Bio

I started practicing as a pediatric occupational therapist in 2010 where I focused on sensory processing dysfunction, Autism, and standardized testing.  I became passionate about understanding how we process information and how it relates to our behavior and personalities.

Danielle started observing the patterns in neuro-atypical kids, such as the presence of primitive reflexes and ocular motor definicencies along with the lack of change in standard scores testing of her clients. Which led her to ask questions about where sensory integration originates in the brain and if we could be doing more to reduce symptoms versus only learning to cope with them.

Danielle was attending as many continuing education courses as she could afford. She started working as a traveling OT, in variety of settings, including schools, skilled nursing, inpatient psych, inpatient and outpatient rehab, and home care.

It was in these years of traveling to different regions of our country and in a variety of healthcare settings that she saw the flaws of the healthcare system and the need for more effective therapy. Many people go from one specialist to the next. Medical doctors are able to offer testing, possible diagnosis, medication, or surgery, but who is responsible for helping our brain heal itself?

She believes that occupational therapists are best suited for the job. While searching for more effective techniques, she discovered functional neurology through a college friend, Dr. Matthew Imber. She started training with a team functional Neurologists in Chicago in 2014. It was here where she learned to not just look at developmental milestones and acquiring skills, but also how to assess the nervous system for root causes/dysfunctions and train it back into homeostasis.

With a new approach to therapy, new techniques, and drastic progress towards goals, it was obvious to Danielle that she had to share these interventions with more clients and professionals.

Danielle Nelson opened Brain Bright Therapy in 2017 and has been working with Dr. Imber to train occupational therapists in neuroplasticity ever since.   They launched an OT certification program, CNSI Therapies, in which the first course is designed to help OTs assess and exercise the lobes of the brain.