What really distinguished our experience at Small Steps Big Leaps from other gyms and therapists with whom we’d worked, aside from the beautiful physical space, was that everyone seemed so willing to invest time, energy, and expertise into figuring out what would be best for my child, even outside their own discipline. The amount of time everyone put in to talking about his needs, consulting about school settings, etc., was really amazing to me, so very appreciated, and totally different from everyone else we’d worked with. In addition, I was so grateful for how his therapists, Rosanna and Marta, spoke to him — they spoke to him with a respect and honor that is strangely hard to find, and seemed to genuinely delight in his silliness, quirkiness, and just who he *is.* As a mother, this makes a huge difference. He is willing to play with any grown up who wants to play with him, but *i* prefer he plays with grown ups who accept and appreciate him. E.M.
I HIGHLY recommend Marta and Rosanna for OT and PT. They are so caring, reliable and successful at getting results. My daughter saw both of them for two years and we are so proud and pleased with the progress that she made. They not only get results but they care. SSBL is not like other centers where you are in and out. Marta and Rosanna take the time to communicate with parents so it can be a team effort. They promptly respond to calls, emails and even texts and are always willing to take time out of their busy schedules to come to meetings at schools, etc. to meet with teachers and the whole team. I cannot say enough good things about Marta and Rosanna. Alli W.
My youngest daughter received OT services from Marta at Small Steps, Big Leaps for a combination of sensory issues as well as fine motor skill improvement. From the day she started receiving services, I noticed tremendous improvements. As both the mom of three children, all of whom have required services; and a Registered Nurse, I was amazed at how quickly my daughter started showing improvement. She had been so sensitive to water, she had not sat in a bathtub for most of her life. Within a couple of weeks of seeing Marta, she was putting her head under the water in the swimming pool. She had worn socks 24 hours a day, even to sleep and within a few sessions, she was agreeing to go to bed without socks. From the minute we walked into the office, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. Marta and Rosanna both have a wonderful rapport with the children and the parents. They truly love what they do, and are skilled in their professions. My daughter was always thrilled to be coming to the office, and still loves to come and visit. I have no hesitation in recommending the services at SSBL. Katharine James
Rosanna has been working with our son, Benjamin for the past 3 years. During this time, she has given us tremendous support and has been an advocate to continue his PT services. She was an active voice at our Board of Ed. mediation and each IEP meeting. As physical therapists ourselves, we appreciate all the detailed thought she puts into each session with Ben to maximize his treatment. She keeps her skills current by attending continuing education courses and has the ability to apply what she has learned immediately. Rosanna consistently challenges him, in the most creative, caring and professional manner. She always ensures the best possible outcome from her treatments. We can wholeheartedly recommend her as a fantastic Physical Therapist. Cori Ehrenberg, PT (and Mom) and Stuart Ehrenberg, MSPT (and Dad)
Rosanna worked with our daughter for almost two full years (ages 3-5). Our initial evaluation and concerns showed that our daughter had emotional regulatory issues connected to poor proprioception, difficulty with motor planning, low muscle tone, and extreme tightness at her joints. She also showed both some sensory sensitivity and sensory seeking behaviors. In short, a bright and sensitive kid prone to extreme tantrums and rigid behaviors. Rosanna was a great fit with our daughter. She is a grounded and loving therapist. She had an ability to get inside our daughter’s experience and then challenge her to test herself in a totally fun way. Frankly, the rest of the family was jealous of the awesome obstacle courses that they built together! I had so much appreciation for how Rosanna thought about my daughter between sessions and was both able to both utilize her expertise as well as always trying to grow in her professional knowledge by trying new interventions with her. We feel really lucky to have had her input so early and so successfully in our daughter’s development and can wholeheartedly recommend her! Lisa, mom to T
I would recommend Small Steps, Big Leaps to any parent or caregiver looking for a sensory gym for their child. Marta and Rosanna were so warm and friendly, and the facilities were clean and wonderfully equipped. But most of all, my son just loved it. He eagerly looked forward to every therapy session. Marta was gentle and encouraging and made it like play for him. I noticed a big difference in how calm he became after each session, and how his ability to focus improved. Small Steps, Big Leaps was one of the most enjoyable and beneficial therapies we have provided for our child. Sara W.
My baby was four months old when she was diagnosed with Torticollis. This caused her to be delayed in many ways. I was very thankful that Rosanna was able to give me some of her time. My daughter cooperated nicely and after just a short while I saw great results. I recommend Rosanna as a PT very highly. She is very child friendly, pleasant, and dedicated. She really knows what she is doing. She has that magic touch! S.K.
