Outpatient Therapy
Angela Gonzalez has been making a difference in people’s lives for more than 32 years — but it’s within the last 10 that she’s made all her dreams really come true.
Born in Colombia, Angela knew as far back as high school that she wanted to be a physical therapist.
“I felt really strongly, I felt it since I was in high school,” she said. “I probably had a chance to be a doctor, but searching in high school, I realized that I wanted to be part of a process with my patients. I don’t just want to be a part of the solution. I want to work with the patient in the process. I want to have an impact on their lives. I found PT was the best way, to me, to participate in those processes.”
So, she went for it.
“I studied PT in Columbia and worked there for five years,” she said. “Since I was a good student, I got the chance to work in different places and to teach, even though I was young.”
Making Big Moves
Angela ended up moving to the US when her husband’s business took him to Miami.
“I brought my career to the United States”, she said. “I was accepted by the board, took my test, passed it, and started working. Initially, I wanted to work in something different than I did in Columbia. I spent a couple of years working with adults to feed my knowledge. I worked in the ICU the NICU and a pediatrics hospital. I learned a lot working in different settings, but what I really learned is — I liked pediatrics.”
Angela became an independent contractor, which enabled her to work for herself and meet like-minded people.
“I met a couple of people that shared my philosophy, my dreams,” she said. “Those two therapists are my business partners. Ten years ago we started this venture and it’s been growing ever since.”
Creating Her Own Thing: Jumping Step by Step
That enterprise is Jumping Step by Step a therapy center that puts families at the center of their practice and the child as the goal to achieve a child’s full potential with their commitment to excellence, personalized approach, and innovative strategies - that include the whole family.
Jumping Step by Step began with Angela a physical therapist and her two co-founders Patricia Mccubbin, an occupational therapist, and Noredys Sire, a speech therapist.
Together they could offer a more holistic approach to pediatric therapy. Since they often work with autistic children who require more than one modality of therapy, they could collaborate as a team on each patient to be able to give each child just what they need.
Expanding to Include a Complimentary Therapy — Behavior Analysis
A year ago, that commitment deepened when they began offering Behavior Analysis to the mix, Angela explained that it was the next step to be able to provide their patients with even more comprehensive therapy.
“There was a need for BA before we bought into BA,” said Angela. “We saw it outside of the clinic, it was a stand-alone specialty.”
Angela explained that she had patients who were already seeing behavior analysis therapists, but the missing link was being able to communicate what therapists would need from each other to best benefit the patient.
“It was hard to approach the provider to come to us and work together to see what we can do with that child. We said let’s have that here so we can create that environment, that is ideal for the child. We decided, let’s introduce that new discipline and be leaders in providing that therapy in a very integrated way not just one thing on each plate.”
“Integrating BA with other therapies provides a more comprehensive approach toward addressing the diverse needs of children with autism, leading to more effective outcomes,” said Angela.
Pioneers in More Holistic Care
Today Angela and Jumping Step by Step are practically pioneers in this combined approach.
Health Network One has also recognized the positive impact BA has and will be expanding our network in Florida first to include behavior analysis in 2024.