New occupational therapy company opens for business

Occupational therapy in the home is now available in the Springfield area through Kingdom Pediatrics Occupational Therapy LLC.

Owner Kayla King, who has been an occupational therapist for 17 years, filed articles of organization with the Missouri secretary of state’s office on Dec. 22, 2025, for the business, which aims to build coordination, strength, social skills and brain integration through play, according to the business’ Facebook page.

In an email, King said she moved to Springfield from Arkansas in 2015.

“I have always worked in outpatient pediatric therapy clinics and love getting to work closely with families,” she said via email. “When the clinic I had been working for this last year closed, I had a decision to make. I could either find another clinic or start my own practice.”

King said she had never previously contemplated starting a business, but after talking with her family and praying about the matter, she decided to give it a try.

“This felt like the perfect opportunity to do something I love and be able to provide services that I felt families really needed,” she said.

One service offered is primitive reflex integration for small groups of children, according to King’s introduction of her business on the Homeschool Hall website. The activity uses games to focus on reflexes and motor skills while building focus and brain integration.

“The fun thing about these groups is that the kids are doing therapy, but it's all fun and games and can easily be transitioned to play at home with family and friends,” King said.

Social and emotional regulation groups are also available. These interactions allow children to identify their emotions and develop tools that can help them get back to a state of calm and focus. Activities include board games, cards and strategy games, she said.

The new venture also offers private, child-centered occupational therapy where children are, removing the need for families to travel, King said in her post for homeschoolers.

She added that therapy services are offered only through private pay – insurance is not accepted – and can be scheduled on a weekly, biweekly, monthly or as-needed basis. Gap care is available for those on a wait list for OT services but needing support now, she said, noting that care is easily transitioned to another provider when space is available.

In addition to home visits, Kingdom Pediatrics partners with The Jungle Gym Indoor Playground LLC at 3322 S. Campbell Ave., Ste. GG, as a site for caregiver training.

King provided the first in a series of monthly training sessions at The Jungle Gym in March. The sessions are focused on helping caregivers to identify emotional dysregulation in children – something that can show up as excitement or overwhelm – and demonstrating ways to help them handle their feelings. Upcoming sessions are planned for April 16 and May 14 at $20 per caregiver and $5 per child, who can stay and play afterwards.

“My biggest mission is to help caregivers think like an OT,” she said. “In my last clinic, we provided coaching-based therapy, where families were present during every session, and we were able to focus on helping them understand what we were doing and how they could implement those activities and strategies at home to make real progress. I really love this model of therapy and want to continue this in what I am providing.”

The Kingdom Pediatrics Facebook page lists areas of focus as primitive reflex integration, social/emotional integration, dysgraphia and handwriting, visual motor skills, sensory processing, motor coordination, social and play skills, executive functioning skills, home program management and caregiver consultations.

King offers split sessions, with families who have current treatment plans sharing a session and splitting the cost, and sessions for homeschools and cooperatives. Small group classes of various sizes and durations are available, as are parent consultations to help with problem-solving.

Service prices range from $25 for small-group sessions and $30 for half-hour consults up to $100 for individualized hourlong OT with caregiver consulting and home programs and $150 for 90-minute evaluations with written reports and treatment plans, according to the Facebook page.

Summer OT spots are also open at parks and indoor locations around Springfield, according to the Facebook page.

King is the mother of two boys, and she homeschools them through Gloria Deo Academy. Her new business allows her the flexibility to be with her own family while offering OT services to others, she said.

“Because of the challenges I have seen with small clinics billing insurances, I knew I would be private pay only and wanted to make sure I made this therapy affordable to the families I was hoping to serve – families of young children and homeschool families,” she said.

She said she also wanted to serve families in the community where they already are – “in spaces where real life is happening,” she said, noting she is happy to travel to any place a family wants to meet.

King said startup costs for her business were minimal and included business filing and license fees and the opening of a Google Business workspace, plus updating her professional liability insurance from employee to owner, which she said was her biggest expense

She does not have a brick-and-mortar location as she works to build a caseload and a reputation, she said.

“I am trusting God with my finances and hopeful that I will be able to keep offering these services and grow my small business,” she said.