About Us
Our Story...
Jessi Frencken, M/PT, started Child's Play Therapy in 2008. Child's Play was a very successful company that employed physical, occupational and speech therapists. Child's Play Therapy provided OT, PT, and ST services in patient's homes and in the school setting. Carmen and Jessi met in 2012 when Carmen's son required physical therapy services through early intervention.
Chatterbox Speech Therapy, LLC, opened in June of 2015. Carmen Rathert, M.S. CCC-SLP, COM® grew up in Clinton, Missouri, and recognized the community was in need of pediatric therapy services. In 2014, Carmen called Jessi to propose opening a multidisciplinary clinic together in a brick and mortar space for children in the community. Jessi enthusiastically said yes!
Carmen & Jessi opened their 1000 square foot office space in 2015 in Clinton, MO. Carmen performed 9 speech/language evaluations within the first week of opening and the occupational and physical therapy patients quickly followed. In 2018, they outgrew their 1000 square-foot space and moved to 2nd street where they now have 6 treatment rooms, a therapy kitchen, and a much larger gym space. Counseling services were also added.
The two businesses continued to grow together and in 2021 they expanded to open a second location in Knob Noster, MO, to meet the needs to patients traveling from Warrensburg, Knob Noster, and Sedalia. The 5,500 square-foot space is complete with 9 treatment rooms, 3 feeding centers, full kitchen, and a much larger gym, continuing to provide occupational, speech/language, feeding, physical therapies, as well as counseling services.
In January 2022, Carmen and Jessi realized they were better "together" merging Chatterbox Speech Therapy and Child's Play Therapy into one business, The Pediatric Place.
Carmen and Jessi's vision to provide multidisciplinary pediatric therapy services continues to grow and expand to meet the needs of the communities they serve. They are proud to employ staff and therapists that share that vision. The sky is the limit. They are excited to see what is next for The Pediatric Place!!
