Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Darby
Hi Dawn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
The Therapy Place started as the dream of my friend, Susan Abell, and myself. We were each raising a son with cerebral palsy. We met when our sons were three years old, same age, same diagnosis, and both names starting with the letter C, Cameron and Cooper. My son, Cooper, was benefitting from an intensive therapy that we had found in Atlanta. Susan’s son, Cameron, was improving thanks to a program in Bluffton, SC. We were very busy trying to do everything we could to find and partake of any therapy we could find that might help our sons “overcome” this diagnosis. For me, I finally broke down picking Cooper up from daycare and finding him scooting around on his rear end in the wet sand. I asked where his walker was and the teacher said that they had to put it up because the other children wanted to play with it. That day, I decided to quit my job as grants manager for the county. I was fortunate to land a remote job writing grants and helping with event coordination. This allowed us to take Cooper to the three-week long sessions in Atlanta each summer. Our family and friends held a golf tournament to raise the funds for two sessions. We also had direct donations to pay for sessions by friends and family, allowing us in all to travel to Atlanta four times. Each time, Cooper came back with a new skill, from walking with a walker to walking unassisted, then riding a tricycle, then going up stairs with one hand. He kept getting stronger. And the stronger he was physically, there was also carryover to his speech due to the trunk control helping his breath support. We would share with other families that we’d meet in therapy waiting rooms and through Family Connection (our state parent-to-parent network) support groups the stories of our sons’ progress only to be met with disappointment because of the distance and cost of the program. Susan and I thought it was ridiculous that there wasn’t more in Columbia for children like ours and decided we would open a therapy clinic that would incorporate recreation, support for families, and more.
In 2008, when the boys were both 5, we got serious. We held a focus group of everyone in our children’s lives – developmental pediatrician, special needs care coordinator, therapists, early interventionists, friends who understood, and other parents. Everyone listened and agreed that we needed to do this! We formed the nonprofit with the temporary name, The Therapy Place (of course, it stuck), with attendees at that focus group. We held camps for two summers in a row in local churches. Then we found our space. We were able to negotiate the space at a price we could afford, and took on renovations. We started with three therapists. The physical therapist was then trained on the intensive we had wanted to start. In that first year, we heard from parents with the same daycare nightmares as we had. Having a special education teacher on the staff, along with the therapists, we created a program that incorporated therapy in each child’s day. We named it the Bridges Preschool, in a nod to the gap between the BabyNet program (0-3 years) and compulsory kindergarten not starting until 4. These children were at their most vulnerable and also in the critical developmental stage to benefit from the most intervention. The Therapy Place continued to grow, now with 15 therapists, 4 teachers, multiple aides that support the programs and our administrative support team. We added 1,400 square feet to our 7,500 sf building in 2023 and in 2024, answering another group of parents and with the generosity of a special family, we expanded the preschool to 5th grade, now the Bridges Academy. We just passed inspection to move in to our 2-classroom portable, giving us enough space to increase the size of the Academy.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The main struggles for starting and maintaining The Therapy Place have been financial. The majority of the children that we serve have Medicaid – either eligible due to financial reasons or through their disability. Commercial/private insurance barely pays for therapies – considering 12 visits of physical therapy appropriate for a child with cerebral palsy; or not covering speech therapy at all because they only cover when it is rehabilitative, so both examples are for someone who was healthy and then hurts themselves, not a child who needs professional intervention to learn to do these basic, yet important, life skills. Medicaid, although the reimbursement is still low, at least pays. There are hoops to jump through for authorizations and additional visits by proving the child is benefitting (worth the expense), but not too much as to not need it anymore.
Of course, Covid hit us hard. We tried teletherapy but that didn’t make sense for our kids. We were very thankful for the ERC funds to keep us afloat when families weren’t yet ready to bring their children with low immune systems back out into the world.
A weather or emergency that forces us to close means we lose money. Not only do the children miss their weekly sessions. It’s difficult to squeeze them in for a make-up session and we lose the funds we would have received, despite still having all the bills to pay.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Therapy Place provides physical, occupational and speech therapies, including specialized feeding therapy for children with special needs, including diagnoses such as autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome, to name the most common. Each week, more than 160 children come for their weekly appointments.
