Uniquely Independent is an occupational therapy clinic that was founded by Kelcie Richburg. Through the lens of occupational therapy, Uniquely Independent works in partnership with individuals, families, and communities in order to bring healing, wholeness, and unity back to lives.

The heart of Uniquely Independent is emotional stability. Being able to manage emotions is one of the core things necessary in order to manage relationships, complete enjoyable activities, complete non enjoyable activities, be able to persevere instead of giving up at the first sign of trouble, and being able to manage emotions instead of cursing, hitting, running away, melting down, or shutting down.

Emotional stability is an outward manifestation of what is going on inside. The very foundation of emotional stability is rooted in development. So, if a person’s development has cracks, the cracks can cause the foundation to be unsteady. An unsteady foundation can cause challenges with not only skill attainment in things such as developmental milestones, reading, math, play, but also in emotional stability as well. What is in us, determines how we handle situations and people outside of us.

Uniquely Independent also has a focus on independent living skills. We are an American based company, and American culture dictates that it is best to be able to do things as independently as possible. This does not mean that everyone is able to or can live alone. What this means is that everyone has something that they are capable of doing, even if it is only to wash their face.

Uniquely Independent’s framework is function. Function is being able to open a container, pour pet food into the bowl, fold the blanket, turn on the light, write, cut, play, play a game following the rules, accept that you did not win, not yell or meltdown when things don’t go your way, organize your home, complete household chores. Uniquely Independent looks at you through the lens of function, so your goals of what you need or want to accomplish drives therapy. Uniquely Independent will look at a variety of aspects to understand you, your goals, and why you are having difficulty. We will look at things such your developmental history, medical history, sensory history, fine-motor, gross-motor, cognition and executive functioning, interests, needs, and environment (social and physical). We will work in collaboration with you and your family to get you where you need to be and want to be.
 

My name is Kelcie Richburg, the owner of Uniquely Independent LLC. I am from North Carolina and attended occupational therapy school at Winston-Salem State University, where I graduated in 2015.

I’ve had traditional and non-traditional occupational therapy experiences throughout my school and career. I had a fieldwork rotation at Murdoch Developmental Center where I worked with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Here I gained skills in looking at the environment, including all persons involved, and the situation as a whole to provide training and strategies to personnel to help make activities safer, more functional, and/ or more independent for the individuals.

After graduating and obtaining my license, I worked in adult rehabilitation. I worked with adults who had strokes, hip replacements, back surgeries, cancer, etc. I learned a lot in this setting that carries over to today such as energy conservation techniques, proper body mechanics and form, staying true to my morals in face of dilemmas, and learning what true strength is.

When I first moved to Virginia, I worked at Saint Mary’s Home. This was a very good experience for my first foray into the wonderful, complex, world of pediatrics. I worked as a traditional occupational therapist here, though the structure of the OT department was non-traditional. It was a great learning experience because though I was the traditional therapist, I was able to help in the other departments and got to learn more about wheelchair seating and positioning, making adaptive equipment such as switches and chewies by hand (I did get banned from the sewing machine though, lol), and feeding and swallowing. I developed group programs based on the needs of the kids I was working with. For
instance, I created a messy play group to help certain kids be more open to touch and explore different textures. I created a fine-motor group because I saw fine-motor delays in the kids I was working with and wanted to help to develop those skills. There were also individuals there that I saw that had potential to do something more functional than what they were doing, and I collaborated with staff around the Home to make a role for them based on their strengths and interests.

I worked at SECEP for quite a while. SECEP is a non-traditional school setting that supports kids with behavioral challenges. Through this experience, I gained more experience than most OTs in the understanding of behaviors and behavior modification. Over the years, I began to do more research as I wanted to learn more and understand more about behaviors and emotional-regulation. I began to understand with much more clarity the dynamic interplay between the brain, individual, relationships, situations, and external stimuli that influence not only behaviors, but the emotions that are experienced and how people handle those emotions and situations.

For more than one reason, emotional stability is near and dear to my heart and is something that I will forever research, contribute to the body of research, and use techniques to help those I serve.

Last, but not least, are my positions at outpatient pediatrics clinics. A lot of growth happened in this setting because I encountered a variety of people, diagnosis, and situations. I found that most things, including fine-motor concerns, self-care, etc can start because of something that occurred during the developmental process. I find that working in the brain or bringing balance back to the brain is really a must in treatment to see gains.

I have learned a lot since the beginning of my career as a student and use what I know to help the people I serve, but that is by no means the whole of it. Every single experience in my life contributes to the way that I think, the way that I work, and the way that I communicate. Every
single thing that I mentioned that I learned is not because it came easy to me but it was because I didn’t know something and needed questions answered, because I made mistakes and didn’t want to make them again, because I listened to people who were wiser than me.

