About The Company
Seeds for Special Needs is a minority and women owned company that started during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic after realizing that caregivers may benefit from more resources to better support their children at home.
As Pediatric Occupational Therapists (OT), we empower and collaborate with children and their families to facilitate functional skill development. In doing so, we provide graded strategies for daily task completion, while implementing environmental modifications as needed.
In this website you’ll find worksheets and videos for breaking down daily tasks catered to your child’s developmental level, resources for parents to navigate the school system, suggestions for possible home modifications, therapeutic product reviews on our favorite toys, social stories, and more.
About Us
Madeha and Christine met on the first day of their Occupational Therapy graduate program and became inseparable friends since then. From being study buddies to watching Bollywood movies – they discovered they’re more alike than they could’ve imagined. After graduating with their Masters in Occupational Therapy, Madeha and Christine continued to bond over shared interests – a main one being their dedication to working with the pediatric population.
Over time, they both realized that they wanted to expand their knowledge and dedication to children and families even outside of work. This desire was a great segway into creating what is now their Seeds for Special Needs website.
Meet Madeha
Madeha Ayub is your typical city girl, born and raised in the heart of NYC with a love for street food and rustic coffee shops. Madeha has always had a soft spot for children with special needs and autism which led her to become a Pediatric Occupational Therapist as well as a Certified Child Life Specialist. Not sure if it started with that 8-year old boy with autism who fascinated her with his memory of their first encounter or the first grader with ADHD who never forgot how to pronounce her name after hearing it once (which no one gets right by the way). However which way it started, Madeha knows she has dedicated her career to helping these brilliant children learn the functional skills to become more independent in a world that may not always support their needs.
More About Me:
Outside of her professional work, Madeha enjoys traveling to the beautiful corners of the world with her husband, Asim and their bubbly daughter, Asiyah.
But oftentimes, she enjoys traveling to the past just as much, through writing memoirs and scrapbooking. Rainy days are her favorite, especially when she gets to listen to the sound of downpour on her back porch while drinking a warm cup of chai with a touch of cardamom.
Meet Christine
Christine was born and raised in the shadow of New York City. Whether working as a student teacher, a children’s museum educator, an assistant ABA therapist, a research assistant on several teams (including looking at language development in children with ASD), or volunteering in various community based outreach capacities, Christine has always had a desire to work with children and to serve her community. However, it took being a patient herself for her to recognize her calling to become an OT. As an OT, Christine has worked in diverse settings including but not limited to elementary and middle schools, early intervention, inpatient adult rehab and homecare.
More About Me:
Outside of her professional work, she is a doting plant mother, a loving Aunt, and enjoys dabbling in both new and familiar forms of art. Christine loves traveling – both by air and by book. And on most days you can find her sipping tea from her favorite local café. Pair that with a lavender scented candle and a good book and you’re sure to find her in bliss.