Janet Gunter OTD, OTR/L (she/her/hers)
Director of the Graduate Certificate Program in Sensory Processing and Sensory Integration, and Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy
CHP G34
(323) 442-2057
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Janet Gunter received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California. She has worked for more than 20 years as a pediatric occupational therapist, and specializes in working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, neuromotor disorders and feeding and oral-motor difficulties and their families. Dr. Gunter has taught courses and hands-on practica on the topics of sensory integration theory and intervention, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorders and medical billing and documentation. She is also the director of clinical operations at Therapy West, Inc., where she oversees operations of three clinical sites and supervises both administrative and therapeutic staff.
Education
Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
2010 | University of Southern California
Master of Arts (MA)
in Occupational Therapy
1995 | University of Southern California
Bachelor of Science (BS)
in Occupational Therapy
1994 | University of Southern California
Selected Publications
Magaña, S., Gunter, J. S., & Blanche, E. I. (2022). Therapy West Integrated Specialized Play Program (TWISPP). In E. I. Blanche, C. Giuffrida, M. Hallway, B. Edwards, & L. A. Test (Eds.), An evidence-based guide to combining interventions with sensory integration in pediatric practice (pp. 261-267). New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003050810#prog2 Show abstract
Therapy West Integrated Specialized Play Program (TWISPP) was created with a strong foundation of therapeutic collaboration to ensure children’s needs are being supported and met. Occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists created center times and activities based on goals related to typical development. A variety of frames of reference and intervention approaches are used to support and guide intervention for individual needs of each child and needs of the group as well as to continually support overall development in activity centers. Children identified as having sensory processing difficulties were found to have made significant improvements in more developmental areas than children without sensory processing difficulties. Parenting Stress Index is completed at entry and exit. E. I. Blanche, in an additional retrospective study to analyze effects of dosage of intervention, identified that children in TWISPP maintained gains over time per results of Bayley-III and that progress and rate of progress were found to vary based on dosage of the intervention.
Blanche, E. I., & Gunter, J. S. (2020). Sensory processing disorders. In J. B. Benson (Ed.), Encyclopedia of infant and early childhood development (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 116-124). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science. Full text
Blanche, E. I., Chang, M. C., Gutiérrez, J., & Gunter, J. S. (2016). Effectiveness of a sensory-enriched early intervention group program for children with developmental disabilities. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(5), 7005220010p1-7005220010p8. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2016.018481 Show abstract
Objective. The study's objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Interdisciplinary Sensory-Enriched Early Intervention (ISEEI) group program for children with developmental delays.
Method. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 63 children ages 18-36 mo who participated in ISEEI. We evaluated participants with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (Bayley-III) and the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile (ITSP) at enrollment and after 3-9 mo. We conducted a paired t test to examine changes in the Bayley-III between pre- and posttests.
Results. At enrollment, 70% of children presented atypical scores in two or more areas of sensory processing in the ITSP. Results revealed that children with sensory processing difficulties demonstrated significant improvement in all areas of development except fine motor skills; children without sensory processing difficulties showed significant improvement in language and cognition.
Conclusion. The ISEEI group program is an effective method to ameliorate developmental delays.
In Chan News
November 25, 2020
November is National Family Caregivers Month, a nationwide observance that recognizes those who dedicate their time and effort towards caring for family members in need. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of family caregivers and praise their strength and support. Within occupational…
October 3, 2014
By Mike McNulty Five USC Trojans received awards and 82 Trojans presented during the 2014 conference of the Occupational Therapy Association of California, October 16-19 in Pasadena. Assistant clinical professor Sarah Bream received the Award of Appreciation, alumna Diane Mayfield received the…
October 22, 2013
85 Trojan alumni and faculty will be presenting at the 2013 Conference of the Occupational Therapy Association of California, Oct. 24-27 at the Sacramento (Calif.) Convention Center. On the evening of Friday Oct. 25, be sure to join your USC Trojan Family at the conference's alumni cocktail mixer.…
October 1, 2013
By Lauren Evashenk/USC News Interacting With Autism, a video-based website, was unveiled at a Sept. 28 launch celebration at the USC School of Cinematic Arts co-sponsored by the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Originated three years ago by University Professor Marsha…
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