Feeding Therapy, Lactation Counseling, & Speech Therapy

Child participating in feeding therapy for toddlers in Land O' Lakes, FL

Supporting you and your little one through all the early journeys with compassionate care.

Serving children & families at our office, in homes, preschools, & daycares in Pasco & Hillsborough Counties

Let's Get Started!

Welcome to Thriving Joy Pediatric Therapy, the Experts in Feeding, Lactation, & Communication

Thriving Joy Pediatric Therapy is based in Lutz, FL, specializing in feeding therapy, lactation counseling, and speech therapy for children ages birth through elementary school. Our highly specialized boutique practice is built on family-centered care, ensuring every family feels heard, respected, and genuinely cared for.

Drawing on over a decade of experience, we understand the importance of identifying root causes, not just quick fixes, to promote meaningful change. Our holistically minded interventions provide the compassionate support you need and deserve so that you can enjoy each season of parenting.

CERTIFIED LACTATION COUNSELOR • CERTIFIED NEONATAL THERAPIST • CERTIFIED NEONATAL TOUCH & MASSAGE THERAPIST • CERTIFIED SMALL BABY CARE SPECIALIST • ASHA CERTIFIED SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST

Specialty Services for Children & Parents

FEEDING THERAPY • LACTATION COUNSELING • SPEECH THERAPY • PARENT COACHING

Feeding Therapy

Whether feeding by breast, bottle, spoon, or tube, I can help optimize your child's feeding skills so they can thrive.

LEARN MORE

Lactation Counseling

Achieve your breastfeeding goals through prenatal education, postpartum consultations, and expert support for all lactation questions and concerns.

LEARN MORE

Speech Therapy

We specialize in early intervention speech therapy to address speech and language delays and support communication for late talkers.

LEARN MORE

Contact Us

Meet Jaime

Jaime Perez, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, CNT, NTMCT

Owner, Certified Lactation Counselor, Certified Neonatal Therapist, Certified Neonatal Touch and Massage Therapist, Certified Small Baby Care Specialist, ASHA Certified Speech-Language Pathologist

Jaime Perez is a pediatric speech therapist and certified lactation counselor who is committed to empowering parents with holistic, family-centered care. Her medical background in pediatric hospitals and NICU settings is what sets her apart and allows her to support families at any stage of their journey.

Drawing from her own experiences navigating the ups and downs of parenting and feeding challenges, Jaime understands the importance of feeling genuinely heard and understood.

She combines her professional expertise and personal journey as a mom to provide holistic care based on evidence-based approaches, ensuring her clients receive the therapy and counseling to meet their unique needs.

Jaime’s practice is built on listening to families, advocating for what is best, and delivering care that goes beyond just following doctor's orders.

Find Joy in the Journey

Ready to get started with Thriving Joy?

Thriving Joy Pediatric Therapy provides feeding therapy, lactation counseling, and speech therapy at our office and in clients’ homes, preschools, and daycares. Based in Lutz, FL, we serve families throughout Pasco and Hillsborough Counties.

Let’s Talk

We offer a free initial phone consultation to answer your questions and discuss your concerns and therapy preferences (location, schedule, etc.).

Let’s Meet

We will begin with an evaluation or initial consultation. During this session, we will review our findings and recommendations, and a treatment plan will be established with the family.

Let’s Begin

Following the initial session, we will begin therapy at a frequency and length that meets your family’s needs and will allow you to see the results you are seeking.

