Pediatric Therapy Practice in Austintown Ignites Care, Passion

AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – Ignite Pediatric Therapy, a speech and feeding-focused practice, officially opened its doors and services to the Mahoning Valley on Monday. 

Maura Ambrose, owner and founder of Ignite, is a certified craniofacial speech-language pathologist licensed to practice in Ohio and Pennsylvania and a certified lactation counselor. Ambrose worked in hospital, clinic and school settings for over a decade before deciding to start her own private practice.

Ignite’s mission is to “empower grownups to create a future of resilient children.” Ambrose said this is done through the individualized plans and education and building confidence in the parent and child’s relationship to handle their development.

“I started Ignite in January 2022. The first year in business I did all my therapy at home. I primarily serve children ages 0 to 6 years old,” Ambrose said. “I do speech and feeding therapy as well as working with breastfeeding mothers.”

After a year and a half of serving families at home, Ambrose decided to expand her business and diversify her services by opening her first brick and mortar location. Ignite is located in Austintown’s Javit Court and has four rooms for individualized care.

Currently, all speech and feeding-related services are offered at Ignite, and Ambrose hopes to expand her staff and services. Some future services include physical and occupational therapy.

“I know there is a huge need – especially in this Valley – that the need for services versus the number of providers is so disparaging, and I want to help bridge that gap,” Ambrose said. 

She will continue to offer in-home services, but she believes a centralized location will help engrain herself in the community and diversify the way she offers her services. Instead of one-on-one therapy, she can offer parent education programming and group therapy. 

“Previously, working primarily in an outpatient-setting, I know some children do really well at home and some children need a new environment that is more structured,” Ambrose said. 

Skilled group therapy is hard to find, but Ambrose said it’s especially beneficial when working with children on communication and social skills. 

“You can work on children one-on-one with an adult, and a child can progress really nicely – but what really counts is if a child can apply it with their peers.”

Accessibility is Ambrose’s goal, and she believes that Austintown allows her to be available to families all over northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Appointments can be made online at Ignite Pediatric Therapy’s website or by calling 330 203 1225.

Pictured at top: Maura Ambrose, owner and founder of Ignite Pediatric Therapy.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.