We also provide the intensive TheraSuit Method, the only clinic in South Carolina offering this therapy performed my physical and occupational therapists specifically trained in the Method and taking place over a 2-3 week period, 2-3 hours each day. Medicaid just this year started covering this service where we had been providing partial scholarships for families to access it. Now, we have a waiting list and are considering adding more therapists and more equipment to serve more children. The progress that a child can make in this program would typically take 3-6 months of 1-hour per week therapy.
We offer Food Play which helps children with food aversions, picky eaters, chewing & swallowing challenges and more, to
have success when eating both for the obvious health reasons as well as the social aspect of sharing a meal.
We are also a school, the Bridges Preschool and Bridges Academy, form a school from 3K to fifth grade. The school incorporates special education and therapy into its model of preparing each child for the next step, whatever that may be. The Bridges program aims to help each child become as independent as possible, focusing on each child’s individual goals with a team made up of parents and professionals.
And, finally, we provide support to the parents & caregivers through organizing field trips for our families to go on outings together, workshops on topics of interest – financial resources & specialized summer camps, for example; and support groups including ones for the siblings.
We are constantly listening to the families and adding and improving our space, our services and our staff to be the best for all of our children.
We host two fundraisers each year.
Miracles in Motion 5K Walk, Run & Roll at our facility in Forest Acres — 3620 Covenant Road; 29204
May 3, Register online: https://www.strictlyrunning.com/gpuilGroupTip.asp
There is a special heroes’ dash for our TTP kids, a 1K for strollers/families and the timed 5K with prizes awarded afterwards at our family festival – complete with food, beverage, live DJ, face painting, and more!
In the fall, we host Therapalooza at the Goodman Building at the SC State Fairgrounds. There is circus entertainment, live music, amazing food and drink, live & silent auction and always new surprises each year! Stay tuned for sponsorship opportunities by visiting our web site or social media.
All funds raised help us provide the best opportunities for the children we serve.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The journey of The Therapy Place has greatly increased my faith. There are so many stories along the way that I could share of how God opened doors, reminding us that we were on the right path, When we approached a local developmental pediatrician, my co-founder, Susan, just happened to grab an article on the way to see him. We were not sure we were having luck convincing him to join the board and we were about to leave. Susan remembered the article and handed it to him. He looked at the author, and knew the doctor from his previous work. He said he was would join the board since this colleague had done work on the types of therapies we were going to be introducing.
The building we are in now was too much for us to afford until we presented to a Sunday School class and a member of the class told me she knew just the place for us. Turned out it was the same one we had wanted but when I told her we couldn’t afford it, she got to work and got the owners to reduce the price.
Once when we were doing the summer camps in the early years, and not sure how we were going to afford the next whatever it was next we needed to purchase, my mom’s friend in Georgia, at the same time was thinking that she wanted to help and sent a large donation. I was sitting at my computer and feeling very down and the email popped up that we had received a donation.
We have been amazed at the community support that has come in all forms – labor, time, and many, many donations. When people see the children smiling and getting more independent, learning new skills, they ask us how they can help. It’s been so heartwarming to witness how people can give so generously.
Our legislators get it. They understand that the children we serve need a little extra help and have supported through government funding, led by Representative Heather Bauer & Representative Beth Bernstein; the City of Forest Acres has embraced us these past few years. Mayor Thomas Andrews and Councilmen Haskell Kibler, Stephen Oliver, David Black and Ryan Newton.
Pricing:
- Miracles in Motion 5K Walk, Run & Roll; Saturday, May 3; $35 registration; https://www.strictlyrunning.com/gpuilGroupTip.asp
- Therapalooza – circus-themed gala; Sept 19; sponsorships, tickets available soon
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thetherapyplace.org
- Instagram: therapyplaceinc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetherapyplace
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2054331/
- Youtube: @TheTherapyPlace
