Chicago North Shore Moms is pleased to bring you a very special Small Business Spotlight with the lovely Lake Forest resident, Aneri Bhansali, who is a pediatric physical therapist and owner of Leaps & Bounds Therapy, a practice that dispatches her compassionate team of wonderful occupational therapists, speech therapists and physical therapists to the homes and schools of the children they treat.
Aneri has a beautiful soul, and is bursting with positive energy with every smile she offers. Get to know this Lake Forest mom of two, how she started her own pediatric therapy practice in 2015, favorite local spots with and without the kids in tow, and how and why Leaps & Bounds continues to provide effective in-home and at-school therapy services. Welcome, Aneri!
Hi Aneri! Please introduce yourself. Where are you from originally? What city do you live in now? What brought you here?
Hi! My name is Aneri Bhansali. I am a wife, mother of two great children, pediatric physical therapist and small business owner. I Live in Lake Forest, IL which is also the town I grew up in. My husband is also originally from Lake Forest so a few years ago after living in Chicago for many years, we decided to move back to Lake Forest to be closer to our families.
What are one or two fun facts to know about you?
I love to travel. I have travelled to many countries as a child and as an adult. My favorite places, other than home, are: Hawaii; Sydney, Australia; and Queenstown, New Zealand.
As I get older, I am trying to incorporate more movement into my lifestyle. I have recently gotten into riding my bike, pilates/ barre and learning to play paddle tennis. I am fully embracing the idea that you are never too old to learn something new or start a new habit.
What are your favorite local places, spaces and eats to frequent?
My family and I love to dine at Deer Path Inn, Authentico and Francesca’s Intimo in Lake Forest, Koya Sushi in Highland Park and Barnaby’s pizza in Northbrook.
My go to place to get work done or read a book in peace is the Lake Forest Public Library.
I love Lake Forest Beach, the many trails in Lake Forest and surrounding suburbs, and attending work out classes at Lake Forest Rec Center, Bird Barre and Pilates of Lake Forest.
What are you reading and watching?
I recently started a book club with friends and am listening to From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley on audiobook and just finished reading Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown.
I am in the middle of watching the limited series Black Doves on Netflix.
What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten in your career that’s guided you?
You have your whole life to be a physical therapist, so make sure to do your job well but also don’t forget to do all the other things that are important to you along the way. This has taught me to really focus on my work / life balance and make time for the professional AND personal.
Your mantra?
“There is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.” I’m not out here eating elephants but am constantly reminding myself to tackle a task bit by bit and to handle a challenge by focusing on one day a time. I tell myself to control what I can control and try not to stress out about the rest. Easier said than done though!
Let’s get down to business. Please introduce your pediatric focused business, Leaps and Bounds Therapy.
Leaps and Bounds Therapy is a pediatric therapy company in the north suburbs of Chicago where myself and my team of providers offer physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy services to the pediatric population in their home and schools. Therapy is play-based and provided to children in the comfort of their own natural environment.
The team at Leaps & Bounds Therapy.
And how did you get to this place in your life?
I graduated with my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2009 from the University of Illinois Chicago where I attended graduate school. I quickly found myself working with children and loving it. In 2015 I started Leaps and Bounds Therapy.
In your perspective why is it so important to treat the child in their own environment?
I have found that working with young children in an environment they feel most comfortable can be valuable to the progress they make. Therefore, we travel to our client for physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.
When working with infants and children, often working in their home or daycare can be a benefit to them. We come to their home at a time that usually works well for them, limiting long transitions and commutes interfering with naps and mealtime. We can make a child feel comfortably by using their favorite toy in therapy or working in their favorite spot in the house. We can work on daily routine tasks as well as work on skills at the park or in the backyard.
There is flexibility based on what is best for the child.
What inspired you to start Leaps and Bounds Therapy, and how has your journey as a pediatric physical therapist shaped your approach to supporting children and families?
Personally, as a physical therapy provider, I have found communicating and educating the parents on what the therapy is, how it’s going to help their child, and how we are going to make it fun can be so empowering to the parents. When the parents are involved with the therapy, and we can approach it as a team, along with the child, we see so many positive outcomes.
I set out to do that day-in-and-day-out and create a team of similar minded professionals. My team and I think outside the box, because not every child is the same. Our focus is on supporting the parents while guiding the child to make progress in a variety of areas of development. We create an environment where the child and caregiver feel supported and safe.
How do you keep the children engaged while they are working hard to achieve their goals?
I love making physical therapy sessions fun and engaging. The best way to connect with a child is to get on their level, play with them and interact with them in a way they prefer. Once the trust is there, we can encourage a child to do hard things and challenge themselves.
As a parent myself, I try to be practical when giving out a home program, suggesting strategies and establishing a plan of care. I approach each family with understanding and grace. Being a new parent or navigating life with your child when things don’t go as you expected can be hard and I fully focus on how I can support the family while providing strategies and goals that will help their child.
Is there anything else you’d like us to know about Leaps and Bounds Therapy?
Leaps and Bounds Therapy provides therapy services in Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Gurnee, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glencoe, Wilmette, Winnetka, Northbrook, Skokie, Chicago and neighboring suburbs. Reach out at 847-242-1917 or at www.leapsandboundsil.com. We also have some great child development blogs on our website written by our team of providers.
What’s on the horizon for you, professionally and personally?
Professionally, the next steps for Leaps and Bounds Therapy will be to add more physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists to our team so we can continue to work with more children. In a few years, I would love to open a clinic space so we can see a larger age range of children who would not only benefit from home and school-based services but clinic-based services as well.
Personally, I hope to continue to support and be there for my own two children who are truly growing up in a blink of an eye. They are smart, kind, caring human beings and I hope to focus on giving them, as well as my husband, love, time and attention through the years.
