Meet the team

We have a wonderfully unique team of therapists. We encourage them to be creative and authentic in providing individualized treatment to each client. To learn more about the team, check out their bios below!

Meet the Founder

Samantha Rothman, MS, OTR/L

Supervising Occupational Therapist

Samantha is a licensed and board-certified pediatric occupational therapist, DIR Floortime provider, and the owner/founder of Play and Purpose. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Community Health and a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Florida Gulf Coast University.

As a neurodivergent therapist, she enjoys using a "whole child" approach, including all aspects of being human-especially focusing on emotional and mental health. She is passionate about using child-led and non-compliance based techniques to promote engagement and self-advocacy skills.

Samantha has experience working with children who have unique needs and consulting with schools/parents to ensure great outcomes. Additionally, she enjoys helping parents to advocate for services and programs that may be beneficial to the child's progress.

Outside of patient care, Samantha is devoting time to mentoring new therapists, building/supporting our team and continuing to grow the practice to serve more families in our area. In her free time, she enjoys reading, Pilates, painting, and traveling as often as possible.

Meet Our Team

Amber Robinson

COTA/L

Amber is a licensed and nationally certified pediatric occupational therapy assistant. She graduated from San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico. Her experience in pediatrics includes working in schools, outpatient clinics, and in-home care. She enjoys using an individualized play-based approach, focusing on sensory regulation. Outside of work, Amber enjoys spending time with family, going to hockey games, and exploring the beautiful state of Arizona.

Tracy Benevich

COTA/L

Tracy has over 5 years of experience in pediatric therapy including in both home and school settings. She enjoys working with children and loves providing them with active daily living skills while helping them to maximize their full potential. Tracy provides services to children in the Sierra Vista and Santa Cruz county area.

Kendyll Taylor

MS, CCC-SLP

Kendyll is a licensed and board-certified pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist. She has been practicing speech therapy in the valley since 2018 and finds her greatest passion in helping children improve their communication skills. The majority of her experience has been working in interdisciplinary outpatient pediatric clinics and providing private services across a variety of settings. Kendyll is also a 2-time Baylor University Alumna but grew up here in Scottsdale. She is looking forward to the opportunity to work alongside your family!

Hayden Smith

COTA/L

Hayden is a licensed and nationally certified occupational therapy assistant. She has been working solely in pediatrics for over 5 years in a variety of settings such as: outpatient clinics, home-health, aquatic therapy, and school-based. She is passionate about utilizing play therapy to increase a child’s overall success and increase their confidence within themselves and the world around them! When not working, Hayden enjoys travelling with her husband and spending time with their two dogs. She also loves to create new recipes while baking and reads any book she can get her hands on!