Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Fox.
Hi Vanessa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I was in high school, I found out what Occupational Therapy was through a conversation with my psychologist, who ultimately changed the course of my life. When I was a sophomore in high school, I began getting sick a lot, which was strange because I had been healthy up until that point. I had numerous doctors’ visits that year, and no one could find out why I was getting sick or the cause of my strange symptoms.
Finally, on a trip to the emergency room, they found a tumor on a parathyroid gland. They removed the tumor and my parathyroid gland, and I started to feel better. Without going into more detail, the entire experience was traumatizing and ended up paving the path for my life as well as my mindset. I was determined to do anything I set my mind to. I felt as if I was given a second chance, but I was also battling anxiety and depression since I was young. I had a very loving, supportive family, who helped shape who I am today, and I am very grateful for that. But I realize not all families have the knowledge to seek help, nor do they know or understand what they’re dealing with. My compassion and my why come from this place and my career is truly my calling. Fast forward nearly a decade, I graduated from the University of Florida with my Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. I had an amazing internship at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and created a great bond with the OTs, PTs, and staff there, so it naturally developed into my first job as an Occupational Therapist. I worked with JHACH for four years but craved a deeper connection with the community and the ability to help parents and families problem solve unique situations. I was able to develop a really solid foundation of therapy skills and a unique skill set as a therapist, being trained in many of the specialty programs like the Therasuit program, Aquatic Therapy, Feeding Therapy, and Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy.
The skillset in each one of these programs allowed me to analyze a child’s movements and understand how a child moves greatly impacts the quality of their life. I really took the time to listen to the parents and found a gap in between being able to help their child in a therapy session and being able to help them in the real world, outside of therapy. I decided to take a leap of faith and quit a job that I loved to start my own practice in order to bridge this gap and create these much-needed connections.
In 2015, my private practice, Movement with Meaning, was born. I worked with a business coach who helped me navigate the unfamiliar territory of owning a business. I started taking action to build a reputation for quality, personalized care within the community. I knew if I wanted to create a sense of comfort, safety, confidence, and trust for my clients, that I needed to feel that within myself as well, no matter what obstacle I was presented with, so in the formative years of my business, I also did a lot of different personal development work – I worked with a Women’s Empowerment Group in Miami, (known as Mina Meetings), I attended Landmark seminars, and I did a lot on my own time as well. I feel like developing this sense of community and leadership has allowed me to set myself apart in business but also given me the tools to persevere and problem-solve through business obstacles. Family dynamics, navigating life stages for a child with special needs, and parenting all have obstacles that my clients trust me in helping them with. I also tend to work with children who struggle with anxiety, as well, and because of my own experiences in life and my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, I have become a safe person to work with very quickly for the children and families I work with. Because I’ve developed this relationship and reputation with my clients and the community, it’s allowed my business to thrive.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The first two years of business were the most difficult. I was exhausted juggling the different roles of being an entrepreneur, but I would not give up. Hurricane Irma, in 2017, was the turning point for me, when I truly believed I was going to thrive as an entrepreneur no matter what. The damage that Hurricane Irma caused destroyed a lot of roads, so I could not travel to see my clients and people were canceling a lot around that time. In the first two years of working for myself, I traveled to my clients in their homes, so Hurricane Irma made business more difficult. I remember calling my mom and crying, telling her I was going to give up the business. She meant well, and she told me I had tried my best and that it was okay to go work for someone else. Something in me needed to hear that because it woke me up to solve problems more creatively. I changed my business model slightly and decided to move most of my clients to two main locations – a sensory-motor based Kids Gym called We Rock the Spectrum (in Clearwater and Brandon). I also started seeing clients via telehealth. These adjustments and my mindset have allowed me to continue to thrive this year during the pandemic when a lot of physical locations were closing. Now I feel very fortunate that I had the obstacle of Hurricane Irma in the past because my adaptability prepared me for the present. A lot of families I work with are struggling in some form right now because of Covid-19 related stressors, and to be able to provide them with relief, hope, knowledge, and guidance is an honor.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, and I help children ages 2-18 work on life skills and improve the quality of their life. I am known to work closely with a variety of health care providers and members of the Tampa Bay community that also provide some form of care to my clients within their own business. Parents often seek me out knowing I will make an impactful change in their child’s life and/or because they want me to be part of their team of providers, using a collaborative approach. I specialize in interventions like sensory integration and reflex integration for children who are hypo- or hypersensitive to sensory input. Still, I also help children with many other skill areas (like handwriting, dressing and social skills) because my Occupational Therapy services are tailored to the individual child and their family unit. I am located in Tampa, however, I practice in many different places. My two main office locations are located at We Rock The Spectrum Kids Gym in Largo and Brandon. However, there are exceptions, and I do occasionally provide in-home services and telehealth services, depending on the child’s needs. I work with children who have Autism, Anxiety, Developmental Delays, learning disabilities such as ADHD and Dyslexia, Sensory Processing Disorder, Selective Mutism, and Down Syndrome.
Some children I work with do not have a diagnosis, but are struggling in some form, and their parents seek out my expertise. I am known for solving unique problems, as my profession often requires “out-of-the-box” thinking. My clients know I am available to problem-solve with them outside of their therapy hours and will text me for in-the-moment problem-solving and/or support, which I think sets me apart in my business. Because of this, I am known to help positively shift family dynamics and establish a meaningful, life-changing connection with the children I work with. My favorite thing is when I receive a text or a video from a joyful parent sharing what their child has been working on or what they have accomplished! I am very proud of my reputation and the relationships I have within the community and with my clients, but honestly, I am most proud of the families I work with and their children. They tackle some big obstacles, they teach me what perseverance looks like, and they give me a lot of joy. A lot of my clients feel like my family. Over the years, I have had many families travel over 2 hours to see me because they know they will not receive the same care elsewhere. My personalized and practical approach is why clients stay with me, continue to recommend me, and why other professionals recommend me.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I think it’s really important as a business owner to have a clear goal of what success looks like in your own terms. It may be a number, it may be a feeling, it may be how many people you influence, teach, or have as customers, and it may be a combination of all of the above. My definition of success is when I feel a sense of fulfillment, pride, enjoyment, passion, and desire to improve on and teach what I know. When I answered my business coach, I told her, ‘when I have the ability to teach and influence others to join the profession or open their own therapy practice. I will feel successful’. I started taking on students, observers and volunteers three years ago in my practice, and I can proudly say I have influenced at least 15 young adults to begin their path to a career in Occupational Therapy, just by observing me or volunteering with me. Some of those students express they would like to start their own practice, and others want to have a sense of fulfillment and joy from their career. If I can help guide or change the course of another person’s life, especially a child’s life, I feel successful.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@movementwithmeaningtampa.com
- Website: http://movementwithmeaningtampa.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MovementwithMeaning
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVfgGARRQ-q8FqWr3TeUE2Q?view_as=subscriber
Image Credits
Anthony Elix
