Meet Miss Melissa
Melissa Pueschel COTA/L
Melissa was born in Anchorage, Alaska and returned back to Florida at a young age where she grew up and completed her schooling. She attended Polk State College and graduated in 2019 with her degree in Occupational Therapy and became NBCOT certified in the same year.
Melissa worked as a rehab tech in a large hospital throughout school and worked at Amazing Kidz helping with the front desk after finishing her clinicals before her board exam. Melissa has been with Amazing Kidz since 2018 where she completed a clinical rotation and continued to remain with Amazing Kidz. Since graduating, Melissa has worked at the number one ranked hospital in Tampa working with pediatrics and adults ranging from critical care to outpatient. She has also continued to grow with Amazing Kidz. Melissa is now full time with Amazing Kidz and has always felt like this was her true home.
Melissa has been involved with the Autism Speaks committee in Tampa the last 3 years and is trained in Handwriting Without Tears. Melissa is very passionate about working in pediatrics and helping each child achieve their greatest potential. She strives to meet the needs of her patients and their families.
Outside of the treatment room, Melissa enjoys spending time with her dogs, loved ones, and going to the beach.
Provide children the opportunity to achieve their maximum potential, enhance the lives of the families we touch, strengthen the communities we serve.
Meet Miss Christine
Meet the Therapy Team
Vision:
Meet Miss Lindsay
Lindsay Edmonds, MS, CCC-SLP
Lindsay was born and raised in Jacksonville Florida and moved to Tampa in 2012 to attend the University of South Florida where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in American Sign Language and her Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology.
Lindsay has experience working both in pediatric outpatient settings and in public/private schools. She has experience with early intervention, Autism Spectrum Disorder, AAC, phonology, articulation, Apraxia, fluency, social/pragmatic language and receptive/expressive language. Lindsay has received advanced training in communication devices as well as feeding therapy. Lindsay approaches every child as unique and strives to meet their individual needs as well as the goals of the family. Lindsay approaches therapy in a play based manner in which she has found great success for attaining goals as well as carryover.
When not at work, Lindsay enjoys spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys traveling, going to Disney World, reading and cheering on the Jacksonville Jaguars during football season.
Occupational Therapy
Elizabeth Bowden, OTD, OTR/L
Lizzie is from Cincinnati, OH but currently lives in the Riverview area. She received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy Degree from The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in December of 2022 and became NBCOT certified in Spring 2023.
Lizzie has experience working in inpatient rehab and pediatrics. She also completed her Doctoral Capstone research focusing on infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – specifically on the importance of occupational therapy involvement during the transition home from a NICU setting to monitor milestones, prevent developmental delays and initiate intervention for any diagnoses or lasting impacts from a stay in the NICU. Lizzie is very passionate about working in pediatrics and is very excited to start her post-graduate career with Amazing Kidz!
Outside of the treatment room, Lizzie enjoys going to the beach, traveling, spending time with her family and friends, and cuddling with her dog, Bentley!
Andrea Esinhart, M.S., CCC-SLP
Andrea was born and raised in Tampa, FL. She attended the University of Florida where she received a Bachelor of Health Science with a minor in Disabilities in Society. While obtaining her undergraduate degree, Andrea worked as a summer camp counselor and nanny for children with special needs. She then attended the University of South Florida where she received a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology. While obtaining her graduate degree, Andrea studied abroad at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering and Treetops Learning Community in the UK.
Andrea is a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist who specializes in rehabilitative services for early intervention, autism, Down syndrome, genetic disorders, chromosomal syndromes, AAC, phonology, articulation, apraxia, receptive language, expressive language, pragmatic language, social interaction, literacy, feeding, fluency, play, and auditory processing. She has experience in assessing and providing skilled intervention services in the outpatient clinic, school, and tele-practice settings. Andrea is adept at coordinating with multidisciplinary teams to provide high-quality treatment using a variety of therapeutic techniques. She has a vast knowledge of ACC devices and applications, early identification and diagnostics, IEP implementation, and community resources. Andrea’s specialized trainings include AEIOU Feeding Approach, CAN-EAT Feeding Approach, Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Program for Symbol Imagery in Reading and Spelling instructor, LAMP for AAC Parts 1 & 2 “App Partner”, Environmental Communication Teaching Prompting Hierarchy for AAC, DIRFloortime, and Natural Language Acquisition in Autism: Echolalia to Self-Generated Language. Andrea believes all children deserve the opportunity to communicate their wants, needs, and ideas in a loving and nurturing environment.