Rosanna Lee was my son’s PT for years. Not only was she an amazing therapist, who helped my son’s physical abilities improve, but also helped him become confident in himself. He loved going to PT every week. In short, she’s a lifechanger. Gina
Our apraxic daughter overcame several hurdles in her speech development thanks to Natalie’s expertise and creative approach. When our child became frustrated, Natalie found ways to regain her interest. When our child was distracted, Natalie never lost her patience. Natalie treats the whole child which is critical to success. Mom to O.
I recommend Natalie’s services as a speech therapist wholeheartedly. When Natalie started working with my son he was almost two years old and not yet using two-word phrases. (Our family previously worked with a therapist that helped expand my son’s vocabulary, but we didn’t have any progress on two word phrases over the course of several months before we started working with Natalie.) Natalie clicked with my son and understood his needs very quickly – within 1 or 2 sessions. She was able to motivate my son with a different activities and varying the pace of the sessions as needed. My husband and I saw progress right away with my son’s vocabulary and word combinations. Later, Natalie also worked on longer sentences, tenses and pronunciation with us. In the year or so that Natalie worked with my family, my son made so much progress that he didn’t need speech therapy anymore. (I also appreciate that Natalie’s integrity in assuring us that we did not need additional services even though we would have been happy to continue working with her.) Now, four months after our last session with Natalie, my son is talking up a storm and I am no longer worried about his speech (well, maybe just a little, because I am a worrier by nature). In a nutshell, we were extremely pleased with the work Natalie did with our son and think you would be, too. Brooklyn mom of 3 year-old
My three-year-old son came to Small Steps, Big Leaps hating therapy. Within a moment of meeting Marta, she worked her magic and he ran into the gym with her and he never looked back. Their sessions were always fun but challenging and he blossomed under Marta’s care. In the three years they worked together, my son’s writing improved, his sensory issues became so much more manageable, he learned invaluable socialization skills, but best of all he started to feel good about himself and how much he could achieve. We will always be grateful to Marta for all she did for our family; she is a strong advocate and genius report writer, she is a brilliant diagnostician and a kind and wonderful ally to any little kid who is figuring out how to control their body. Thank you, Marta!!!! C.L.
SSBL was instrumental in helping us get our son on track and ready for kindergarten. When the school was stymied, when the SEIT wasn’t getting through, Marta was the one professional who maintained a positive and positively progressing relationship with my son. I cannot speak highly enough about her and our time there. Thank you again!!! Ally Gilman
Our son was having a terrible time adjusting to school but he immediately warmed up to Marta. Our visits to SSBL became the bright spots in our week because he felt successful and enjoyed the activities. We can’t believe all of the incredible progress he has made. A.A.
We had such a great experience with Marta! She really helped both my daughter and myself cope with the tactile/sensory issues that dominated our lives. We will miss Marta! Angelique G.
From the staff being patient while our RSA letter was late, to the accommodating our crazy schedule – this is all icing on the cake. AJ thrived in his sessions at Small Steps. I believe he will take his experience here and use it to improve his time at school. Thank you! A.C.
Not only has our daughter made great progress with her OT work with Marta, but she looks forward to coming to the gym. Marta has been generous with giving feedback on our concerns, and also helping with navigating CPSE.
The Occupational Therapy that our son received at Small Steps Big Leaps was exceptional in every way. Marta was thorough, caring, organized, insightful, and deeply invested in our son’s well-being. We consider ourselves very lucky that she was our son’s therapist. Thank you Marta!! Nancy R.
Natalie has a way with children that creates a bond that furthers/fosters big strides in speech. My son adores her, he is always excited and willing to go to his sessions. Jack has made more progress over the summer than he did in speech therapy in public school for pre-K. We are so grateful we found Natalie thru another 3’s program, and we were thrilled to be able to re-unite them for the summer. Mom to Jack (age 5)
We were very lucky to have Natalie work with my daughter for a year, starting when she was 16 months old. At that point, she had a very limited vocabulary, was not responding consistently to her name or using names for all of our immediate family members. We were unsure whether her expressive speech was delayed or whether she was having difficulty understanding language as well. Natalie quickly gained her trust and kept our sessions both fun and highly productive. My daughter was always excited when she knew Natalie would be coming over. Natalie is extremely patient and very energetic and playful. My daughter made steady progress and then her speech really began to take off as both willingness/ability to imitate more sounds and create several word phrases increased. Natalie ensured along the way that we, as parents, had tools to help reinforce and encourage my daughter’s speech development. We are so pleased with the progress my daughter has made and how her language has taken off. I wholeheartedly recommend Natalie for speech therapy services. Danielle (mom to S)
My son Jake was lucky enough to work with Natalie for three years. Natalie is fantastic. She did not waste anytime getting right to work! From day one, Natalie’s sessions were intense and she was able to get him to focus and make sounds. Jake was always excited to see her and she made his sessions fun by incorporating things that Jake enjoys into the session. Natalie was always on time and very professional. She is extremely good at what she does and it is obvious that she loves her job. Amy P. (mom to Jake)
Not only is Marta a great OT, she was always available to answer questions and discuss situations and solutions outside of the OT session. Jessica D.
