Sarah McNeill, OTR/L, Founder of McNeill Children’s Institute
Sarah McNeill, a Rhode Island native, trained in California for 20 years with many ground-breaking pioneers in the field of pediatric OT. While there, she learned new, innovative sensory techniques that target developing children's vestibular, visual and auditory systems. Sarah decided several years ago to bring all that learning & development back home to the Ocean State, especially for those children who are unable to gain support through the school system or medical help because they fall into a gray area of testing. On July 1, 2020, McNeill Children’s Institute opened its doors for the first time.
Sarah (nèe Blakeley) McNeill grew up in Middletown, RI and is proud to visualize and operate a pediatric OT resource that helps children and families in Rhode Island. After graduating with an Occupational Therapy degree from Quinnipiac College in 1998, she relocated to California to receive the high-level mastery OT training that she would eventually bring back to her home state.
Ms. McNeill completed the prestigious Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business program in 2023 and has been recently nominated for a National Women Small Business of the Year Award.
Sarah maintains her license and registration as an Occupational Therapist in RI, MA, and CA, and is trained in the following programs:
Brain Gym
Balavisx
Handwriting without tears
The Write Direction
Eyes on Target
RTI
Alert program
Listening program
Visual Deficit remediation
Assistive technology
Positive Behavior support
Sensory Integration
Action Based Learning
M.O.V.E
Vestibular remediation
S.A.N.E
Evidenced Based Practice
Pro-act
Scerts
Asperger Syndrome and Autism spectrum disorders
Zones of Regulation
Benbow Hand skills
Emotional Regulation
Challenging Interpersonal Relationships in the workplace
Giving back to the community we serve:
Ms. McNeill and the McNeill Children's Institute are active contributors to charitable causes, beyond the continuous delivery of pediatric occupational therapy services to her clients across three populous communities. These include the contribution of funding and resources to Rhode Island Education, Rhode Island Early Intervention, Newport YMCA, Portsmouth Public Schools and the Rhode Island Prevention Coalition.
Additionally, MCI provides free resources to families and teachers including a training video that is available to all Rhode Island residents through the Rhode Island Prevention Coalition.
MCI provides training to all preschool staff and parents at their respective locations, free of charge.
They host weekend play dates and gatherings for all MCI children and middle school students once a month to encourage families to meet others in the community and provide engaging social situations in a safe environment. These gatherings are inclusive to students within the LGBTQ community and those experiencing anxiety/trauma, autism, etc.
Ms. McNeill is also an active contributor and supporter of the Four Hearts Foundation which identified the need to build a playground for children in Portsmouth, RI that met the need for all ages and abilities. That playground is scheduled to be unveiled in the near future.
