We are so thrilled to share with you all that this month marks eight years since Journey Therapy Center first opened its doors in Lapeer. What began as one mother’s answer to a deeply personal need has grown into something that now touches the lives of families across multiple communities.
Before any of this existed, our fearless leader Claudia was an attorney. She had built a career, beginning in Brazil and then shifting to the United States, and she was raising her young son, Antonio, who had been diagnosed with autism.
The path forward felt uncertain, shaped by long drives to therapy appointments and a frustrating lack of nearby resources. Like many parents in that position, Claudia responded by educating herself, and what began as a desire to better help her son grew into something more consuming. She immersed herself in learning about autism to become the advocate her child needed.
Over time, she encountered other parents asking the same questions, facing the same gaps, and navigating the same unfamiliar terrain. It became increasingly clear that what she was searching for did not exist in the way it should – not close enough, not accessible enough, not built with families like hers in mind.
And so, she built it.
When the first Journey Therapy Center opened in 2018, it offered something local families could rely on, close to home. In those early days, the center was small, serving a handful of children with a small team of therapists, but the intention behind it was expansive.
As trust grew, so did Journey. One location became two, then more, spreading into Oakland County and continuing to reach outward. Today, Journey includes four centers, a team of more than 80 professionals, and a range of services that extends beyond ABA therapy to include speech, occupational, and feeding therapy and early intervention programs. Each step in our growth has followed the same guiding instinct that shaped the beginning: if something is missing for families, find a way to provide it.
Eight years in, it would be easy to frame Journey’s success in terms of statistics – more locations, more staff, more children served – but we find the most satisfaction in the small moments where a child makes progress, a parent feels relief at finally getting some answers, or a team member tears up because they participated in helping something click into place for one of our kids.
What began as one family’s search for something better has become, over time, a place where many find exactly that, and without all of our beloved families, none of this would be possible.
Thank you for trusting us to play such an important role for your precious children. We look forward to all of their triumphs to come, big and small, and to growing right alongside them.
Here’s to eight amazing years, and may there be many more ahead!