Founder of Whole Life Therapy Services & Occupational Therapist
Jana Rothbauer, OTR, CLT-LANA, is a licensed occupational therapist with more than 30 years of experience helping children and adults build independence, adapt to life’s challenges, and participate more fully in the activities that matter most to them.
Her extensive clinical background spans pediatric and adult rehabilitation, autism, sensory integration, developmental disorders, neurological rehabilitation, orthopedics, lymphedema management, and acute and inpatient rehabilitation. She is certified in autism, lymphedema, and infant massage.
Jana’s approach to therapy is shaped by a simple belief: effective care begins with understanding the whole person—not simply the diagnosis.
Jana graduated from Texas Woman’s University in 1996 and began her career at Dallas Rehabilitation Institute, working with individuals recovering from spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, strokes, amputations, and post-polio syndrome. She received advanced spinal cord injury training at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and developed a strong foundation in adaptive equipment, environmental modification, and creative problem-solving.
Early in her career, Jana learned that occupational therapy often requires thinking beyond traditional treatment techniques. She helped develop individualized solutions for patients, including adaptive clothing, environmental controls, and an accessible crib for a mother living with paraplegia. These experiences shaped her lifelong commitment to practical, individualized therapy.
In 1998, Jana joined Easter Seals of Greater Dallas, where she transitioned into pediatric occupational therapy. She worked with children with developmental delays, cerebral palsy, orthopedic conditions, and visual impairments. During this time, she became certified in infant massage, taught community-based classes, and served as a clinic manager.
Her interest in child development and sensory processing continued to grow. In 2000, she joined Lakewood Pediatric Therapy, providing sensory integration therapy to children with a variety of developmental concerns, including autism. She continued pursuing advanced education in sensory integration and pediatric therapy.
After taking time away from full-time practice to raise her family, Jana returned to clinical care in 2002 as a PRN occupational therapist within the Baylor health system.
Over the next two decades, she gained experience across acute care, acute inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient therapy, orthopedics, pediatrics, and lymphedema management. Working across these settings allowed her to understand rehabilitation from multiple perspectives—from the initial stages of injury or illness through recovery, adaptation, and return to meaningful daily activities.
Jana’s specialized experience includes working in the Baylor Sammons Cancer Center Lymphedema Clinic, where she contributed to the research publication “Describing Lymphedema in Females with Turner Syndrome.” She continues to maintain a professional relationship with the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States.
Her orthopedic experience expanded during her time at Baylor Uptown, where she worked in a fast-paced orthopedic environment and developed additional expertise in joint replacement rehabilitation and postoperative care.Jana also spent time working PRN at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, gaining insight into specialized pediatric services and the unique needs of children and families navigating complex medical systems in an inpatient setting.
While continuing her work within the Baylor system, Jana returned to pediatric occupational therapy in a local clinic, where she further developed her expertise in autism, sensory integration, primitive reflex integration, and genetic syndromes.
Whole Life Therapy Services is the culmination of Jana’s more than 30 years of clinical experience and her belief that occupational therapy should be individualized, practical, and meaningful.
Throughout her career, Jana has worked with people across the lifespan and across many stages of recovery and development. This breadth of experience allows her to look beyond a single diagnosis and consider the many factors that influence a person’s ability to function and thrive—including physical abilities, sensory processing, development, environment, routines, and personal goals.
Jana takes the time to understand who each person is, what matters to them, and what is getting in the way of living the life they want to live. Whether supporting a child with developmental or sensory needs, an individual with autism, an adult recovering from injury or surgery, or someone managing lymphedema, Jana brings a combination of clinical knowledge, creativity, compassion, and decades of hands-on experience to every therapeutic relationship.
At Whole Life Therapy Services, therapy is not simply about improving a skill or treating a diagnosis. It is about helping each person participate more fully in their own life, their own routines, and the things that matter most to them.
