Fall 2025 ISHA Student Webinar: Rethinking Behavior: An OT–SLP Collaborative Paradigm for Sensory Integration and Support
On October 22nd at 7:00 p.m., ISHA is hosting our next student webinar titled Rethinking Behavior: An OT-SLP Collaborative Paradign for Sensory Integration Support.
This one-hour interdisciplinary session introduces therapy students to a new way of understanding children’s behavior. Instead of viewing behavior simply as something to be “managed,” participants will explore how behavior reflects underlying sensory processing, regulation, and communication needs. Co-presented by an occupational therapist and a speech-language pathologist, the course highlights how these two professions can work together to better support children and families.
Students will learn how sensory integration and communication challenges influence frustration, motivation, and participation in daily routines. Real-life case examples will show how OTs and SLPs collaborate to create strategies that improve engagement, build skills, and help children experience success to improve participation. By the end of this session, participants will gain a practical framework for rethinking behavior and concrete ideas they can carry forward into fieldwork and professional practice.
Speakers
- Jeanni Bonine, MS, OTR/L, HPCS, CTRI
- Jeanni Bonine is an occupational therapist and founder/director of Heightened Potential Therapy, providing pediatric occupational and physical therapy services in Tennessee as well as virtually for Illinois Early Intervention, serving Rockford and the surrounding area. She specializes in early intervention, sensory processing, feeding, and family coaching, and holds certifications as a Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist (HPCS), Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI), and WPS-certified in Sensory Integration. Jeanni also earned a post-professional master’s degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine with an emphasis in holistic nutrition and an additional graduate certificate in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. In addition to clinical practice, she serves as Executive Editor for Equilibrium, the professional magazine of the American Hippotherapy Association, and teaches part time in the School of Interdisciplinary Health Professions at Northern Illinois University. She is passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-informed practice, and empowering families and providers to support children’s fullest potential.
- Bethany Kisner-Crosby, MA, SLP, CCC L
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Beth Crosby is a speech-language pathologist and owner of C&C Foundations Ltd., a family-based therapy practice she has directed for 26 years, employing a team of speech-language and developmental professionals. She earned both her B.S. in Communication Disorders and M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from Northern Illinois University, marking 30 years since completing her graduate degree. Beth specializes in oral motor therapy, feeding, augmentative communication, play therapy, and family-based treatment, with extensive experience as an early intervention evaluator and interventionist. She has developed strong expertise in sensory
support for communication and engagement, as well as in supporting children with learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, and mental health needs. - Diane Barnes-Maguire (ISHA School Affairs Committee Co-Chair)
