This Is Not a Job.
This Is the Career You Always Believed Pediatric OT Could Be.
If you are a talented occupational therapist who got into pediatrics to change children’s lives — and you feel the system is making that impossible — read every word of this page.
You Did Not Go to School for This.
You chose pediatric OT because you believed in children. You wanted to be the person who saw what no one else saw — who helped a child and a family find their way when everything felt impossible.
Then the reality of the field arrived.
Caseloads of 50, 60, 70 children. Thirty-minute sessions that are really twenty minutes of treatment and ten minutes of documentation. Insurance denials for the exact services a child needs. A system that measures your worth in billing codes — not in the moments when a child finally does the thing everyone said they never would.
You are giving everything. And the system is taking more than you have.
Is this really the career I trained for?
You are not alone. You are not wrong. The system is broken. You are not.
What We Built
In 2003, Chandana Dash, OTR/L helped co-found Synergy Therapeutic Group in Carbondale, Illinois on one radical idea:
Every child deserves a full hour. Every family deserves a real partner.
No rushing. No caseload of 60. No thirty-second handoffs to a COTA while you see the next child. No treatment plans dictated by what insurance will cover instead of what the child actually needs.
We treat the whole child — within the whole family. We look for the root cause of what is making daily life hard. And we get results with children that other providers cannot explain — including children with no formal diagnosis who are simply struggling and need someone who understands why.
230+ five-star Google reviews. In a small town in Southern Illinois. From real families who got their children — and their hope — back.
That is what one-on-one, relationship-centered, family-powered pediatric OT actually looks like.
The Real Offer: We Are Not Looking for an Employee. We Are Looking for Someone to Invest In.
Phase 1 — Master the Synergy Pediatric Model
You will work directly under Chandana Dash, OTR/L — 32 years of pediatric occupational therapy, family-centered practice, and child development expertise. You will not be handed a caseload and left to figure it out alone.
You will be mentored in how to see a child within their family system — not in isolation. You will learn how to work with parents as treatment partners, how to serve children with and without a formal diagnosis, and how to run a cash-based hybrid practice that is financially sustainable and clinically excellent.
Phase 2 — Build Your Future
Once you have mastered the Synergy Pediatric Model, three paths open:
| Your Path | What It Looks Like |
|---|---|
| Stay and grow at Synergy | Build your own pediatric caseload under our roof — with our brand, our systems, our community reputation, and 20+ years of family trust behind you. |
| Open your own pediatric practice | We hand you the complete Synergy Pediatric business system — patient journey, parent communication model, cash-hybrid billing structure, marketing framework — everything we built so you can launch without the decade of trial and error. |
| Build something else entirely | Online programs, parent training, telehealth, national reach — if your vision is bigger than a single clinic, we will help you build toward it. |
This is mentorship with a future built in. Not a job. Not a caseload number. Not a career that burns you out before you reach your potential.
The Cash-Based Hybrid Model for Pediatric OT
Most pediatric OTs have never been taught that there is an alternative to insurance dependency. They graduate into high-volume settings because that appears to be the only path.
We operate a cash-based hybrid model that allows us to:
- Give every child a full unrushed session
- Serve families outside the limits of what insurance will authorize
- Charge what exceptional, outcome-driven care is actually worth
- Build therapeutic relationships with families that last years
- Offer telehealth nationally and internationally — reaching families who have no access to quality pediatric OT anywhere near them
You will learn every part of how this model works — clinical and business. This is the education that OT school and your current employer never gave you.
Who This Is For
This is for the OT who:
- Chose pediatrics because children’s development genuinely moves you
- Sees the child and the family — not just the diagnosis on the referral
- Is exhausted by high caseloads and wants to go deep instead of wide
- Wants to actually partner with parents — not just hand out home programs
- Is curious, hungry to learn, and willing to be challenged
- Believes a child does not need a diagnosis to deserve excellent therapy
- Is ready to invest in building something — a caseload, a reputation, a future
This is NOT for the OT who:
- Is comfortable managing 60 children as long as the salary clears
- Wants a predictable routine with no clinical challenge
- Needs external motivation to do the right thing for a family
- Is looking for the path of least resistance
A Word From Chandana
I have spent 32 years watching what happens to talented OTs in the wrong environments. The caseloads. The rushing. The paperwork that takes longer than the session. The feeling that you are billing for a relationship you never had time to build.
I built the Synergy Pediatric Division because I believed children deserve more — and so do the clinicians who serve them.
I am not looking for someone to fill a role. I am looking for someone who sees what I see — that the most powerful intervention in a child’s life is a clinician who truly understands them, working with a family that has been taught how to be part of the solution.
If that is the kind of OT you are — or the kind you are determined to become — I want to work with you.
— Chandana Dash, OTR/L · Co-Founder, Synergy Therapeutic Group · Carbondale, Illinois · Est. 2003
What We Are Looking For
The basics:
- Licensed Occupational Therapist — Illinois license or ability to obtain
- Pediatric experience or a strong pediatric clinical focus
- Genuine passion for child development and family-centered care
- Comfortable with children with and without formal diagnosis
- Interest in sensory processing, developmental delays, and functional challenges
- Independent, coachable, and committed to one-on-one relational care
Strong plus if you have:
- Telehealth experience or interest
- Experience working with parents as treatment partners
- Interest in building parent education programs or online content
The non-negotiables:
- You believe every child and every family deserves your full presence
- You are done rationalizing a system that serves billing over children
- You are ready to build a career — not just hold a position
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a full-time position?
Yes. This is a full-time clinical role with mentorship built in from day one. Sessions are one hour, one on one — not a rushed caseload.
Do you serve children without a diagnosis?
Absolutely. Many of the children we serve have no formal diagnosis. They are simply struggling — and their families deserve answers and real support regardless of what any evaluation report says.
Is telehealth part of this role?
It can be. Chandana has built a telehealth practice that serves families nationally and internationally. If you are interested in that component, it is available as your caseload develops.
What does the cash-hybrid model mean for pediatric OT?
We accept insurance for covered services and offer direct-pay options for services outside those limits — including parent coaching, functional skills programs, and telehealth. This gives families more access and gives you more clinical freedom.
What if I want to build my own pediatric practice eventually?
That is exactly the kind of thinking we are looking for. We will actively support you — with the complete Synergy Pediatric business system, mentorship from Chandana, and our full backing for your vision.
We Are Not Mass Hiring.
This is one position. For one exceptional OT. At a clinic that has spent 20 years proving that children and families deserve better — and building the systems to deliver it.
If this page resonated with you, tell us about yourself.
Apply Now — Tell Us Who You Are →
No formal resume required to start. Just tell us who you are, where you are in your career, and why this page resonated with you.
Synergy Therapeutic Group · 1110 Cedar Court, Carbondale, IL · 618-243-7822