When she was in physical therapy school, Melisa Smith, PT, DPT, EdD, was certain she鈥檇 specialize in orthopedic physical therapy and help school-aged athletes and weekend warriors recover from their sports-related injuries. All that changed after she had the chance to treat children with neurological conditions during her pediatric rotation.
While physical therapists must possess the wide base of knowledge to specialize in multiple areas, Smith fell in love with the challenge and the immense rewards of treating little kids with big mobility problems.
鈥淚 am passionate about physical therapy, but nothing compares to the pleasure of being a PT that gets to work with children,鈥� explained Smith, an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at 黑料传送门 Georgia in Suwanee, Georgia, since 2019.
Pediatric physical therapy is a specialized area of physical therapy that focuses on improving the motor skills, strength, balance, endurance, and coordination of infants, children, adolescents and young adults up to 21 years of age. Pediatric PTs treat all the same things that regular physical therapists treat鈥攐nly in a smaller, still-developing body. Pediatric PT patients can have any type of movement disorder, developmental delay, or orthopedic condition.
鈥淚 stress to my students that pediatric PTs must be proficient in neurology, orthopedics, and developmental delays in addition to being a highly skilled physical therapy practitioner with endless amounts of patience, compassion, and creativity,鈥� said Smith.
PTs engage kids with enjoyable, age-appropriate games and activities to keep them motivated and happy. Sessions should look and feel like play鈥攔unning and hopping around to improve coordination, playing on large exercise balls to build strength, standing on a balance beam or on one foot for stability鈥攂ut physical therapy can be hard work ... for both the therapist (growth plates and growth spurts make treating kids especially challenging, cautioned Smith) and the patient.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 tell a 2-year-old who has a 3-second attention span to do 10 straight leg raises to strengthen a particular muscle as you would an adult,鈥� Smith said.
Instead, you鈥檒l have to get creative and come up with a play activity that will get the child to simulate the intended movement. One of Smith鈥檚 favorites: Blowing bubbles and challenging the child to pop them by kicking her legs straight up in the air.
Fun and games aside, outcomes matter in PT, Smith emphasized鈥攔egardless of whether you鈥檙e working on motor skills, strength, or balance. If that means coming up with 50 different games in a 30-minute session, so be it.
The best thing about pediatric PT? Working with kids, who put a smile on your face and keep you on your toes with the things they say and do, Smith said.
鈥淥ften, when adults are in pain, they will be vocal and complain. Children can be in 10 times more pain than you and I, but if they鈥檙e engaged and having fun during the therapy, your sessions with them won鈥檛 at all seem like work,鈥� Smith explained.
Many of Smith鈥檚 colleagues might disagree with her, but she thinks children are easier to work with than adults. 鈥淎s long as you engage kids, they鈥檙e going to engage right back,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭hey won鈥檛 just sit down and say, 鈥楾hat hurts, I鈥檓 not doing it.鈥� They鈥檒l really put their all into the therapy session.鈥�
According to Smith, Pediatric PTs make a huge impact not just on the child鈥檚 life,
but on the family鈥檚 as well.
鈥淚f you can help a patient with cerebral palsy or a traumatic brain injury feed herself
or get out of bed by herself,鈥� Smith said, 鈥測ou鈥檒l improve the quality of life for
mom, dad, brother, and sister as well as for the patient.鈥�
黑料传送门 Georgia鈥檚 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program is designed to be completed in three years. Program requirements include coursework and full-time clinical experience (integrated and terminal).
Students at 黑料传送门鈥檚 Suwanee, Georgia, location train under the guidance of expert faculty in a modern, 12,000-square-foot Physical Therapy Education Center, which features state-of-the-art equipment, as well as laboratories, classrooms and study spaces.
First-semester classes include anatomy, kinesiology, and medical terminology. Students go on three clinical rotations during their second and third years: one outpatient rotation, one inpatient, and the third specialty-based. The rotations are hands-on learning where students put all of their didactic knowledge to work and get their hands on the patients.
The projects job openings for physical therapists will grow much faster than average (+14%) through 2033. Job growth in Georgia (2022-2032) is predicted to be nearly 20 percent, . Around 370 positions for qualified physical therapists will be open annually in Georgia during this period.
There鈥檚 a high demand for pediatric physical therapists in many settings: hospitals, outpatient, long-term rehab, wound care, burn care, school-based PT, and early intervention.
鈥淢ost of our DPT grads have already either accepted jobs or have multiple offers awaiting their decision,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淧T is a great career.鈥�
Article last updated June 20, 2025.