Page 47 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2024

identified at an early age.”
Kilpatrick began her career in pediatric
therapy more than 20 years ago and after working 10 of those in a hospital setting, she made the jump to private practice and opened a clinic in Ocean Springs.
In October, patients and employees alike gained a little more legroom when the center moved around the corner into a much larger facility.
“I am so grateful for the growth of this practice, an amazing team of employees, and our patients and their families,” Kilpatrick said, adding her passion is working with those families to help their little ones learn to communicate better and to take the stress out of mealtimes. “Feeding therapy is one of the main reasons I went into private practice and an area we continue to expand on.”
More recently, as Kilpatrick and her team were treating newborn babies for feeding therapy, they began to notice many of these infants also suffered postural abnormalities, such as torticollis, which is one-sided tightness in the neck and body. “We found that this difficulty with positioning can have significant effects on the baby’s ability to latch properly when feeding,” said Kilpatrick. “The more we saw the correlation of these two things, the more determined we were to learn how we could help.”
These correlations led their physical therapist to become further specialized in oral motor practices and manual therapy interventions specifically designed for infants diagnosed with tethered oral tissues. Not only do these babies have restrictions in their mouths in the form
of tongue or lip ties, but they also have restrictions in their body.
“We often see a baby with a preference to only turn their head to one direction, or a baby who has digestive issues, or difficulty sleeping,” Kilpatrick explains. “By offering gentle manual therapy techniques for the baby and stretching protocols to parents, we are ultimately able to assist the parent and baby achieve more efficient feeding patterns. The collaboration that we are able to provide in the form of physical therapy and feeding therapy for this population ensures that these babies have every opportunity to thrive.”
Lori Kilpatrick Pediatric Therapy
13219 Hugh Seymour Ln., Ocean Springs
228.334.5035
www.lorikilpatrickpediatrictherapy.com
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net April 2024 | 47