Let's Begin

Getting started & practice basics

Thriving Joy works with children from birth through elementary school. That range covers newborns and infants needing feeding or lactation support, toddlers with speech and language delays, and older children who benefit from continued therapy. Care is tailored to each child's stage and individual needs.
Thriving Joy has two Tampa Bay area offices: one in Lutz at 18926 North Dale Mabry Highway, Suite 102, and one in Wesley Chapel at 29141 Chapel Park Drive. The practice also sees families in their own homes, preschools, and daycares.
Yes. Along with in office visits at the Lutz and Wesley Chapel locations, Thriving Joy provides therapy in clients' homes, preschools, and daycares. This flexibility lets your child build new skills in the everyday settings where they spend the most time.
Thriving Joy serves families throughout Central Pasco and Northern Hillsborough Counties, including Lutz, Wesley Chapel, Land O' Lakes, Odessa, Zephyrhills and surrounding communities. Between the two offices and in home visits, most families in the area can be seen close to where they live.
Getting started begins with completing the pre-screener on the website first so you are added to our portal and then we can reach out or free phone consultation to discuss your concerns, questions, and preferences like location and schedule. From there you book an evaluation or initial consultation, review the findings and recommendations together, and set up a treatment plan built around your family's needs.
Yes. Thriving Joy offers a free initial phone consultation for every new family. It is a no pressure conversation to answer your questions, talk through your concerns, and figure out whether the practice is the right fit before you commit to an evaluation.
The first visit is an evaluation or initial consultation where the therapist assesses your child's needs and gathers your input. Afterward you review the findings and recommendations together, and a treatment plan is created with the family. Therapy then begins at a frequency and length that fits your child.
Jaime Perez is the owner of Thriving Joy and an ASHA certified speech language pathologist and certified lactation counselor with over a decade of experience. Her credentials also include certified neonatal therapist and small baby care specialist, and her background spans pediatric hospitals and NICU settings.
Yes. The owner's experience in NICU and pediatric hospital settings, along with certifications in neonatal therapy and small baby care, means Thriving Joy is well equipped to support premature infants and babies who have spent time in intensive care with their feeding, development, and lactation needs.
Yes. Supporting tracheostomy dependent children is one of Thriving Joy's listed specialties. Care draws on the owner's medical background in hospital and NICU settings to address feeding, swallowing, and communication needs safely and with close attention to each child's medical picture.
Yes. Along with direct therapy, Thriving Joy offers parent coaching, groups, and caregiver classes. These give you practical, evidence based strategies to carry over at home, so progress continues between sessions and you feel more confident supporting your child every day.
Thriving Joy Pediatric Therapy offers feeding therapy at its Wesley Chapel office at 29141 Chapel Park Drive, as well as at its Lutz location and in family homes. The practice serves children throughout Central Pasco and Northern Hillsborough Counties.
Yes. Thriving Joy provides pediatric speech therapy from its Lutz office at 18926 North Dale Mabry Highway and serves nearby Land O' Lakes and Wesley Chapel families, including in home and daycare visits, throughout Central Pasco and Northern Hillsborough Counties.

Feeding therapy

Pediatric feeding therapy helps children eat and drink more safely and comfortably, whether they feed by breast, bottle, spoon, or tube. A therapist looks for the root cause of feeding struggles rather than quick fixes, then builds the skills your child needs to grow and thrive at mealtimes.
Common signs include gagging or choking during meals, refusing most foods or textures, trouble moving from bottle to solids, ongoing picky eating, poor weight gain, or long stressful mealtimes. If feeding feels like a daily battle, an evaluation can identify what is going on and how to help.
Yes. Extreme picky eating is one of Thriving Joy's specialties. Rather than forcing new foods, therapy explores why your child avoids certain textures, tastes, or smells, then gradually and gently expands what they will accept so mealtimes become calmer for the whole family.
Yes. Tube weaning is a specialty at Thriving Joy. The therapist supports children transitioning from tube feeding to eating by mouth through a careful, individualized plan that follows your child's readiness and keeps their nutrition and safety at the center of the process.
They can. Tongue ties and lip ties can affect how a baby latches, sucks, and swallows, which may show up as feeding difficulty or discomfort. Thriving Joy evaluates these restrictions and supports families before and after any tie release with feeding and oral motor therapy.
Yes. Infant feeding and swallowing disorders are a core specialty, informed by the owner's background in pediatric hospitals and NICU care. The practice supports safe, effective feeding for babies who struggle with swallowing, coordination, or getting enough nutrition by breast or bottle.

Lactation Counseling

A certified lactation counselor helps parents reach their breastfeeding goals through education and hands on support. At Thriving Joy that includes prenatal preparation, postpartum consultations, and guidance for questions or concerns about latch, milk supply, positioning, and feeding comfort at any stage of your journey.
Yes. Thriving Joy offers prenatal lactation education so you can prepare for breastfeeding before delivery. Learning what to expect ahead of time helps many parents feel more confident and can make the early days after birth noticeably smoother and less stressful.
Thriving Joy provides expert lactation counseling for common challenges like a difficult latch, concerns about low milk supply, and painful feeding. Support is personalized to your situation, with practical strategies you can use right away and follow up as your feeding journey continues.
Both support breastfeeding families, but they hold different certifications. A Certified Lactation Counselor completes focused training in lactation support and education, which is the credential Jaime Perez holds. If your situation calls for care beyond that scope, she can help point you toward the right next step.

Speech Therapy

Signs can include few or no words by age two, trouble following simple directions, limited gestures or eye contact, frustration when trying to communicate, or speech that is hard to understand. Early evaluation helps you know whether your child needs support or is simply on their own timeline.
A late talker is typically a toddler who understands language well but uses far fewer words than expected for their age. It is worth an evaluation if your child is not adding new words steadily, is not combining words by around age two, or seems frustrated communicating.
Early intervention speech therapy provides support during the years when the brain is most adaptable, often before a child starts school. Addressing speech and language delays early can improve communication, ease frustration, and give children a stronger foundation for learning and social connection down the road.
It is hard to tell on your own, which is exactly what an evaluation is for. A speech language pathologist can distinguish a typical variation from a delay that benefits from support, so you get clear answers instead of months of wondering and waiting.