Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Chan-Felcman.
Vanessa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Sixteen years ago, I landed my “dream job” as a speech language pathologist at Texas Children’s Hospital.
There, I had the opportunity to work at The Rise School of Houston and The Bridges Program, working with some of the most amazing and dynamic professionals, always on a multidisciplinary team. It was at The Bridges Program that I was first introduced to the Developmental, Individual-differences, & Relationship-based(DIR®) /Floortime™ model and met one of the co-founders, Dr. Serena Wieder.
As a new graduate and young clinician, I knew that I was lucky to have found a therapeutic model that respects all children and their families and teaches that engagement and relationships are the key to learning.
After the closing of our unique program, many of us at Bridges found work in different areas and locations but continued to stay connected through our love for the model that we believed strongly in.
At our current clinic, we provide speech and language services in a state of the art facility with our sister occupational therapy clinic, Kids Connect Occupational Therapy.
The owner of Kids Connect, Michelle Reed, was a colleague of mine from The Bridges Program and one of the many professionals that taught me the importance of understanding the body and how it affects speech and language.
Together, we are able to provide services that treat the whole child and their family. I am currently working to become a Trainer of the Foundational Capacities for Development(FCD) and Developmental, Individual-differences, & Relationship-based (DIR®) model through the Profectum Foundation in hopes to mentor others and provide training programs in the Houston area.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The past few years since opening the clinic in 2014 have been exciting, but challenging at times. I constantly struggle with the desire to learn and broaden my clinical experience but know that I need to set aside time to focus on the aspects of what it means and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. In order for our clinic to grow and prosper, I have to add a “business” hat onto my “therapist” hat and make sure that I am allocating time and energy for new tasks such as hiring, developing new policies and procedures, and working with insurance companies. I have taken short courses, collaborated with other business owners, listened to webcasts and read books in order to learn the business aspect. Luckily, I have worked with some great professionals that are willing to “learn” with me along the way. We make some mistakes but use them to learn and grow.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Family First Speech Therapy story. Tell us more about the business.
Our team is dedicated to building strong relationships and interaction between children and their families, caregivers and peers. We use the DIR®/Floortime™ model as our core model in order to develop children’s ability to become more than just “talkers”, but “talkers” who are able to relate and communicate effectively with others. We specialize in articulation, receptive and expressive language, social thinking and pragmatics, auditory processing and are experts in working with children with Autism. In addition to extensive training in DIR®/Floortime™, our clinicians weave together many therapeutic techniques including Hanen, ABLC, PECS, and PROMPT, Talk Tools and Kaufman Praxis Therapy to provide individualized sessions, assessments, dyads, feeding therapy, groups and school consultations.
Through our strategic partnership with Kids Connect Occupational Therapy, we can provide a multidimensional treatment plan focusing on needs specifically tailored to each child and their family.
Working collaboratively allows for comprehensive treatment, providing a holistic approach to maximizing each child’s potential.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
“Things happen for a reason…” I try to remind myself when something is not going as planned. Sometimes, changes and flexibility allow for so much more! We initially found and were committed to another smaller location in Downtown Houston. However, my lawyer at the time took a long time to review, comment and edit the proposed contract.
As I anxiously waited for news and progression that never came, I found out that my current location became available! The larger space and central location has given us opportunities for growth that I had not envisioned, including the space for a large gym, additional treatment rooms and large equipment such as rock walls, zip lines and all kinds of fun and motivating swings!
Contact Info:
- Address: 805 Rhode Place Suite 350,
Houston, TX 77019 - Website: www.familyfirstspeech.com
- Phone: 713-522-8880 ext. 1
- Email: vanessa@familyfirstspeech.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyfirstspeech/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/family-first-speech-therapy-llc-houston?osq=speech+therapy
Image Credit:
Jerry Brown
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