Chicago, IL ABA Therapy for Autism, School Readiness,
and Pediatric Therapies

Stephanie McIlhattan, M.S., BCBA, received her Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and her Masters of Science in ABA from National Louis University.

As a Clinical Director at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, Stephanie oversees the ABA department at the Bucktown center. For Stephanie, watching clients progress and witnessing them learning new skills is the most rewarding part of her job. She is passionate about socially-valid interventions that are going to make a true and positive impact on her client's lives. Stephanie also loves mentoring therapists, students and future BCBAs!

When Stephanie is not keeping busy at NSPT, you can find her at Pilates classes, reading a good book, or trying all the newest restaurants in Chicago!

‍

Ryan Emry received his Bachelor of Science from The Illinois Institute of Technology, and his Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

As an Area Director at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, Ryan works as a clinician while also supporting a great team of Behavior Therapists, Behavior Analysts, Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapists, across multiple centers.  

For Ryan, watching our children learn and grow is the most rewarding part of the job.  

When Ryan is not keeping busy at the clinic, you can find him spending time with his wife and two amazing daughters.

Liza received her Bachelors of Arts in Speech and Hearing Sciences with Minor in Psychology from Indiana University, and a Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

As Vice President of Clinical Quality & Training at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, Liza oversees the clinical operations of the Chicagoland locations, as well as provides internal clinical support to our BCBAs, leads the internal ABA apprenticeship fieldwork study program preparing students pursing their master’s in ABA to become BCBAs, and also serves as our internal ACE coordinator providing internal continuing education events to our team of BCBAs.

In addition to her role at NSPT, Liza also has served as an adjunct professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology teaching master’s courses to future BCBAs. For Liza, expanding the reach of our services to new communities and areas where there are limited options on comprehensive pediatric therapy providers is the most rewarding part of the job, and she loves growing the field through her work with student mentorship.

Mary Grace Domagola is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist licensed in the state of Illinois. She attended Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana for both her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Master of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology.

Mary Grace has been working as a pediatric speech language pathologist at North Shore Pediatric Therapy (NSPT) since January 2023. She has experience working with children from birth through 18 in the school and pediatric outpatient clinic setting before joining NSPT. She has a passion for working with autistic individuals, implementing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), expressive and receptive language disorders, articulation impairments, and social communication impairments.

Maria received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at North Shore Pediatric Therapy Maria oversees a caseload of ABA clients, managing their treatment goals, collaborating with other disciplines involved in the client’s care, conducting parent trainings as well as provides clinical guidance and supervision for all her clients and RBTs.

For Maria, seeing each individual client progress through their goals and learn the ability to advocate for themselves by communicating their wants and needs is the most rewarding part of the job, and she loves to cheer them on and share their successes with their clinical team and family!  Maria's passion for ABA can be traced back to her undergraduate studies when Maria joined her university’s social group for young adults with Autism within the community. As a part of this group for 4 years, Maria gained experience working with individuals with Autism and found her love for working with the neurodiverse population.

When Maria is not keeping busy with her clients and RBTs at the clinic, you can find her exploring new restaurants around Chicago, curling up on the couch with her dog Benji, or spending quality time with her loved ones.

‍

Suzanne Hemwall, M.A., BCBA received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis from Michigan State University.

As a Lead BCBA at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, Suzanne provides behavior analytic services to clients and families and is passionate about celebrating each client and their strengths while teaching them skills to build their independence and autonomy in various aspects of their lives.

For Suzanne, seeing clients demonstrate skills for the first time is the most rewarding part of the job, and she enjoys collaborating with the family, client, therapists and other disciplines. Suzanne's passion for working with individuals with autism can be traced back to her internship at The Autism Program at University of Illinois, where she was introduced to the field of ABA and completed training to become an RBT.

When Suzanne is not at work, you can find her trying out different restaurants in Chicago with her friends' dinner club and cheering on the Chicago Blackhawks.

‍

Amanda earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Health Science degree in Communication Disorders from Governors State University. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist in Illinois and New York and has earned her Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA).

Amanda is passionate about servicing patients across the lifespan. She strives to implement enjoyable and engaging treatment sessions to enhance the learning process and see how speech and language therapy positively impacts the lives of her patients. Amanda has experience working with both children and adults with a wide array of disorders in various settings. Some of her clinical experiences include providing speech and language therapy to children with autism, articulation and phonological disorders, language disorders, and childhood apraxia of speech in the pediatric outpatient and school settings. Additionally, she has experience providing speech, language, cognitive, and swallowing therapy to adults following cerebrovascular accidents, traumatic brain injuries, and/or other diseases of neurogenic origin in the acute and subacute care settings.

