I am Melanie Peterson, OTR/L owner and founder of Family Centered OT, LLC. I graduated from the University of St. Catherine in 2014 with my master’s degree in occupational therapy.

From the beginning, I knew that my focus would be on pediatrics because children have always been my passion. I worked in various inpatient and outpatient clinics until 2019. In 2019 I made a difficult decision to stay at home with my 3- year old son and my 4-year-old daughter. Although the clinic setting and the people I met taught me A LOT! My experience of being a stay-at-home mom gave me an insight I could have never learned in the clinic. I now understand the working and the stay-at-home mom on a very personal level.

When I thought about coming back to work at a clinic all I could think about was the disconnect the clinic setting provided for my patients and their families. The inconvenience of trying to get to the clinic with multiple schedules to work around, learning in an unfamiliar environment, and the limited ability to transfer skills to the home all prohibited the progress children and their families deserved to see. So instead, I decided to create a business where I come to you!

Outside of my passion for working with children and their families, I also have a passion for continued education. The world of OT is growing every day and I want to be able to keep up with every new practice that comes into play.