Breakthrough's Story

People often ask me what drew me to serve the special needs community. The truth? I don’t have a direct personal connection. There wasn’t a specific moment, diagnosis, or family member that led me here. And yet, every part of me knows this is exactly where I’m meant to be.

Supporting families of children with disabilities has become the mission of my life. And not just the kids, but the siblings, the parents, the whole family. Because it’s the quality of life that matters - not just your child’s outcomes. My deepest intention is to help you all experience more possibility, more support, and more joy, one step at a time.

There’s one experience early in my career that shaped everything that Breakthrough stands for.

I was working one of my pediatric positions out of PT school when a two-and-a-half-year-old girl came in for an evaluation. Her medical history was complex; she’d had a brain hemorrhage and was diagnosed with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, affecting the entire left side of her body.

She was absolutely adorable… and she wanted nothing to do with using her left side. The evaluation was hard. Not just challenging, but heartbreaking. She cried hysterically the whole time. Boogers, tears, sobs, the kind of crying that makes your chest ache just watching.

When I gently asked her mom if she thought anything hurt, or if something had scared her, she looked at me through tears and said,

“No. It’s just really hard for her to do this.”

That moment stopped me in my tracks.

I was taking her through what we may consider simple functional movements—trying to get her into crawling, kneeling, or standing positions, but even holding herself in hands and knees was a mountain for her. I could feel the weight her mom was carrying: the desperate desire to help her daughter, and the pain of watching her struggle.

Session after session, there were more tears. Sometimes Mom had to leave the room because it was too hard to watch. 

And then what felt slowly and all at once, the shift began.

She started crawling.


Then standing.


Then walking with her walker, always motivated by the promise of a purple lollipop.

I’ll never forget the day they came in and told me she had taken a few steps at home. We decided to try again together. I stood behind her. Mom stood in front of her, by her favorite musical drum. She clutched two drumsticks for security… and then she did it.

Fourteen Steps.

On her own. That day changed everything.

Those 14 steps became infinite ones. Eventually, she could get up from the floor by herself. Soon she was dancing to Descendants, doing karate, running into her parents’ arms. She gained a level of independence no one expected—certainly not the doctors.

And I got to witness it all.
What an incredible honor.

This family became a part of mine. That little girl—through every tear and triumph—reminded me how powerful the “small” things really are. She taught me to keep asking,
“What’s my purple lollipop?”

To stay focused. To keep going through the hard parts. To hold the vision.

That was one of many experiences to light the fire that would become Breakthrough.

I knew that what most families were being offered—30-minute home or school-based sessions—just wasn’t enough. I knew families deserved more than services. They needed resources, a team, a community. They needed a place that sees the whole family and walks with them on their journey.

Breakthrough was built to be that place.

A place rooted in belief, possibility, and the purest intentions.
A place where we don't just work with your child, we work alongside of you.
A place where we don’t accept limitations, but lovingly push through them.

I believe every child, and every family, deserves to experience what’s possible when they’re fully seen, fully supported, and fully believed in.

That’s what Breakthrough is here to do.
And we are so honored to walk this path with you.

- Dr. Christine Astarita