The biggest thing that I have learned in my life and am continuing to learn today and want to impart to all of you is that don’t get into a place of festering. Meaning, maybe you didn’t know something, made a mistake, something embarrassed you, even humiliated you, don’t stay there and let it fester in you. It happened, learn from it, and move on. Change what needs to be changed and then move forward.

I leave you with this,

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

~John 14:27

 

We work with children and adults aged 3 years old and up. We have experience working with people with autism, ADHD, down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, and developmental disabilities. We also work with people who need training and skill attainment in emotional regulation such as anger, frustration, anxiety, and depression.
 

Uniquely Independent's framework is function. We will work with you on your goals, what you need to do and want to do but are having trouble doing. This could be things such as:

Concerns regarding dressing, tying shoes, brushing teeth, combing hair, washing face, toileting

Concerns regarding development of coloring, pre-writing strokes, handwriting, messy writing, vision techniques

Concerns regarding cutting, using tools, switching hands

Concerns regarding development of play skills- doesn’t seem to understand how to put things together, only plays with one thing or plays the same way with things, doesn’t play with purpose but scatters everything, lack of focus and attention

Concerns regarding constantly moving, hard time sitting for class or work, hard time with keeping things organized and staying on track and on schedule, hard time remembering instructions and directions, not liking to be touched or touching things

Concerns regarding home management and organization, getting things done timely

Concerns regarding meltdown and tantrums, maladaptive behaviors such as hitting, kicking, destroying property, dropping to the floor, self-injurious behaviors, gets easily upset, does not interact well with others, shutdown when upset

Concerns regarding emotional regulation including anger, frustration, anxiety & depression, OCD

Telehealth
 

Uniquely You Circle is an emotional regulation group program designed for children who have trouble with anger, frustration, meltdowns, tantrums, shutdown, drop to the floor, has a hard time getting along with others, does not like the word no and becomes upset. It is designed to bring back harmony to individuals, relationships, and lives. It consists of circles/modules that the group will go through as a whole. There is no time limit to complete the circles, only that restoration, healing, and balance is achieved.

Though the program is geared towards ages ranged from 3-17 years of age, it is a must for parents to be involved. Emotional regulation is multifaceted and relationships, especially close relationships, play a role. Not only will the child go through a healing process, but the family and relationship as well.

Process:

An initial evaluation will be completed prior to enrollment to establish groups. At least 2 individuals are necessary to form a group and 1 parent must be involved.

The groups are designed to last for a year and are broken into 4 quarters throughout the year. A progress note will be completed each quarter to review progress and direction of group. Groups can take as long as they need to proceed through the program.

Graduation will be upon successful completion of the program.

Activities: 

Sensory integration and recognizing body signals-A lot of people have trouble knowing what is going on in themselves, which can cause challenges with emotional regulation.

Primitive reflex integration

Polyvagal techniques

Executive functioning skills such as impulse control, problem solving, attention, and appropriate ways to interact with others.

Coping strategies (sensory, thinking, movement)

ABCs of behaviors

Parent support

Cost:

Uniquely You Circle costs $320/month ($80/wk).

The program is not coverable by insurance

 

Uniquely You Too Circle is a modification of the Uniquely You Program. This group is for children who are developmentally delayed and may need more support to participate in the program. The focus is on the child and parent and providing the parent with the tools to aid with managing behaviors.

Process:

An initial evaluation will be completed prior to enrollment to establish groups. At least 2 individuals are necessary to form a group and 1 parent must be involved.

The groups are designed to last for a year and are broken into 4 quarters throughout the year. A progress note will be completed each quarter to review progress and direction of group. Groups can take as long as they need to proceed through the program.

Graduation will be upon successful completion of the program.

Activities: 

Sensory integration and recognizing body signals-A lot of people have trouble knowing what is going on in themselves, which can cause challenges with emotional regulation.

Primitive reflex integration

Polyvagal techniques

Coping strategies (sensory & movement)

ABCs of behaviors

Parent support

Cost:

Uniquely You Too Circle costs $240/month ($60/wk)

The program is not coverable by insurance


 

Uniquely You Preschool Circle is a modification of the Uniquely You Program. This group is for preschoolers (3-5yrs). The focus is on the child and parent and providing the parent with the tools to aid with managing behaviors.

Process:

An initial evaluation will be completed prior to enrollment to establish groups. At least 2 individuals are necessary to form a group and 1 parent must be involved.

The groups are designed to last for a year and are broken into 4 quarters throughout the year. A progress note will be completed each quarter to review progress and direction of group. Groups can take as long as they need to proceed through the program.

Graduation will be upon successful completion of the program.

Activities:

Sensory integration and recognizing body signals-A lot of people have trouble knowing what is going on in themselves, which can cause challenges with emotional regulation.

Primitive reflex integration

Polyvagal techniques

Coping strategies (sensory & movement)

ABCs of behaviors

Parent support

Cost:

Uniquely You Preschool Circle costs $240/month ($60/wk)

The program is not coverable by insurance