Deerfield with my husband, two teenagers and a very friendly Golden Retriever. I grew up in the suburbs of Manhattan, obtained my Bachelor from Washington University in St. Louis as a psychology major and a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University in Boston.
I have taken numerous courses in the following areas: Sensory Integration, sensory diets, sensory profiles, Executive Functioning, the ALERT program, Brain Gym, Reflex Integration, OT Yoga, Working with Autistic population, the autistic TEEACH program, NDT/Bobath approach, PNF, fine motor coordination, hand therapy basics, therapeutic yoga and several handwriting programs, including Size Matters, First Strokes and Handwriting Without Tears.
In my free time, I enjoy exercising, travel with my family, baking chocolate chip cookies, doing Sign Language in services and taking my dog for a swim.
I request communications to be via email or text because I am hearing impaired and I read lips. My clients are learning social skills and establishing eye contact when speaking because they are often reminded to look at me when talking!
Owner/Founder
Hi! I’m Dawn Reichman, the founder of Handwriting Picasso.
As a school occupational therapist, I found that my passion was among kindergarteners who were struggling with writing and drawing tasks when they were not developmentally ready. I also had older students on my caseload who struggled to initiate and complete writing assignments, as they also did not have foundational skills for this task. It made sense to establish a friendly setting for any child to improve fine motor skills and achieve handwriting success, under the guidance of an experienced occupational therapist. After 20 years in the schools, and with encouragement from my family and friends, I launched Handwriting Picasso!
I live in Deerfield with my husband, two teenagers and a very friendly Golden Retriever. I grew up in the suburbs of Manhattan, obtained my Bachelor from Washington University in St. Louis as a psychology major and a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University in Boston.
I have taken numerous courses in the following areas: Sensory Integration, sensory diets, sensory profiles, Executive Functioning, the ALERT program, Brain Gym, Reflex Integration, OT Yoga, Working with Autistic population, the autistic TEEACH program, NDT/Bobath approach, PNF, fine motor coordination, hand therapy basics, therapeutic yoga and several handwriting programs, including Size Matters, First Strokes and Handwriting Without Tears.
In my free time, I enjoy exercising, travel with my family, baking chocolate chip cookies, doing Sign Language in services and taking my dog for a swim.
I request communications to be via email or text because I am hearing impaired and I read lips. My clients are learning social skills and establishing eye contact when speaking because they are often reminded to look at me when talking!