Today we’d like to introduce you to Neda Rezapoor.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Neda. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I had a ‘Best Buddy’ (volunteering program) in high school, a kid with Downs Syndrome. I remember spending most of my lunch time with him, especially during my senior year. The school system had failed him, they said “his cognition isn’t going to improve, so why waste services on him?” However, we had this wonderful speech-language Pathologist (SLP) who would take from her lunch time to come help with socialization. Although the school didn’t approve his services, this speech therapist still spent her lunch trying to make a bit of difference. I was truly inspired. I learned during that time that these kids do not have “special needs” but they only want to be treated just like anyone else with just some extra help to acquire those skills. I fell in love with this career through the people I met during my journey. During grad school, I spent my summer volunteering in a small remote village in Ecuador serving kids with disabilities, helping them with overall communication skills such as making communication boards, or giving them tools/strategies to socialize better. I fell in love with those kids and families. Once I graduated, I made it my goal to open a clinic with clinicians who share the same love I have for this field and made sure we don’t say “no” to any child with needs. Today, I spend 10-12 hours a day, reviewing cases, treating patients, assisting clinician with different communication cases and continue to work with different contracts to ensure services are provided for our kiddos. We provide services mostly to low income families in East Los Angeles and West Los Angeles by taking our services into their homes. I am truly blessed doing what I love and hoping I will make a small difference in a child so they can have a better future. This is why I named our clinic “Thrive and Shine”, we hope all kids thrive with tools we have given them and hope they will shine through with what they have acquired while receiving our services!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been an easy journey. I have faced many challenges from trying to make my vision come true. I had to learn to face business challenges, from employees to ensuring we always have therapists so services aren’t missed. I likely have my husband who holds a MBA so it definitely made the business side easier as time passed and I had to accept that with any clinic you have to learn the ropes of having a business. I definitely had lots of struggles with learning to balance my personal and work life. I still continue to struggle with that because this clinic has become very personal. This is definitely a journey that has lots of ups and downs but I take it day by day and do the best I can with a wonderful team we have put together.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Thrive and Shine Speech Therapy, Inc. – what should we know?
Thrive and Shine Speech Therapy, Inc. is based in Los Angeles, California, providing in-home and clinic-based speech and language therapy to clients and their families. We serve pediatric through geriatric population by helping our clients improve their communication skills in areas of speech/articulation, phonology, tongue thrust, pragmatics (social), expressive language, receptive language, apraxia, dysarthria, voice, fluency, reading/writing comprehension, auditory processing, cognitive deficits, dysphagia, dysaprthria, aphasia among other developmental/acquired speech and language deficits. Our services are dedicated to improve the lives of our clients and their families by building a bridge for communication by using an integrative approach utilizing a wide variety of therapeutic techniques tailored specifically towards each individual’s needs. We strongly believe parents/caregivers are vital “team members” during the therapy process because parents/caregivers are primary language facilitators. We are proud to serve a large low economic status population in their homes and ensure they are given the tools they need for a better and brighter future. We enter homes that most people would never consider, but my team and I have no limitations to serve those in need.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for a very important person in my life, my husband, Shahrouz Shirdel. When I graduated, so many people told me I am crazy to even think about opening a private practice and I should wait. Although I had just graduated, I had already worked in speech pathology clinics from high school, giving me more than 9 years of experience in the field, I definitely knew what I wanted out of my life by then. However, I was scared. My husband didn’t doubt me for a second. He helped me find my first office within weeks of mentioning my idea to him and handed me the key and told me “do what you do best and I will be right behind you every step of the way”. He has not missed a second of telling me I can do it during those days that I thought I don’t have any more to give. He has been my cheerleader, life partner, business partner and advocate. He has truly been my back bone. He made the business side happen as I was clueless when it came to business Dos and Don’ts. I was good at the clinical portion but he helped me also carry out the business. He gives me support and love every day and without him I wouldn’t be where I am today. I should also mention our clinic wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t for my wonderful team of staff and clinicians. They give so much love to our families and work hard to make this clinic be what it is today.
Contact Info:
- Address: 292 S. La Cienega Blvd #250 and #207, Beverly Hills CA 90211
3251 W 6th St. Suite 342B, Los Angeles, CA 90020 - Website: https://www.thriveandshinetherapy.com/
- Phone: (310) 954-9614
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: Thrive and Shine Speech Therapy, Inc.
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thrive-and-shine-speech-therapy-inc-beverly-hills
