Mayumi Aaberg

Mayumi is a licensed and registered occupational therapist. She calls herself an Okinawan cheese-head since she was born in Okinawa, Japan and grew up in rural Wisconsin since she was 7 years old. She graduated with a liberal arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987 and a Master's degree from Rush University Medical Center in 1996.  As an OT, she dedicated many years treating adults in a variety of settings. Mayumi began transitioning into pediatrics at preschools and early elementary schools in 2011 and has had experience within a local middle school between 2018-2021. Mayumi has been with Therapeutic Links since 2013 and is dedicated to working with children and their families with a holistic and creative approach.  Her ongoing training includes MNRI (8+ courses), ADHD and executive functioning, autism (Learn, Play, Thrive approach), Cranial Sacral, Sensory Processing, handwriting programs, Kinesiology taping, and Early Intervention. She has also volunteered with Camp Avanti, an intensive Sensory Integration camp for children with special needs both in-person and virtually from 2018-2021.   Mayumi is a passionate life-long learner with a special interest in the holistic connection between the health of nature and the health of people. She strongly believes healing the land and healing people are intricately related, and she pursues these things with faith-based environmentalism, gardening with permaculture and regenerative farming methods, as well as with nutrition and making healthy life-style choices. She has practiced a variety of forms of traditional tai chi since 1994 and became a certified tai chi instructor in 2011. Mayumi recently completed the coursework for the Master Gardener certification through the University of Illinois Extension.   When not wearing her OT hat, Mayumi is volunteering as a Master Gardener, practicing or teaching tai chi, enjoying her own garden, reading and cuddling with her cats, running trails, cross country skiing, baking or cooking, learning traditional Okinawan dancing, or Zooming with her two grown sons. She is an active member of Gracepointe Church in Mundelein. She and her husband Nathan live in Grayslake.