The Woman Changing Pediatric Care One Nervous System at a Time - Erinn Askin, MA OTR/L, PAMs
- Brainz Magazine
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Brainz Magazine Exclusive Interview
OTEIM is a cutting-edge pediatric practice and global training brand that combines occupational therapy, speech therapy, and low-level laser therapy to rewire the brain from the bottom up. Specializing in intensive programs using laser, reflex integration, and brain-based intervention, OTEIM helps children regulate, connect, and thrive.
In this exclusive written interview, we connected with Erinn Askin, MA OTR/L, PAMs—occupational therapist, entrepreneur, and creator of Neuroadaptive Therapy—to explore how her deeply personal journey evolved into a global movement that's transforming the lives of children and families around the world. Through her work at OTEIM, Erinn blends neuroscience, intuition, and clinical innovation to unlock what she calls “the natural brilliance within every child.”
“We don’t try to fix kids—we create the conditions for their natural brilliance to emerge.”— Erinn Askin, MA OTR/L, PAMs
Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself and what you’re passionate about?
I’m Erinn Askin, MA OTR/L, PAMs—an occupational therapist, creator of Neuroadaptive Therapy, entrepreneur, mentor, and, most importantly, a mom. I’ve dedicated my life to helping children access their full potential—even when that potential is hard to reach or has been repeatedly overlooked. I’m passionate about helping kids achieve optimal independence—not just physically, but emotionally, socially, and neurologically. I believe every child holds innate strengths, but for many of the kids I work with, those strengths are hidden beneath layers of nervous system dysregulation or unmet developmental needs.
I built OTEIM as a place where those strengths could be seen, honored, and activated. My work is rooted in a bottom-up, brain-based approach that prioritizes the nervous system as the foundation of development. We don’t try to “fix” kids—we create the conditions for their natural brilliance to emerge. Through a combination of clinical expertise, neuroscience, and intuition, we support families and therapists in moving beyond surface-level solutions and into real, lasting transformation.
But this work didn’t start in a clinic or a classroom—it started in my own living room.
What motivated you to get into your current line of work, and what was your journey like in the early days?
My daughter was the catalyst for everything. She had been struggling with attention, emotional regulation, sleep issues, and impulsivity for years. Like so many parents, I had tried everything—from OT and behavioral therapy to diet changes and home programs. I was doing all the things a trained occupational therapist and a loving mother is “supposed” to do. But nothing was creating the deep changes I knew were possible for her.
Then one day, a friend told me about her child’s experience with a neuro-based intensive. They had worked with a therapist using laser therapy, primitive reflex work, and brain stimulation techniques. The transformation she described sounded like something out of a dream: calmer behavior, better sleep, more focus, and fewer meltdowns. I was skeptical—but curious.
That night, I dove into the research. I stayed up reading case studies and tracking down training programs. I decided to buy a laser and teach myself everything I could about photobiomodulation, hemispheric activation, and reflex integration. I started with my own family.
The first night we used the laser on my daughter, I saw something shift. She slept better. She woke up calmer. Her transitions that morning were smoother. Her eyes looked clearer. It was like her system was finally coming online in a way it never had before.
I cried—because I realized this was the missing piece. And the very next day, I brought it into my small private practice. I started using these tools with the clients I already had—kids with ADHD, sensory processing challenges, autism, and retained reflexes—and the results were undeniable. Kids were regulating faster. Parents were reporting better sleep and fewer meltdowns. Therapists were taking notes. It was working.
From there, I started building what is now OTEIM: Occupational Therapy Empowering Individual Minds.
What makes your approach or business unique?
OTEIM is not a traditional therapy clinic. We’ve built something completely different—a place where science meets soul, where cutting-edge tools like low-level laser therapy, hemispheric stimulation, and primitive reflex integration are used alongside movement, play, sensory exploration, and speech-language support.
What makes us truly unique is our understanding that the brain and body must be addressed as a unified system. We don’t treat labels. We look at the nervous system and ask, “What’s under the surface?” A child might be struggling with attention, behavior, or speech—but underneath, they may have unintegrated reflexes, a hemispheric delay, or underactivation of key brain networks. That’s where we begin.
Our therapy intensives are short and focused—but powerful. We often see more progress in a week than some families have seen in a year. It’s not because the child wasn’t capable—it’s because no one had activated the right parts of the brain in the right sequence. We create custom protocols using laser therapy, multisensory input, movement, and frequency-based stimulation to open a window of neuroplasticity—pairing it with targeted therapeutic intervention to help the brain absorb and generalize new skills.
We also train therapists worldwide in our Neuroadaptive Therapy method. I want this work in more communities, in more clinics, and in more homes. I want therapists to feel empowered to go beyond checklists and outdated models—and into something that truly changes lives.
“Just because something hasn’t worked yet doesn’t mean nothing will. There is always a way forward.”
At the heart of OTEIM’s success is its global reach and deeply personal roots. Erinn and her team now run international therapy intensives in locations like Zurich, Switzerland—drawing families from across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. These programs offer more than traditional therapy—they create space for deep regulation, connection, and transformation, often in just one to two weeks.
Despite the global expansion, Erinn remains focused on the intimate, powerful moments of growth that define this work—one child at a time.
What is your mission?
My mission is to help children access what’s already inside of them—and to support families and therapists in doing the same. I want to live in a world where no child’s brilliance is missed because of dysregulation or developmental delay. A world where parents are no longer blamed or dismissed when their child struggles. A world where therapists are empowered to work at the root, not just the surface.
OTEIM stands for Occupational Therapy Empowering Individual Minds, and that’s what we do—one child, one nervous system, one breakthrough at a time. Whether we’re working with a non-speaking toddler or a high-performing teen with anxiety and sensory issues, we hold the belief that more is possible. Our job is to help unlock it.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone wanting to follow a similar path?
Start small, and start with what’s right in front of you. If you’re a therapist, don’t wait for someone else to validate your ideas. Follow your curiosity. If something isn’t working, trust that instinct and look deeper. The answers are usually not in the textbooks—they’re in the nervous system.
If you’re a parent: trust yourself. You know your child better than anyone. Just because something hasn’t worked yet doesn’t mean nothing will. There is always a way forward, and sometimes it just takes the right tools, the right lens, and the right support to get there.
This work can feel heavy sometimes—but it’s also deeply hopeful. I’ve seen children who couldn’t sit still for two minutes become focused and calm. I’ve seen nonverbal kids begin to initiate language. I’ve seen families who were overwhelmed and exhausted start to reconnect with joy. That’s what’s possible when we stop looking at deficits and start lighting up the brain.
Erinn Askin’s, MA OTR/L, PAMs, work reminds us that healing doesn't always start with a diagnosis or a therapy plan—it starts with belief. Belief in a child’s potential. Belief that the nervous system holds answers. And belief that with the right tools, support, and approach, transformation is always possible.
Through OTEIM and Neuroadaptive Therapy, Erinn is changing the way we see pediatric care—one child, one family, one mind at a time.
