Developmental Therapy Associates (DTA)

For a child with a developmental disability, visits to the doctor’s office can often be a stressful and scary experience for themselves and their families. Linda Gozza and Cathy Gooch, two occupational therapists in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., recognized this, and dreamed about striking out on their own and opening a clinic for kids that featured a warm, nurturing, non-threatening environment. Ten years later, Developmental Therapy Associates (DTA) continues to help kids by providing physical and speech therapy for children from all over Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Today, the company provides up to 55 treatments a week for dozens of children with such diagnoses as autism, speech delay, ADD, and cerebral palsy. Its Royal Palm Beach facility, themed after the children’s book The Secret Garden, presents kids with a comfortable atmosphere, accented by murals of green pastures, trees, fairies and butterflies. “No child should even realize that he or she is in a clinic,” says Gozza, and gives credit to the office environment for many of her therapy success stories.

While they’ve helped hundreds of kids over their 10-year history, Gozza and Gooch are not finished dreaming yet. Soon they will be opening a second clinic in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., where they hope to provide a warm, nurturing environment for even more children to develop and grow.

Web site: www.therapyforkids.com