Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Sullivan, PT, PCS
Hi Julie , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started working in Physical Therapy in 2007 and enjoyed the work right away. Ive always loved to help people move and see the benefits of how it can help them in there daily life. After a couple of years in the clinic as a staff, I became a clinic director and helped build the practice to include pediatrics and adults. It was also then that I had my son and became fascinated with early movement and all the milestones that happen in the first 1-2 years of life. I began to study it more and my passion for pediatrics took off and I have not looked back. I’ve helped kids of all ages with different injuries and different circumstances. After working with kids for years I began to want a little more and started to think about opening my own practice. A practice that would let me have flexibility in how I wanted to treat and what I could offer. I continued to study and learn new things and became Board Certified in Pediatrics and took courses to learn more about gross motor, infant feeding, and pediatric pelvic floor. I started my practice in 2023 and love to work with the kids and families. My practice offers specialized services that are needed and unique in our community. You can find intensive programs for both gross motor delays and pediatric pelvic floor and weekly follow up visits for infant feeding, gross motor and pelvic floor. All three of these programs are unique and help families from birth on. This has been a passion for me to open my practice and i’m excited to see it all come together.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For me, I opened my business during a rocky time in my personal life and there were definitely challenges along the way. Opening up a practice takes a lot of work, time, and organization. Sometimes the time is not there and you have to find it. It’s really a learning opportunity and can feel overwhelming at times. I decided to get business coaching to help me organize better and to be connected to others that were doing the same thing. This really helped me stay focused, organized, and to work through any doubts I might of been having.
We’ve been impressed with igniteKids Pediatric Physical Therapy , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the owner and founder of igniteKIDS Pediatric Physical Therapy and I work with kids in three different and specialties. I’m known for bringing and offering unique and different physical therapy services to North Dallas. I’m also known for talking to much but have learned to wear that as a badge of honor. I like to get to know my families and patients. My brand and colors were designed to represent the calm and beauty of the beach. My business name was picked to remind each patient that we can get through hard things.
The first specialty I offer is pediatric pelvic floor services. This is a very unique service and not widely offered in the community. I offer weekly visits and a pelvic floor intensive which is a 2-4 week program where we meet everyday. Not only is pediatric pelvic floor not widely offered, my pelvic floor intensive is the only one you will find in the greater Dallas area. I have an option for all families that live in the Dallas area and for those that come from out of town. Pediatric pelvic floor dysfunction affects many kids and I am happy to offer this service.
The second specialty I offer is help with gross motor delays. This service helps my younger patients meet their milestones of rolling, crawling, sitting, walking, climbing, running, and more. I offer weekly visits and an intensive where we meet for 2-4 weeks each day to address the families goals. These services are unique to North Dallas and give families options in how they want to help their child.
The third specialty is infant feeding and really ties into the gross motor and pelvic floor specialties. This program offers weekly visits to help infants with latching difficulties during feeding. This could be difficulty with bottle or breast feeding, or both. I offer treatment for oral ties both pre and post op, torticollis, plagiocephaly, and any other issues we find during the evaluation. I spend time getting to the root of the problem and determine where the latching difficulty starts. This is a unique and important service to offer families to help their baby get the nutrients they need.
What’s next?
My future plans are to continue to grow each specialty service and to continue to reach families across the greater Dallas area and beyond. I would like to give more presentations and teach other physical therapists about each of these specialties. Each one is unique and not widely offered and physical therapist can offer a lot in helping families with pelvic floor, feeding, and gross motor challenges.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ignitekidspt.com
- Instagram: @ignitekidspt
- Facebook: FB: ignitekids Pediatric Physical Therapy
- LinkedIn: Linkedin: ignitekids Pediatric Physical Therapy
Image Credits
Credit for Photos: Amber Tice Photography
