We were a little hesitant to continue OT after two bad experiences with prior therapists, but that all changed when we met Debbie. She has been a source of strength and support for our family. She has worked tirelessly with my son for over two years to improve his fine motor skills and address sensory and attention issues. The results have been tremendous. Debbie has a great rapport with kids. She engages with them easily and makes therapy fun. She’s very good at what she does and we would strongly recommend PPTS to other families looking for OT help.
L.P., Parent, 4 year old boy
Debbie worked with our son for over a year and was an incredible support for our family. She was unfailingly kind and thoughtful and always made sure she not only answered our questions but also gave us insights and exercises to support our son in between sessions. Her work with him involved all aspects of his needs, from the physical to the behavioral. Each session was varied and well-thought out to strengthen the areas that were challenging for him. She worked with him in many areas including gross motor and fine motor skills, as well as motor planning, self regulation, and sensory integration. He was always excited to know it was a “Debbie day”, and would look out the window eagerly watching for her car. Debbie was able to meet him where he was at and at the same time gently stretch him further to build his skills and she also helped build our skills as parents. The work Debbie did with our family was invaluable and we are still seeing the benefits a year and a half later!“
Jenny F. – Parent, 35 month old boy
My children qualified for the PIE program in Arlington County because they were premature twins that spent some time in the NICU. After initially being assigned a novice therapist from another practice, I asked the Program Coordinator of Arlington County to assign us a seasoned therapist with high recommendations from many families. Teresa Haggerty was the gift of this assignment. Not only is she hands on with our children but she also provides great suggestions for parenting, as well as provides education about things such as the proprioceptive or vestibular senses. During therapy, she spawns creative thinking to a not-so-creative thinker about object orientation or about ordinary things around the house that will benefit my children. Teresa researches new ideas about the development of our children and she pays special attention to each one of them as individuals. Each day, she comes with great enthusiasm and a vibrant attitude and our children are very receptive to her and her presence – they adore her. Teresa has offered to provide occupational therapy in different settings, whether it is a park, restaurant or gymnastics class. She also respects how you want to raise your children and the values and interests therein. Additionally, she aligns her suggestions with the way you want to parent your children. Teresa has made me feel confident in being a parent and she will be a part of our family forever.
JBM – Parent, 17 month old twin boys
Debbie has been providing occupational therapy for seven months to our 2 year old son. He has scoliosis and a probable genetic disorder that is impacting his brain and overall motor development but the improvements we have seen under Debbie’s guidance have been nothing short of extraordinary. He has made significant strides in the last seven months that Debbie has been working with him. When she first started, our son was unable to crawl, hold utensils or pick-up small objects. He is now doing all of the above, cruising along furniture, feeding himself some foods with a spoon and then some. Her dedication and knowledge is unmatched, and it is clear that she personally cares about delivering results. Debbie has made our challenging situation easier to deal with given her professionalism and can-do attitude. We feel blessed and fortunate to have her in our son’s life.“
Kimberly Kreger – Parent, 24 month old boy
PPTS was recommended to us by the Alexandria PIE program to help, primarily, with our 10 month old daughter’s gross motor delay. Our OT, Debbie Allen, has been working with us on a weekly basis and our daughter has improved dramatically in her gross motor skills, as well as her language and interpersonal skills. She is happier and more confident as a result, and so are we. Debbie is very calm and patient and is an excellent listener. Since it is evident that she knows a lot about young children and their development, we have asked her for guidance on many other aspects of our child’s health and well being and have been very grateful for the help. She always explains the reasons behind her recommendations which helps us feel empowered as parents and makes it easier for us to notice opportunities to work with our daughter on her skills. She is also very friendly and clearly cares about children very much. She has a way of making work fun too. She and our daughter sing lots of songs and the exercises seem like games. Our daughter gets so excited when she sees Debbie and loves every minute they are together. We have had a wonderful experience with PPTS and highly recommend them to anyone.“
Erin Frank – Parent, 20 month old girl
We were referred to PPTS through the Arlington PIE Program. Our son had major delays in oral motor, fine motor and some gross motor areas. Debbie was a tremendous help because she not only helped our son to catch up with his peers in those areas but she also helped to teach him how to play basic interactive games and pay attention to details. We were specifically happy that Debbie helped our son learn to jump, drink from a straw, develop a good hand grasp (with crayons and scissors) as well as ease his sensory challenges. Debbie was always accommodating and comforting. She is amazing.“
Tamara G. – Parent, 35 month old boy
Our twin 12 month old daughters were behind mainly in their gross motor skills. They were not crawling, or even pulling to stand, and one of my daughter’s was choking on almost everything she ate because she wasn’t chewing her food properly. Debbie was assigned to help our girls through our state’s Early Intervention program. She has helped tremendously in the past few months. Now the girls are 15 months old, and are crawling, pulling to stand and are taking steps with the assistance of a walker. Debbie saw the need for orthotics for both girls due to severe pronation in their feet and once we got those, they were off and walking!!! Also, after only a few visits, our daughter who was choking on food was no longer choking and now she eats confidently with the rest of the family. I couldn’t be happier with Debbie. She is always professional, prompt, patient, kind and VERY observant. Both of my girls love interacting with her and she always has fun ideas to integrate therapy with play. I highly recommend Debbie as a therapist. Our girls have made huge strides in the few short months since we started working with her.”
