Evaluations - Centerpointe for Children

Susanne Smith Roley, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Occupational Therapist | Clinician | Educator | Researcher | Author | Consultant

Dr. Susanne Smith Roley is an internationally recognized occupational therapist with more than 50 years of experience. She has dedicated her professional career to supporting children and families using the best available evidence and adhering to best practice. She is a renowned expert with decades of clinical experience with current research and professional leadership with the Ayres Sensory Integration® Frame of Reference. Her doctoral work focused on early identification and intervention for autism, particularly Ayres Sensory Integration® and praxis patterns in young children.

Who we serve

Doing Business As (DBA) Susanne M. Smith, Inc., our practice supports families and schools in understanding each child’s unique strengths, developmental needs, and participation challenges. We specialize in in-depth expert occupational therapy evaluations and consultations for children, adolescents, and young adults (ages 0–21)

What we provide

OT Independent Educational Evaluations

Occupational Therapy (OT) Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs). We have provided OT IEE’s to hundreds of children, and for over 100 different school districts primarily in Southern California.

Family & developmental consultations

Consultations for children and families with developmental concerns, learning and behavior difficulties, and sensory integration challenges.

Areas of specialization

Ayres Sensory Integration® (ASI)

Child development and early intervention

Autism spectrum disorder

Learning differences and visual impairments

Developmental coordination and praxis difficulties

Sensory processing, modulation, and self-regulation

"Each evaluation is a collaboration built on respect, expertise, and care — highlighting a child's strengths and developmental patterns, and providing practical, actionable recommendations for home, school, and therapy."

Research and assessment tools

EASI

ages 3–12 assessment set

FLIQ

family impact profile

Fidelity Measure

protects ASI theory

A career shaped alongside Dr. Ayres

1977

SI certified

1981

trained under Ayres

1994

co-founded SII

2016

President, CLASI

Philosophy of Practice

At Susanne M. Smith, Inc., we view each interaction with the family or district as a collaboration built on respect, expertise, and care.

Each evaluation:

Integrates a range of assessment tools including, interview, record review, standardized assessments, structured and unstructured observations, work samples, and input from family, teacher, and other significant members of the team.

Highlights a child’s strengths, developmental patterns, and participation challenges.

Provides practical, actionable recommendations for home, school, and therapy settings.

Dr. Smith Roley is a respected author, editor, and researcher whose work has shaped best practices in sensory integration and pediatric occupational therapy worldwide, including Understanding the Nature of Sensory Integration with Diverse Populations and Sensory Integration: Applying Clinical Reasoning to Diverse Populations, along with contributions to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (2002, 2008).

View full CV and publications

Staff Members

Our goal is to empower families, schools, and professionals with the insights and tools needed to help every child thrive. When invited into a child and family’s life, we strive to understand the whole child within the habits, routines, and expectations of the family, school, and community, toward employing health-promoting strategies that support self-advocacy, volition, and adaptative skills, toward meaningful participation in life, regardless of the challenges.

Dr. Gohar Ghushchyan-Tigranyan

OTD, OTR/L

Mary Singer

MS, OTR/L

Melissa Lynn

OFFICE MANAGER

Carey Strombotne

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Testimonials

“I am an attorney representing children with special needs. Often times I am faced with the need to have my clients assessed by an independent assessor. Occupational Therapy is a common area of need that my clients require remediation via therapy. I have found that Dr. Smith Roley is the best expert in this area. She had competently assessed and provided recommendations for my clients and has even testified for me as an expert witness at hearing. She takes the time to do the proper assessments to get a true understanding of my client’s deficits and explains how and why therapy is required a necessary in order for the student to gain an educational benefit. The clients that I refer to her have nothing but wonderful things to say about her and tell me often that they were not even aware of how important occupational therapy was for their child and how much progress their child has made in all areas of education due to honing in on sensory regulation through therapy. In this field, I have seen many independent assessments and I have yet to find an Occupational Therapist who comes close to the expertise, professionalism and experience that Dr. Smith Roley has had. She has been a huge asset to my firm and for my clients. I would highly recommend her to anyone!”

Michelle Ortega Attorney

“Over the past 10 years, Susanne Smith Roley’s independent assessment reports have always provided the evidence needed to develop an appropriate occupational therapy program for the student. Through Susanne’s Independent Education Evaluations (IEE), she has assisted me to meet the OT needs that impede the education of countless students I work with. Her professionalism, ethical conduct, and commitment to excel in her field, makes her a highly respected and valued teacher and assessor throughout our community as well as worldwide.”

Valerie Aprahamian Professional Advocate

“Dr. Susanne is so awesome! What makes Dr. Susanne exceptional is not only her name, but also her dedication to the OT profession. She made remarkable difference in my child’s life through the OT service and support. Every time parents talk about Dr. Susanne and her assessment, they light up like a Christmas tree. I think that Dr. Susanne must have magic to touch the heart and soul of people.”

Jason Parent