Mariko Yamazaki earned her M.A. and OTD (Doctorate of Occupational Therapy) at the University of Southern California. She completed her undergraduate education at Pomona College with a degree in Biology and a minor in Mathematics. She has a passion for cultural context, international work and occupational justice, which inspired her doctoral capstone project: developing a partnership with community-based rehabilitation workers in Ghanaian villages to support older children with disabilities as they transition from a residential school back to their home villages. Her doctoral work helped her to understand the importance of occupation as it relates to social and physical access, roles and routines, and the significance of cultural context.
Mariko specializes in Ayres Sensory Integration and enjoys using this approach along with DIR concepts. She enjoys collaborating with the families of her clients to strengthen their relationships, work toward relevant goals, and to recognize and respect the immediate and broader contexts in which the children and their families live.