Amanda is eager to learn and continually seeks out the latest research and therapy techniques that she can incorporate into sessions with her clients. She is enthusiastic about working alongside patients and their families to create a memorable and positive experience in speech therapy.

Yurie Kim is a board-certified occupational therapist who received her doctorate degree through Rush University in 2020. During her time at Rush, she had many opportunities to pursue her life-long interest in working with children. This includes assisting the Autism Assessment, Research, Treatment & Services (AARTS) Center with research on autism spectrum disorder and reciprocal imitation, partnering with UCAN Academy of Chicago to conduct her capstone research project on the effects of trauma on sensory processing and self-regulation, and even completing a clinical rotation with North Shore Pediatric Therapy.

When not at work, Yurie enjoys baking, knitting/crocheting, gardening, and taking walks along the lakeshore.

As an FCA at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, Arielle oversees the front desk and fosters a welcoming environment for the families who come in. For Arielle, forming connections with parents and their children is the most rewarding part of the job, and she especially enjoys working in such a fast-paced, loving environment with wonderful and empathetic therapists.

Arielle’s passion for meaningful connections can be traced back to her experience as a director of staff and teenagers at overnight summer camp as well as her time as a barista, where she prioritized positive customer experience and quality of work. When Arielle is not keeping busy with being an FCA, you can find her taking long strolls along the lake or reading Harry Potter!

‍

Drea received her Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Elmhurst College in 2015, and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Midwestern University in 2017. She has been a part of the NSPT team for the past seven years, providing support and building connections with families at our Lake Bluff, Evanston, Des Plaines, and Bucktown locations.

As a speech therapist and certified lactation consultant at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, Drea loves helping families with their little one’s feeding journey. She specializes in working with newborns develop oral motor skills for breastfeeding and bottle feeding as well as supporting children aged 6 months and older when transitioning to solid foods.  

For Drea, seeing parents’ confidence grow as their child reaches their feeding goals is the most rewarding part of the job. She loves making mealtime a fun and positive experience by utilizing a personalized, family-centered approach. When Drea is not keeping busy with helping her families “blossom”, you can find her in a yoga class or at Costco checking out the Christmas trees and trying all the great samples.

‍

Stephanie received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Marquette University. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist in Illinois and has earned her Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA).

Stephanie has worked at NSPT since July 2019. Through her years of experience, she has worked with individuals from 12 months to 104 years of age, addressing a wide range of speech-language, cognition, and feeding/swallowing disorders. Prior to working at NSPT, Stephanie worked with adults at a skilled nursing facility and at a different outpatient pediatrics clinic.

Stephanie is passionate about servicing clients with highly varying needs. She specializes in evaluating and establishing communication using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for non-speaking, minimally-speaking or apraxic individuals. She is also passionate about working with autism spectrum disorder and language disorders. Stephanie has years of experiences diagnosing and treating articulation and phonological disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, and mixed language disorders. She also has experience providing speech, language, cognitive, and swallowing therapy to adults following cerebrovascular accidents, traumatic brain injuries, or other neurogenic diseases/disorders.

Raina Yoo is an Assistant Clinical Coordinator at North Shore Pediatric Therapy’s Bucktown location. Before stepping into the ABA world, she spent over a decade in journalism and media as a video producer in New York, creating lifestyle, cultural, entertainment, and documentary stories. Along the way, she worked with hundreds of organizations and interviewed thousands of people—always driven by a love for storytelling and human connection.

One of Raina’s most meaningful projects was a documentary about Popcorn for the People, a nonprofit that provides meaningful employment opportunities for young autistic adults. The film was shared in college classrooms and conferences, and the experience sparked her decision to shift into a career centered on advocacy, service, and real-life impact.

Raina is currently pursuing her Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Illinois Chicago as she works toward becoming a BCBA. At the Bucktown location, she supports behavior therapists and clients, helps coordinate the prep school program, and works closely with BCBAs to keep things running smoothly and thoughtfully.

Her favorite part of the job is celebrating every client milestone—big or small—and cheering on progress along the way. When she’s not at work or school, Raina loves traveling, catching live music, and spending far too much time trying to make her dog, Luna, famous on social media.