Amanda G. – Parent, 15 month old twin girls
Debbie has made such a positive impact on our family over the last five months she has been working with my son who is active and has difficulty engaging in age appropriate play. When we began OT I was unaware of what his “sensory needs” were until Debbie broke it down for us in terms I could understand. I felt overwhelmed and very frustrated trying to find things to keep my son busy and out of trouble. Debbie showed us many different activities that would keep him interested and give him the sensory input he needed. Things I never would have thought of on my own! I now feel confident in using specific types of activities that really peak my son’s interest. Since she has been with us, he has learned how to play on his own without being destructive and he now seeks out the sensory input he needs and LOVES every minute of it. He’s no longer being destructive while left alone and best of all I am complimenting him on a “job well done” instead of saying NO to anything and everything he does. The results are truly amazing!“
Emily P.- Parent, 34 month old boy
My son was recommended to see an occupational therapist when he was about 3 months old. First, I declined the service but then decided to inquire about the options available through my insurance as well as through the Alexandria Early Intervention program where I eventually began OT with Ms. Allen for my son who was 7 months at the time. During the sessions, Ms. Allen observed my son’s movements and demonstrated activities I could do with him at home to help develop his gross motor skills. Every time Ms. Allen showed me an activity to do with my son, soon after she left the sessions he started to demonstrate those skills on his own. It got to the point where I was sending Ms. Allen pictures of the progress he made during that short period of time. Now, my son is 1 years old and although he has yet to fully catch-up to peers within his age group I am very pleased with the services and the knowledgeable information Ms. Allen has in and with her practice. Ms. Allen has always kept me informed about what comes next once my son masters a new skill. She has provided me with information about my son’s condition, what to expect and how it effects his mobility and she has even put my mind at ease from thinking about the statistics doctors tell you about children with developmental delays. Most of all she is compassionate and concerned about the children and families receiving her service. I would highly recommend Ms. Allen to parents who are looking for an OT to assist with their child’s developmental needs.”
K. Simpson – Parent, 12 month old boy
Ms. Debbie has been working with my son for over a year. She helped prepare him for Kindergarten and I credit part of his success to her advice and expertise. She has been a valuable teacher and source of knowledge for our family. She is always willing to discuss progress and give tips and games for us to practice. She is fun, kind, prompt and excellent with all of us!“
M. Ivy – Parent, 6 ½ year old boy
My oldest son was born at 26 weeks gestation and began receiving therapy services through Early Intervention as soon as he came home from the NICU. We moved to Virginia when he was 18 months old and began therapy services in the EI system within our community. We initially had an Occupational Therapist who was lovely and worked well with my son however she didn’t really seem to be addressing some of the sensory concerns that we had with his development. I also worked in Early Intervention within the community as a Speech Therapist and began searching for another provider. Colleagues recommended Debbie Allen from Premier Pediatric Therapy Source and I had heard great things about her skills in working with sensory issues. We switched our service provider to Debbie and my son loved her from the start. She addressed the fine motor concerns I had as well as his sensory delays and he progressed immensely in his treatment. Debbie not only listened to the concerns I had, but she implemented strategies to help us deal with those concerns… and they worked! She was kind, reliable and I trusted her judgment and treatment plan. We were very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Debbie and I recommended her services to many other families that I worked with in the area.”
Victoria Chisholm – Parent, Speech Language Pathologist, 3 year old boy
