Today we’d like to introduce you to Cecilia Pennekamp
Hi Cecilia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The seed that eventually grew into Beyond Pediatric Therapy was planted in 2019 when we, Rebecca Barry-Penny and Cecilia Pennekamp, met while working as pediatric occupational therapists at an outpatient rehabilitation center. Our fiery passion, our neurodiversity-focused lens, and our shared desire to imagine a different roadmap for change drew us together quickly. We spent our lunches speedwalking and dreaming up a world where we could work with families in a way that allowed for directed, meaningful results through authentic connection to children, empowered and collaborative family education, and unfettered, outside-the-box, specialized interventions.
For the next five years, while working in a variety of pediatric occupational therapy settings, we remained in constant collaboration, supporting one another’s growth and building a bank of professional resources. At every turn, we returned to the dream of approaching therapy beyond the traditional model – we wanted more for the kids and families we served.
We kicked off Beyond Pediatric Therapy in the summer of 2024, providing in-home, in-school, and in-community therapy services, and it has been an honor to feel such a part of the families we work with. In addition, we have been working with local schools and professional organizations to provide tailored parent and staff education opportunities.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has amazingly been a fairly smooth journey thus far, as we have stumbled upon friends and professional supports who have given us much needed guidance. We are extremely grateful.
However, one challenge we continue to face is in connecting families with valuable resources. We are meeting with professionals in psychology, speech language pathology, education, and other related services to build an arsenal of support so we can quickly transition families to other areas if needed. We know how crucial, and sometimes difficult, it is for families to be advocates for their children – we strive to walk alongside our families and help and support in any way we can.
Another challenge is the breaking down of previous biases about the abilities of children with different needs. We embrace this challenge as part of our mission to educate families, children, and the community about the potential within each of us and the power rooted in our differences.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We – Becky, originally from Buffalo, New York, and Cece, a San Antonian – have a combined 30 years of occupational therapy experience. Be both experienced a minor career crisis in which we felt we wanted more in-depth education to serve children, especially those with neurological differences. We each found our way to Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT), a model of rehabilitation for clients with this population, and completed our post-graduate certifications. This involved additional extensive education in neuroscience, human development, and hands on skills practice. We incorporate this approach to quickly and thoroughly identify specific barriers to a child’s independence in areas such as play, dressing, fine motor tasks, and social engagement and then use their strengths as a launching pad for positive change towards participation. You might see us working with children on dynamic surfaces such as an extra large physioball, using advance handling skills to support the motor skills needed for this participation. Becky is currently in the pre-candidate program to become an NDT instructor!
In addition, Cece is a certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist (ASDCS). We have been frustrated with the options for care for children on the autism spectrum and have been overjoyed to witness and be a part of the present wave of change in supporting this community. We are both deeply passionate about augmentative communication and are always on the lookout for our speech therapist experts.
Our work is grounded in the belief in the beauty of neurodiversity. We see children for who they are and what their dreams are, regardless of a diagnosis. Our goal is to help them strengthen whatever skills they need to participate fully in their lives.
Often, a pediatrician or psychologist will recommend OT services and connect us with a family. Referrals may be made in reference to a specific diagnosis that comes with defined differences, such as Trisomy 21, cerebral palsy, or autism. Other families come to us with challenges that do not have a clear etiology. Families may seek generalized therapy approaches or they may have a specific goal they want to address – toileting independence, sensory regulation after school hours, peer relationship development, or feeding strategies, for example. We get the opportunity to explore and collaborate with families to uncover the best approaches to begin making positive changes.
We start with a “get-to-know-you” phone call because we want to make sure we are a good fit for our families. If for some reason we aren’t, we work with families to connect them with services elsewhere. We then schedule an evaluation in the home where we assess areas that may impact access to independence and achievement of personal goals. Examples may include skills in motor planning, sensory processing, emotional regulation, visual-motor integration, or interpersonal relationships that may impact a child’s ability to learn at school, play safely on the playground, or complete their daily at-home routines. We then collaborate with the child and their families to establish goals that are meaningful to them.
Often, we see children on a weekly basis, however, our model allows for flexible scheduling based upon goals. For example, if a child has newly discovered feeding difficulties, we may begin seeing them for multiple consecutive days in the home, school, and other pertinent settings to jump-start success and provide rich family education. Other times, therapy is focused on success in a new context. We join our clients at karate, on the playground, at the dinner table, or wherever and whenever their goals lead us. It really is a joy to get to meet children where they are at and help them unfold new skills they need to maximize their participation.
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