Dean Palma, Occupational Therapist, remembers vividly when the call came in to join the team that was, back then, just comprised of Direct Therapy Services. At the time, he was living in St. Cloud, Minnesota, after serving in the military. Shortly after he was medically discharged, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota to study Occupational Therapy, and upon graduation, he began working in the St. Cloud area, providing OT services for children in schools and at an outpatient clinic.
While he was building his therapy experience, his brother, Danny Palma, was also busy building something unique in Las Cruces. Danny, a Speech-Language Pathologist, saw the need to help provide services for the adult disabled population, and in 2000, he founded Direct Therapy Services (DTS). In need of an Occupational Therapist to serve their clients, Danny gave Dean a call, asking if he would consider spending one summer in Las Cruces helping to get the program off the ground. Dean agreed and made the trek to New Mexico.
“Once I arrived in Las Cruces, I hit the ground running. I actually visited my first client the day I got into town, and soon after, had dozens of clients assigned to me that were in need of Occupational Therapy services”, he said. Dean found the work meaningful and enjoyed problem-solving and finding ways to help his clients improve their quality of life. From researching and sourcing equipment to helping modify living environments, he could see the impact DTS made in the lives of his clients and their families, and decided to stay in Las Cruces to officially join the team as an OT and a shareholder.
Dean remembers Abel Covarrubias joining the DTS team as a Speech-Language Pathologist, and soon after, presenting the idea to expand the care they were providing to adults to children. “To be able to find a way to offer early intervention and therapy services to kids gave us the opportunity to provide these resources at an earlier time in their lives than we had originally been capable of through DTS”, Dean said. Under Abel’s leadership, the sister company to DTS was formed, and the shareholders had a front-row seat to the growth and expansion of Aprendamos Intervention Team to what is now Aprendamos Family of Services and its six programs.
“Back then, I don’t think we could have ever imagined having hundreds of team members and serving multiple Southern New Mexico counties”, Dean said. “The original DTS office was housed in my nephew’s baby nursery, so to see what the organizations have become is pretty remarkable.”
Dean has also been fortunate to hear stories from community members who have been impacted by the services provided by Aprendamos. “If I am wearing an Aprendamos shirt, so many people approach me to tell me that they have had children and family members on our programs. Over the two decades, there are now generations of children and families who have become part of our story”, he shared.
Thanks, Dean, for your part in the Direct Therapy Services and Aprendamos journey!
English 
Spanish