Katey Blehm started Colorado Springs Therapy Center in a converted storage room in a friend’s office in 2012. She was working solo, but soon that small space would not work at all.

That’s because one day her entrepreneurial light bulb came on while watching her two children, then aged 4 and 2, take swim lessons. She wondered if there would be a benefit to conducting speech therapy in a swimming pool. She took the dive, finding a training program, new at the time, and became one of the pioneers to use aquatic speech therapy.

Blehm was amazed by the success. The beauty of the exercises is that water provides pressure to breathe and maintain correct positions, important in not only speech but occupational and physical therapy.

The sessions, which use waterproof tools including I-Pads, help children focus, promote relaxation and motivate them to communicate more. It’s entertaining, too. “Blowing bubbles for oral-facial work is just lots of fun,” Blehm said.

The aquatic program immediately became popular with parents looking for additional inspiration for their challenged children.

Colorado Springs Therapy Center grew from two employees (herself and her mother, who did the bookkeeping) to today’s staff of 35. There are offices at two local locations that provide not only speech work but also occupational and physical therapy for children and adults. They use a swim school pool for aquatic therapy. Blehm is considering expanding because facility space will hit maximum soon.

Blehm, who has a graduate degree in speech-language pathology, has 27 years in the field. She never dreamed how fulfilling and successful her work would be.

The staff includes full-time and part-time employees. Aside from benefits such as health club memberships and generous pay and days off, what keeps them there they say, is that the center is a caring place for both workers and patients.

Erica Cyboron, whose job includes credentialing new staff, has been at the center for six years. “It has a small town feel where everyone is comfortable and cares about everyone.”

Katie Vera echoes that sentiment. Her son was originally a client. Seeing his progress and always having wanted to work with pediatric patients inspired her to get an occupational therapy assistant degree. After graduation in 2016 she joined the center. She appreciates having flexible hours to have time with her son.

Blehm credits the company’s success to an educated, enthusiastic and caring team that adore their clients. “They have big hearts and are the kindest people,” she said. They are generous, too, often taking meals to those in need and participating in programs like Challenger Baseball for children with disabilities.

The center’s therapists use teen volunteers to help out because clients respond to those their own age. In turn, the teen volunteers learn to communicate and become friends with challenged kids in their own schools.

Blehm’s family has been part of her business success. Her inspiration for going into this field came from her late grandfather who was deaf. “I saw how he overcame challenges,” she explained. Her husband Doug, who owns his own business, helps with computer technology. Their son and nephews and nieces have also helped.

Because of COVID-19, the center has provided therapy by teleteaching. Many kids have thrived because they are tech-savvy and feel comfortable.

Her staff’s generosity was on display when they heard that another provider was not versed in teletherapy. “My employees said ‘let’s help them out’ and they did.”

Blehm hopes to have regular swim therapy programs in January.

Recently, a father of a client gave encouragement to the center. He wrote in chalk on the sidewalk in front of the office: “Keep going we love you.”