Lisa E. Cyzner, PhD, OTR/L
Director and Founder of the Cyzner Institute
Dr. Cyzner opened the doors of Cyzner Institute in 2003 after identifying a need in the greater Charlotte area for a resource center to support exceptional children and their families. As Director of the Institute, she has put to practice her extensive education and experience as an OT to develop differentiated learning environments for children with special needs. She believes that early intervention combined with individualized therapeutic support helps to lay the foundation for future success for many of these children.
Dr. Cyzner has years of experience working in both pediatric and adult occupational therapy settings including at home, in school, hospitals, and private practice. She has been working with the ASD population since 1993. She has participated in extensive continuing education over the years, not only in the field of Occupational Therapy but also in education and biomedical interventions, and she is a published author. Dr. Cyzner has chosen to specialize and focus her life’s work on helping families and their children whose greatest areas of need are related to sensory modulation and self-regulation. Her work through the Cyzner Institute as well as her own private OT practice helps children develop these self-regulating behaviors and coping mechanisms to then lay the groundwork for emotional health and build the foundation for higher levels of learning.
Dr. Cyzner received her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Columbia University, NY, NY in 1993. She was recognized for both academic scholarship and leadership in her field through various awards: the Veteran’s Administration Health Professional Scholarship, the National AMBUCS Award and Columbia University Incentive Award. Dr. Cyzner was also awarded the Maxwell J. Schliefer Distinguished Service Award from Exceptional Parents Magazine in 2009.
Dr. Cyzner completed all requirements for her Ph.D. from the Department of Occupational Therapy at New York University, NY, NY in November of 2000. Her doctoral dissertation is entitled: Occupational Therapy Embedded in Daily Life: The Parents’ and the Therapist’s Reported Experiences of Participating in Occupational Therapy Invention for Children with Difficulty with Self-Regulation. She received the Metropolitan New York Occupational Therapy Association Small Grants Fund to assist with data collection, analysis, and management processes for her dissertation. Other research that Dr. Cyzner has conducted and/or participated in has included topics related to: foundations of child and family policy and policy research, services for children with pervasive developmental disorder, development of a set of guidelines for occupational therapy clinical practice for children with difficulty with self-regulation, and evaluations of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. While at N.Y.U. from 1996-1999, Dr. Cyzner was an instructor and guest lecturer for classes for entry-level occupational therapy students.
Dr. Cyzner is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association. She is licensed by the State of North Carolina, the State of New York, and is certified by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.