WHO WE ARE
The team at Holland Connections is made up of Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists who have experience working with adults and children of varying diagnoses. Holland Connections offers Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, and Feeding Therapy within various locations in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and Mendota Heights.
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission at Holland Connections is to help individuals across the lifespan gain or regain functional independence within meaningful activities in order to live life to the fullest. Whether it is teaching a child with a diagnosis of autism to speak their first words or helping an adult who experienced a traumatic brain injury regain skills to return to work, our team of passionate Speech-Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists is committed to facilitating life-long learning in a safe and supportive environment. The members of the multidisciplinary team at Holland Connections specialize in the development of client-centered programming and implementation of evidence-based interventions to assist individuals with reaching their greatest potential while having fun along the way.
“WELCOME TO HOLLAND”
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help
people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would
feel. It’s like this…
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a
bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David.
The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go.
Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”
“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in
Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”
But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of
pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And
you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve
been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice
that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about
what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s
where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a
very very significant loss.
But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free
to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.
– Emily Perl Kingsley
Take a Look Inside Holland Connections
TESTIMONIALS
“My daughter Ta’liyah receives Speech and OT therapy through Holland. Since receiving therapy, her overall daily life has improved immensely. Ta’liyah talks more. She loves to repeat words that she hears. She has become more social. She is happier and more outgoing. I love seeing skills that she learns at the center transfer and utilizing therapy techniques at home. She is becoming more independent. Ta’liyah had been working on taking off her socks in OT for some time. When she finally was able to do it, she was so excited. She removed her socks all day and night while saying the word “sock.” She has learned how to wash her hands and turn on the faucet. Seeing her take the initiative to assist in her daily cares is something we had never seen before starting therapy here. We are blessed to have her working with great therapists. This has helped our entire household. We are truly grateful and thankful to have such an amazing team!”
“Occupational Therapy services at Holland Center have been a game-changer for our family. The therapists are very knowledgeable and have helped my husband and I implement what our children are learning during therapy sessions at home. Within a few short months, Landon was able to tolerate haircuts, different water temperatures, and a couple different foods. The therapists worked with Tyler to determine the level of sensory input he needed, which helped regulate his activity levels and emotional outbursts. We can’t say enough good things about OT at Holland Center!”
“OT has helped our son with ASD immensely. It’s been able to target both his fine motor skills and gross motor skills, in areas he’s been deficient. They tackle everyday activities like dressing, brushing teeth and coordination. Our son has very low muscle tone and OT has helped him to become stronger. He can now ride a bike, climb and kick a ball well. We’re so thankful for all the gains he’s made!”