Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Buatsi.
Hi Kylie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Restorative Speech Services began three and a half years ago from a simple desire to help families who were struggling to access healthcare for their children. In Volusia County, children were waiting six months or longer for services that are medically necessary including speech, language, and feeding services. I was seeing firsthand how frustrating and overwhelming that was for parents who desperately needed support for their children. I felt compelled to help bridge that gap.
When I first started, my initial plan was simply to take on clients part time and over the summers while continuing my work with a virtual school throughout the school year—a role I truly enjoyed. The focus was simply on meeting an immediate need in our community and supporting families who were having difficulty accessing timely healthcare for their children.
Since then, Restorative Speech Services has grown far beyond what I initially imagined. Today, we operate out of two clinic locations as well as two school locations, provide multidisciplinary services including speech and occupational therapy, and serve as a clinical placement site for three graduate programs training future speech-language pathologists. RSS currently employs five full and part-time therapists, allowing us to reach more children while equipping families with the resources and confidence to support their children’s progress and skill development.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, and I did not know what to expect when I launched, nor could I have. I’ve learned growth is not linear. Especially not in the first few years of a start up company. When I launched my business, I was balancing family life, full-time work as a speech-language pathologist while simultaneously building RSS. What started as a small caseload quickly grew into managing systems, marketing, scheduling, billing, compliance, hiring, and finances- areas I had not been formally trained in.
There were many mornings spent crying into my coffee, questioning whether I was making the right choices and feeling the weight of navigating business decisions. Through it all, my husband’s unwavering support became my anchor. He believed in the vision on the days I struggled to see it myself, offering steady encouragement, patience, and reassurance when the path felt uncertain. I also sought out other women who were also moms and entrepreneurs, creating a circle of support where we could connect, share our experiences, and help problem-solve challenges together.
In time, those challenges became some of the most meaningful parts of the journey. Navigating difficult decisions strengthened my intuition and taught me to trust myself more with each step forward. As the practice continued to grow—welcoming new team members, expanding services, and opening a second location—I learned how to adapt with grace and trust both the process and the purpose guiding this work.
As you know, we’re big fans of Restorative Speech Services. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Restorative Speech Services was created because every child deserves access to timely medical care. In Volusia county, children are often placed on half year long waitlists. During critical stages of development, when a child needs support, time matters. We are able to provide comprehensive speech and language evaluations within 24 hours. We do not run a waitlist, which allows families to move forward into therapy immediately.
Because of this model, some of the children we serve are able to make meaningful progress and even be discharged from therapy before they would have ever been seen at another clinic. For parents who are worried, overwhelmed, or unsure of what comes next, that kind of response is life-changing.
At the heart of Restorative Speech Services is a deep commitment to parent coaching. We see parents not as observers, but as essential partners in their child’s care. Therapy doesn’t stop when a session ends—it continues at the dinner table, during bedtime routines, and in everyday conversations. By equipping families with practical tools and confidence, we help communication grow organically.
Our vision—Respond, Restore, Reconnect—is the foundation of our work. We respond quickly to a child’s needs. We restore gaps in communication through reading a child’s cues, and providing individualized, evidence-based intervention. And through that process, we help parents reconnect with their children to facilitate moments of understanding and shared joy.
What we are most proud of is the trust families place in us during some of their most vulnerable moments. Restorative Speech Services was built with intention, heart, and an unwavering belief that every child deserves to be heard—and every family deserves support when they need it most.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something that often surprises people about me is that I truly believe work and play can become one when you love what you do and the people you do it with. Every day, I have the incredible privilege of watching the vision I once dreamed for my company—respond, restore, reconnect—come to life in the most meaningful ways. I witness children speak their first words and have parents tell me they just heard their child say “I love you” for the very first time. These moments never lose their wonder. What makes them even more precious is that I don’t just experience them through my own work as a therapist—I get to celebrate them alongside a team who shares the same heart for this work. Communicating is more than speaking. It’s connection. It’s why we are here- to connect with those we love, to know them, and to be known by them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://restorativespeechservicesinc.clientsecure.me/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RestorativeSpeechServices