Andrea enjoys spending time with her friends and family, walking her dog Sasha, exercising, traveling, going to the beach, and attending book club.
Meet Miss Morgan
Morgan Hamlet, PT, DPT
Morgan was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and moved to Virginia at the age of 3 where she grew up in Fredericksburg, VA. Morgan attended Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Nutrition, Foods, & Exercise with a minor in Psychology. Morgan completed her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at University of South Florida.
Morgan's has held a passion for pediatric therapy through out her education journey and produced a group systematic review titled "The Effect of Physical Activity on Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" as a conclusion to her doctoral program.
Morgan has experience treating children of various ages and diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Torticollis, Cerebral Palsy, Toe Walking, Spina Bifida, and Developmental Delays.
Outside of the clinic, Morgan enjoys trying new restaurants with her husband, playing with her two dogs and cat, going to the beach, spending time with family, going to new coffee shops, crafting, and being active including completing 3 half marathons.
Meet Miss Andrea
- Amazing Kidz Therapy provides premier pediatric therapy services to children from birth to the age of 18.
- Quality care and customer experience are the cornerstones on which we are founded.
- Every child is unique and deserves services that reflect the same in order to maximize their independence within all of their natural settings, including home, school and play.
- Support families through care, education, and resources that enhance the lives of those we touch.
- Passionate about strengthening the variety of communities that we serve.
Meet Miss Lizzy
Kathleen Pici, OTR/L, CAS
Kathleen attended Utica College of Syracuse University where she received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Occupational Therapy in 2002. While obtaining her degree, Kathleen worked as a Community Integration Specialist with children, assisting them assimilating within a variety of environments to expand their social skills and community involvement.
Kathleen has specialized training in Hand Writing Without Tears®, Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention, Interactive Metronome, Orthotic Contracture Management and Seating and Positioning. Kathleen is a certified Autism Specialist with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards. In addition, she is a certified trainer in Spaced Retrieval cognitive strategies. Kathleen is incredibly passionate and enthusiastic in her work within the pediatric population. Her experience spans evaluating and treating a variety of populations including (but not limited to) Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorders, Behavioral Disturbances, Down Syndrome, Selective Mutism, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, ODD, ADHD, Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Torticollis and congenital neurogenic motor disturbances. Kathleen approaches her treatment with a client centered, individualized approach for each patient and family with the understanding that each child and family is unique and deserves their treatment to be tailored to their specific needs. Her evaluation and treatment is centered around the whole child to ensure that all needs are addressed to allow the child to maximize their development and thrive within their multitude of environments.
Outside of the office, Miss Kat enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, time with friends, participating in various charity organizations, cooking, crafting, and reading. She loves to travel, especially to places that have a beach!
Speech Therapy
Mission:
Christine DeCicco, MS, CCC-SLP
Christine was born and raised in Marlton, New Jersey. She attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania where she received her Bachelors in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She attended the University of South Florida where she received a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology.
Christine is a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist who specializes in rehabilitative services for early intervention, Autism, Down syndrome, AAC, phonology, articulation, apraxia, receptive language, expressive language, pragmatic language, literacy, fluency and play. She has experience in assessing and providing skilled intervention services in the school, outpatient clinic and telehealth practice settings. Christine takes a multi-sensory approach during her therapy sessions. She believes all kiddos deserve the opportunity to have a voice to communicate their wants and needs.
Christine enjoys spending time with her friends and family, walking her puppy Remy, traveling, spending time at the beach and rooting on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Physical Therapy
Meet Miss Kat
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813-643-1389
687 W. Lumsden Rd.
Brandon, FL 33511