Kayla Johari, OTD, OTR/L
Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Dr. Kayla Johari is a licensed occupational therapist who specializes in working with neurodivergent children, adolescents, and young adults with autism and ADHD. Her work as an occupational therapist helps children to develop practical skills including managing big emotions, lengthening attention, developing sensory strategies, handling perfectionism, learning how to make and keep friends, and building the confidence to thrive at home, school, and in everyday life. Dr. Johari is passionate about supporting twice-exceptional (2e) children and understands the unique ways giftedness and neurodivergence intersect.
Dr. Johari believes that meaningful occupational therapy begins with strong relationships and is committed to helping every child feel understood, capable, and empowered to reach their full potential. She utilizes occupation-based, evidence-informed interventions to strengthen executive functioning, sustained attention, frustration tolerance, impulse control, and self-regulation skills. She partners closely with families to support children's success across all environments and collaborates with school teams to provide OT accommodation recommendations through consulting and participating in IEP and 504 plan meetings.
Dr. Johari completed her doctoral residency at the USC University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where she specialized in providing occupational therapy services within an interdisciplinary pediatric mental health setting for children with co-occurring neurodevelopmental and mental health diagnoses. She has previously presented at Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) conferences on supporting neurodiversity-affirming practices in clinical care and occupational therapy’s role in enhancing executive functioning skills to optimize occupational performance in youth with ADHD.
Education and Training:
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (Clinical Track: Pediatric Mental Health), University of Southern California
Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California
Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology, Minor in Occupational Science, University of Southern California
OT License # 22882, California