Cara Koscinski has her Master's degree in Occupational Therapy and has been a therapist since 1997. She is a homeschooling mother to her own children with special needs.

After Cara's children were diagnosed with autism, Cara sought out services to benefit the boys. She could not find a therapy center that provided both quality therapy for autism and Sensory Processing Disorder AND that provided direct education to parents for carryover of treatment. So, she decided to create her own! She was the Co-Founder of Aspire Pediatric Therapy, LLC which quickly grew to provide therapy at schools, in homes, and in centers located around the Pittsburgh area.

In the meantime, Cara developed CDs for children with fear of loud noises (auditory sensitivity) since her children had difficulty tolerating noises such as thunder, fireworks, and sirens/fire drills. Cara and her sister, a music therapist, purchased high quality recordings and wrote lyrics and rhythms. The CDs are a fun way to be able to hear and "control" the volume of sounds! They are available on her website at www.PocketOT.com

Cara provides occupational therapy services, advocacy, and consultations as The Pocket Occupational Therapist. Cara enjoys speaking to therapists, teachers, and special needs organizations across the US. She is a speaker for continuing education trainings for Future Horizons, OccupationalTherapy.com and Home CEU Connection. She specializes in autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, behavior, and social skills training.

Cara frequently writes articles and has been published in AutismAsperger's Digest, Autism Spectrum Quarterly, AutismFile, APFED, Autism Parenting Magazine, Something Special Magazine, Parents, San Francisco Parent, and NewsLine, among others. Ms. Koscinski is an advisor to AutismAsperger's Digest Magazine. She was named as one of Jennifer O'Toole's Asperkids Advisors of Awesomeness. Cara was the recipient of the Duquesne University's Innovative Practice Entrepreneur Award and has served as an adjunct clinical instructor for the Duquesne University Occupational Therapy program. She has extensive training in sensory processing disorder, pediatric feeding techniques, core muscle considerations, autism, gastro-intestional disorders, upper extremity treatment, handwriting, Therapeutic Listening, caregiver stressors and support, visual perception, and business/private practice topics. Cara has recently become a certified IRLEN Screener.


This year, Cara has been appointed as the Marketing director of the newly-formed Lowcountry Special Needs Network. She was happy to create and now maintains their website.

In 2012, Cara was a featured guest for the ANDERSON Cooper national television show discussing eosinophilic disorders. Cara is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, is licensed in three states, and is registered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.