Our Story
We serve Central & Northern Vermont
We proudly offer a team of skilled professionals with over 30 years of experience in Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Mental Health and Wellness.
All clinicians at Charis Learning Center are committed to a current, neurodiversity affirming, social model of care for their clients and families. All are familiar with and implement the Natural Language Acquisition/Gestalt Processing model, Interoception practices, and self-regulation strategies informed by sensory considerations and Autism Level Up.
The Charis Learning Center Team
Mary B. Asper
CCC-SLP, ASD-CS, Clinical Director, Speech-Language PathologistMary’s primary focus is on language, social cognition, communication and augmentative communication. After working in schools for most of her career, Mary is now the Clinical Director for Charis Learning Center Inc. and offers evaluations and therapeutic services directly to children, adults, and their families. She has been a national presenter for the Bureau of Education and Research (BER) and PESI and holds a specialty certification in Autism Spectrum Disorders from Evergreen Certifications. Mary’s favorite off-the-job pastimes are spending time with her grandchildren, enjoying lake and garden time, and her dogs Sophie and Tucker.
Kate Moody
Occupational Therapist, OTR/L, Assistant Clinical DirectorKate received a Bachelors of Health Communication with Minor in Psychology in May of 2013, and her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in December of 2015, both From Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. Her background in Psychology was concentrated on developmental psychology, and Kate has completed programming with specialties in ADLs, including Incontinence training. She and her husband Jake moved to Vermont in 2017, and Kate began working at Charis in Summer 2024. She is our Lead Occupational Therapist with an affinity for helping those with autism improve their independence in daily skills.
Her young daughter Madeline and her dog Tonks keep her very busy! The Moody family enjoys hiking, doing science experiments, playing Dungeons and Dragons and improving their home with various projects. In her downtime, Kate enjoys painting, sewing, gardening, and playing strategic card games.
Kristy Cotnoir
Speech and Language Pathologist, MS, CCC-SLP, MBSR, Administrative StaffKristy earned her masters degree from the University of Rhode Island in 2017 and relocated to Berlin, VT for her clinical fellowship in Speech and Language Pathology. Her specialties include helping those with autism spectrum disorder, concussion/TBI and stroke recovery, by improving their use of strategies to help with attention, problem solving, organization and social language skills. She has worked with clients ages 3-103 and their families on their individualized goals. She has experience helping others improve across multiple settings, including inpatient and outpatient rehab centers, as well as in nursing homes.
Her use of mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques have helped clients develop cognitive wellness programs and strategies to improve their day to day functioning and interpersonal communication skills. When she’s not at Charis, you can find her reading at the library, writing in a coffee shop, spending time near the lake, or volunteering with dance/theatre performances. Her special interests include orca whales, sharks, dancing, and hedgehogs. She lives in northern VT with her husband Kyle.
Tonks Moody
Client SupportTonks is a German Shepherd and Labrador Retriever mix. She was born in February of 2017, and moved to Vermont to live with Katey at twelve weeks old. Tonks has been helping clients meet their OT goals in a fun way since she was a puppy, completing Canine Good Citizen training and advanced Obedience training from Gold Star Dog Training. Her favorite activities are taking her people for walks, playing fetch, more walks, and belly rubs.
AAT is well documented with the Neurodivergent population as animals tend to place less demands on the person than people do, allowing for learning with co-regulation, voice and activity modulation, cognitive strategies and new learning in the context of fun with a dog!
Tucker
Client SupportTucker is our soft and cuddly office friend who provides sensory, empathetic, and joyful support to our clients. He can be found providing greetings at the door, offering unending pets, or giving comfort when needed. Tucker is an Australian Shepherd. He holds two championships, one American Kennel Club and one Australian Shepherd Club of America. When he is not working with clients, Tucker loves to run and play, herd anything he can, and work on his Obedience and therapy dog training skills.
If you have severe allergies to dogs, we can reschedule evaluation appointments at a different location.
In Memoriam – Sophie Mae
May 5, 2011 – Dec. 28 2025
Sophie provided empathic comfort to a wide range of people – in schools, clinics and her personal life, for nearly all her life. She raised multiple puppies (not hers), teaching them her skills and how to behave. Sophie the Social Coach could be counted on to keep everyone in the group, model appropriate pack behavior, and share the joy of a good run. Her legacy lives on in Mr. Tucker, who was her last puppy to share her wisdom with.