One year ago, in a team meeting, I was tasked with selecting a word to be my mantra for the year. With Move U at that point being a mere 6-months old, the word that I selected was “persistence”. According to the Britannica Dictionary, the definition of persistence is “the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people.” Synonyms of persistence include determination, resolution, and stamina.  As it turns out, persistence may actually be the story of my life – something that is engrained within my being but also in Move U – a pediatric occupational therapy company. The value of persistence is story telling, so let’s break it down:

  • As an entry level therapist eager to take advantage of various educational experiences, I was told by a manager, “Why try to learn everything now when you have your entire career to learn?”.  
    • My response: “Why would I want to wait my entire career to learn as much as I can? I would then have so many missed opportunities to serve my clients the best way possible. With that, I kept asking. I kept submitting my education requests. I invested my own money in my professional development. Eventually, I left. I found a better fit. I impacted the lives of many at a faster pace and deeming better results. I persisted.
  • As a new name, new company, and sporting the “cash-based” practice framework, determination, resolution, and stamina were certainly required. Move U is the first cash-based occupational therapy practice in the state of South Dakota. While scary, even for myself moving from an insurance-based model, Move U certainly faced an uphill battle. We educated, promoted awareness,  have slowly built the Move U community. We explored new and different ways to support the community through events, educational offerings, and collaboration with other small businesses while promoting awareness of sensory processing challenges. As a team, we persisted.
  • The families that enter the doors of Move U do so because they have experienced struggles within the home, community, or educational settings with their children. Often, the families have already attempted to seek out services elsewhere only to make minimal progress, be limited by insurance-based guidelines, have inconsistent treating providers, and lastly, the child doesn’t want to go because it may not be fun, or it has become redundant. These families have persisted not only in navigating the systems but in attempting to parent a child that may not respond to typical parenting styles. At Move U, the children, parents, and clinicians collaboratively are determined to enhance participation, put forth stamina to do the work that is hard but fun, and resolve to work together using best practice. We together, persist.

While we will most certainly continue to persist throughout 2024 and beyond, I’m grateful to have the ability to do hard things. The value of persistence is profound. The journey and life lessons that accompany taking the road less traveled are fulfilling, challenging, character building, and fun. If you’re interested in learning about our persistence at Move U or you’re on the path of persistence to get your child the best help possible through pediatric occupational therapy, request an appointment with us! 

Kristin Wittmayer, MS, OTR/L