Our Story
KIDZ POINT was born of a need we have long seen in the treatment modalities currently used to treat children. The concept has been evolving for many years. After completing their studies in their respective fields, Kevin and Karen knew their life’s journey together would lead them to a clinic where they could bridge their specialties to help children.
Karen’s work provides children the opportunity to grow developmentally in motor, play, and daily life skills. Her work in sensory integration assists children, their families and schools in making daily life easier. However, for years she has listened as parents and teachers report how difficulties with sleep, getting sick easily, and poor digestion lend to frequent illness, missing school, and being over-tired. This cycle, she knew, from the framework of sensory integration impacts a child’s ability to stay regulated, enhances sensory issues, and ultimately impacts participation in daily activities.
This is where Kevin’s work in TCM comes into the picture. Kevin has become fascinated by the benefits Traditional Chinese Medicine offers in terms of strengthening the immune systems of and improving sleep and digestion for his clients. He has also noticed how treatment impacted their mood and sense of balances in daily life.
Over the years as they compared notes, a light flashed and they understood their mission—to develop an integrative children’s clinic that would combine these modalities into one holistic treatment model.
Karen Murphy, MOTR/L
Karen earned her MA in occupational Therapy from Samuel Merritt College in 2001, where she graduated as a member of the National Occupational Therapy Honor Society. She has over ten years of experience, with eight years specializing in pediatrics with extensive work in the evaluation and treatment of children with sensory integration disorder and autism spectrum disorders. Karen serves as the occupational therapist, as part of a collaborative team at North Bay Regional Center’s CAD Clinic to provide evaluation and diagnosis of children with suspected autism spectrum disorder. She has also worked collaboratively with teachers and parents through her treatment of children in early intervention through high school at the Redwood Pediatric Therapy Associates (RPTA) clinic and regular education, special day and county education classes throughout Sonoma County. Karen completed post-graduate training with the University of Southern California Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy together with Western Psychological Services to obtain certification to administer, interpret and provide treatment with the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), the gold standard in evaluating sensory integration. Additionally, she is a certified provider of the Interactive Metronome program, including advanced training in this program for pediatrics. Karen specialized in working with children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders for three years at Anova Center for Education, where she ran the OT program at two of the ACE schools and integrated Anova’s social cognition, theory of mind work to her treatments. Her work has helped children at all levels including children with non-verbal autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, ADHD, prenatal drug and alcohol exposure and others to improve functional outcomes in their activities across school, home and community settings.
Karen also brings her training in yoga for children to KIDZ POINT. She is a certified provider from Its Yoga Kids in San Francisco and Sonya Sumar’s Yoga for the Special Child programs and has taken post-graduate training in occupational therapy for yoga. She created the innovative yoga program at the Marin and American Canyon ACE schools, which emphasized building strength, calm and flexible minds, and social skills for a group activity.
Kevin Murphy, L.Ac.
Kevin has over 10 years of experience in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He began his studies apprenticing with Angela Wu, a leading acupuncturist in San Francisco. After this 3-year understudy, Kevin went on to study Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley, CA where he received his Masters in Chinese medicine in 2001.
Kevin has worked much of his career treating both musculoskeletal and common health difficulties. He has a particular interest in working with children in the early years of development and has continued his post-graduate studies with an emphasis in pediatrics. Kevin is interested in Chinese medicine’s unique perspective in both infancy and childhood illnesses as well as neurological disorders.
