Stepping Stones Buys Catalyst Speech Language Pathology to Expand In-School Programs

Pediatric behavioral health provider The Stepping Stones Group has announced its purchase of in-school speech therapy company Catalyst Speech Language Pathology.

Catalyst Speech provides services to more than 20 school districts in California. The Los Angeles-based provider was founded by Ji Kim in 2015. Following this acquisition, Kim will continue to lead Catalyst Speech as a standalone entity. She will also serve as the director of client services at Stepping Stones. 

“Ji and her team have built a strong reputation for providing high-quality speech-language pathology services to school districts, and we are thrilled to welcome the Catalyst Speech team to The Stepping Stones Group,” Tim Murphy, CEO of The Stepping Stones Group, said in a statement.

This acquisition comes amid the growing demand for speech therapy services. Employment for speech language pathologists is projected to grow by 21% from 2021 to 2031, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Stepping Stones is a private equity-backed autism and behavioral health provider. The Boston-based provider currently operates in 45 states and has more than 8,000 employees. 

The provider was named one of the fastest-growing companies by Inc. 5000. Its services include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, autism related services, behavioral services and special education services.   

In 2018 PE firm Five Arrows Capital Partners purchased Stepping Stones from Shore Capital. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Stepping Stones has made a number of acquisitions over the last few years. At the end of last year it announced the acquisition of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) provider Building Block Behavior Consultants.

In July Stepping Stones bought the Center for Behavioral, Educational and Social Therapies (CBEST). Just a month prior it picked up behavioral health provider HM Therapy. Stepping Stones’ other acquisitions include The Southcoast Autism Center, EBS Healthcare, Futures and Behavioral Learning Center, New England ABA, Star of CA, and Ador School Solutions.

Stepping Stones isn’t the only private equity-backed pediatric behavioral health provider looking to expand through M&A. In October PE-backed Acorn Health announced the acquisition of seven ABA centers from Breakthrough Behavior.