Students doing a learning activity at New Horizon Therapy. Photo courtesy New Horizon Therapy
By Lisa Irish/ AZEdNews
If you’re looking for speech therapy tailored to the needs of your child or an adult in your family, then you’ll want to check out New Horizon Therapy in Ahwatukee, which has been helping Arizonans since 2017, and was recently named a Small Business Spotlight Winner by the Arizona Coyotes, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, and sharecare.
New Horizon Therapy was among five small businesses in the state that received a $2,000 wellness grant to help them improve the well being of their employees from Arizona Coyotes, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and sharecare.
Small Business Spotlight video courtesy Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona: New Horizon Therapy
“The recognition is beyond thrilling,” said New Horizon Therapy Founder Armida Carr, M.S., CCC-SLP. “To have the Arizona Coyotes award our small business this grant as well as shine a spotlight on the hard work and persistence that got us here is truly amazing.”
“I”m planning to use the grant by providing healthy snacks for our staff since we are running around with the children all day, but by the end of the day we’re pretty much out of energy, and we’re all looking around in the kitchen to see what we can find to bring our energy back up,” Carr said.
“I do want to thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, the Arizona Coyotes, and sharecare for the opportunity and being selected as I know it will help my business and my employees as well,” Carr said.
New Horizon Therapy’s Carr said she returned to school a little later in life to pursue her love for teaching, and that “having a daughter with hearing impairment fueled the fire within me to help her and to apply my knowledge and skills to helping others.”
“New Horizon Therapy has been a dream of mine for some time. I believe that self-expression is empowering – that everyone has a voice and something valuable to say. Helping people of all ages work through speech or language challenges is my passion,” said Carr.
New Horizon Therapy provides speech therapy for children and adults plus a state-of-the-art occupational therapy sensory gym, designed with your child’s development in mind.
“Communication is an innate desire that all children have. At New Horizon Therapy, we develop and foster your child’s communication needs by tailoring treatment specific to their current abilities, while continuing to build life skills,” Carr said.
New Horizon Therapy’s services for children include tailored treatment specific to their current abilities that continues to build their skills in speech sound production, voice development, resonance development, language development and cognition and fluency development so that they become confident, independent communicators.
New Horizon Therapy’s state-of-the-art occupational therapy sensory gym was designed with a child’s development in mind. Photo courtesy New Horizon Therapy
“Our daughter was experiencing anxiety, and it was disturbing her sleep as well as her ability to concentrate and learn at school,” said Pamela W. “Armida’s team worked with her in the occupational therapy sensory gym, and it has really helped her to channel some of that into physical exercises that calm. We’re so happy to see her improving and loving kindergarten!”
Another parent said, “We’re so grateful to Armida and her team for the difference they made in our toddler’s life. Turns out, when tongue-tie is accurately diagnosed, treatment and subsequent therapy deliver successful outcomes. We love that our son is a little chatterbox now! Thank you New Horizon Therapy!”
New Horizon Therapy also provides family members and caregivers with resources to help them support their family members progress at home.
“Our certified speech therapists also offer a wide range of services for adults. If your loved one is having communication or memory challenges or perhaps experiencing any of the below conditions, and is working to regain functional communication, we can help,” Carr said.
New Horizon Therapy provides services for adults dealing with speech issues due to Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aphasia, apraxia, dementia, dysarthria, adult dysphagia, laryngeal cancer, mild cognitive impairment, multiple sclerosis, oral cancer, orofacial myofunctional disorders, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, social skills, traumatic brain injury, and voice disorders.
“After my mom suffered a stroke last year regaining her speech was one of the most difficult challenges of all,” said Anna C. “After working just a couple of months with Armida, mom was putting full sentences together again. I’m so thankful she was able to find and use her voice again!”
A New Horizon Therapy staff member works with a student. Photo courtesy New Horizon Therapy
New Horizon Therapy also offers telehealth visits – especially now with the pandemic – for those who can’t visit in person.
New Horizon Therapy opened in 2017 and quickly outgrew their facility.
“Just before the pandemic we opened our new location with three times the space and then quickly learned that sometimes the best laid plans can have a kink or two.” Carr said.
“We had just built out our state-of-the-art occupational sensory gym and pivoted to telehealth visits instead. We kept on – stayed persistent in our mission to help children and adults achieve their optimal potential,” Carr said.
“Our dedicated team of highly qualified therapists provide evidence-based practices that empower individuals of all ages; strengthening family support and building confidence as they achieve! We held on to our vision of making the world a more expressive, articulate and fun place to shine, one patient at a time,” Carr said.
In addition to its regular services, New Horizon Therapy offers summer speech classes, social language development camps and at home robotics opportunities.
“These are fun camps that give our families something to do over the summer months,” Carr said, noting that speech and occupational therapy outcomes are best when there is continuity of care. “The purpose of classes, camps and fun meetups is to provide our clients with ongoing treatment, especially for children when school is out.”
Carr said she is grateful to work with a team of providers and administrative staff that are like family at New Horizon Therapy.
“The extra mile is what our practice is all about,” Carr said.
“From the moment a family enters the practice, they are welcomed with a warm greeting,” Carr said. “Each child, and adult loved one works with one of our thirteen staff members (14 if you include our practice mascot and therapy dog Churro to create an individualized and tailored therapy session.”
From appointment reminders and follow ups to ‘family homework,’ New Horizon Therapy endeavors to create a calm environment that is conducive to comprehensive treatment and progress, Carr said.
New Horizon Therapy staff members share what’s rewarding about working with children and adults. Photo courtesy New Horizon Therapy
“We know that patients have a choice when selecting a speech and/or occupational therapist and are so grateful when they choose us,” Carr said.
Carr said she believes in “following your heart, chasing your dreams and doing the work to make it happen.”
“I’m from a family of immigrants. My parents and siblings came to the U.S. and worked very hard to create opportunities for our family, especially my eldest brother Cruz. He has been my number one cheerleader as I’ve pursued all my dreams,” Carr said.
“From the day I learned how to play marbles, to riding a bike and to pursuing my education, he has always been the one that has had the right words when I was in doubt. He will also send me a Spanish song to help me connect to my upbringing to remind me that I’m stronger than I think when I second guess myself,” Carr said.
“My birth family and my own family is important to me, I suppose that’s another reason why our New Horizon Therapy team, clients and vendors are important to me – we are like family,” Carr said.
New Horizon Therapy staff receives the grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, the Arizona Coyotes and sharecare. Photo courtesy New Horizon Therapy