My son’s therapist was a pleasure to work with. She really listened to our concerns and did great work with him. Thank you!
Rosanna is beyond conscientious and has an intuitive way with my daughter. With her guidance my child developed new skills and confidence. She always has thoughtful ideas for how I can reinforce the work at home. – Liz Edmund
Our experience here has been life changing. We’ve seen our son gain confidence and he is so proud of the progress he makes. Marta and Rosanna have been so supportive and easy to talk to. We highly recommend them.
We have been thrilled with the progress our 2 year old has made in only 6 months under the support and guidance of Rosanna at Small Steps, Big Leaps! Rosanna patiently worked to create a personalized program for our daughter, to build both her physical strength, balance, muscle tone and most importantly, her confidence. Our daughter loved going to physical therapy because Rosanna was so kind but also made it challenging and Fun. The gym is outfitted with so much amazing equipment and games, that every session held a new surprise! So excited for our daughter to start school in the fall now that we are confident she can keep up with her peers. Thank you Rosanna! – Katie Small, Park Slope, Brooklyn
I wholeheartedly recommend Rosanna for PT services. Though the interventions our daughter needed were subtle, the changes we saw after meeting with Rosanna were dramatic! In addition to her engaging and lovely manner while working with our daughter, Rosanna was able to make us parents feel comfortable, involved, and effective. She is sensitive to the needs of everyone in the family and the importance of this cannot be overstated. We remain thankful to her. -The Von Hollweg Family, (Mom and Dad to a 17 month old)
My daughter, Maya, was treated by Rosanna for torticollis. Rosanna was kind, patient and knowledgable. She made Maya feel comfortable and helped her achieve our goals in a short period of time. As a pediatric occupational therapist it was important for me to find a PT who not only understands how to treat the diagnosis but how to work with a baby and get the most of out of the half hour sessions. I learned a lot, especially how to help Maya at home and while I was happy we made tremendous progress, I was sad to say bye since we had so much fun. From an administrative perspective, Rosanna was organized, professional, and very clear about fees, payment methods and made it all very easy. Thank you, Rosanna, for teaching us so much and for being such a wonderful therapist! — Mom to Maya, 5.5 months old
Rosanna worked with our son for two years. From the beginning, Rosanna worked hard to accommodate our schedule and discuss our concerns at length. She genuinely wanted to get to know our son before she began. Before we started at SSBL, our son dreaded physically challenging activities and avoided them when he could. His confidence was low and he rarely took risks. But Rosanna changed all that. She made exercise fun for him by using activities that appealed to our son’s interests He went from avoiding exercise to looking forward to seeing her every week. Our son grew to LOVE Physical Therapy and exercise, which motivated him to try new sports such as gymnastics and karate and pushed him to improve his gross motor skills. Rosanna takes the time after every session to give you a detailed report and shows you how to complete activities at home. Rosanna was also an amazing advocate when working with the DOE and attended our IEP meeting, helping to secure our son the services he needed. We are proud to say that with Rosanna’s help and support, our son has made tremendous strides over the last two years. Our family is very appreciative of everything she has done for us. While our son is proud that he has graduated, he misses his sessions at SSBL. We wholeheartedly recommend Rosanna and SSBL for services for your child. – Sharon Daiello
We are so grateful that our three-year-old son was able to come to SSBL for physical therapy. Rosanna is incredibly patient, caring, and smart. With her attention to detail and creativity, she was able to address my son’s needs through effective and engaging activities that made him excited about coming to the gym. We are very pleased with the progress my son made during his time at SSBL, as well as the confidence he gained in his own abilities. The sensory gym itself is bright, inviting, spacious, and very well-kept. The equipment has been thoughtfully selected, and I believe the calm and orderly environment helps set kids up for success by keeping distractions to a minimum.