Issuu

Holistic Wellness at Ridgebury Farm and Stables

THE KIDS & PETS ISSUE

LIFESTYLE LETTER

Lifestyle Letter

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits.

This issue is always one of my favorites. I suppose because of the immense joy that children bring to their families and the significant impact they make on their communities.

Children are not merely the hope for a brighter tomorrow; they are the foundation upon which our society stands. Their innocence, curiosity, and boundless potential have the power to shape the world in ways we can only imagine. Kids represent our hardest work and greatest investment and we are happy to highlight some of Ridgefield's kids in this issue.

Secondarily, who could forget pets? The special kind of companionship can be a transformative experience for children and adults alike. Pets provide us with unconditional love, the opportunity to learn, grow and develop essential life skills in a nurturing environment. And who could ignore the bond between kids and their furry or feathery friends? The bond is often deep and meaningful, fostering qualities like empathy, responsibility, and companionship.

Although children are of infinitely more value, what children and pets share in common is that they need us. Our care, attention and intention shapes how they are raised and who they become. We hope this issue inspires you to pour a little extra into the children and pets in your life this month.

Cheers!

BRUCE BERNSTEIN, PUBLISHER

@RIDGEFIELDLIFESTYLEMAGAZINE

August 2024

PUBLISHER

Bruce Bernstein | bruce.bernstein@citylifestyle.com

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR

Samantha Beranbom

samantha.beranbom@citylifestyle.com

Kristy Jefferson | kristy.jefferson@citylifestyle.com

PUBLISHER ASSISTANT

Pam Antonacchio | pam.antonacchio@citylifestyle.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kristy Jefferson

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Dariusz Terepka, Jennifer Barrett, Natasha Fleming

Corporate Team

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson

AD DESIGNER Rachel Chrisman

LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling

Jill Rae, Kim Harper & Mariah Murphy

city scene

Play for Pepper Annual Event 1: Christine Wohl, Stacy McGratty and Ryan Meyerhoff 2: Kristian Thiele, Joe Schimenti, Sam Scatterday, Chris Scatterday 3: Denise Schimenti, Gabbie Whitbeck, and Catherine Scatterday 4: Pam Simoneau, Ed Simoneau, Sarah Stabile, and Karla Murtaugh 5: Ed Feliciano, Becky Pesce and Tom Pesce 6: Minnie McCartan, Catherine Scatterday, Niro Feliciano, and

Feliciano 7: Denise Schimenti, Holly Endee, Kate Hall Photography by Natasha Fleming

KickFIT Ridgefield

KickFIT CT was born and raised in Ridgefield. That’s not just a business statement, that’s THE statement. KickFIT has been proudly serving Ridgefield for 9 years and provides an alternative to the big-box franchise gyms or studios. At KickFIT, you will find a team and culture that welcomes you, coaches you, one that pushes you to be the best and most fit version of YOU. Visit the website www.kickfitct.com to get your first class on us.

Photography by Arianna Thill

Sommlike

Sommlike is a wine-tech start-up proudly founded in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Our journey began with a simple mission: to connect wine lovers with local sommeliers and wine experts. Our promise? To revolutionize the way customers experience wine. Through our community, customers get access to exclusive wine tastings and events, a direct line to a group of passionate local somms and their curated collections all at an exceptional value, delivered right to their door. sommlike.com

Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge

Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge’s podcast, It’s Gonna Be OK!™: ScienceBacked Solutions for Children’s Behavior and Mental Health, is in the top 2% globally. The podcast empowers parents with science-backed solutions to move from dysregulation to calm. Each episode delivers expert advice and practical strategies for ADHD, anxiety, OCD, PANS/PANDAS, etc., making it an indispensable resource for parents, who often fly in from all over the world to work with her. www.drroseann.com/podcast

Photography by New Light Creative Services

Photography by Roseann Capanna-Hodge

RIDGEBURY FARM AND STABLES BRINGS HIPPOTHERAPY TO RIDGEFIELD

The Healing Power of Horses

ARTICLE BY KRISTY JEFFERSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY NEW LIGHT CREATIVE SERVICES

“

“We offer excellent therapy and excellent riding lessons.”

“People always ask where our hippo is,” says Whitney Gearin, Assistant Director of Ridgebury Farm and Stables. To be clear, there are no hippos on this idyllic 56 acres of farm tucked away on Ridgebury Road. Instead, Ridgebury Farm is one of the area’s only horse farms that doubles as a medical facility where physical, occupational, and speech therapists are accredited to use Hippotherapy as a powerful tool in their practice. Coming from the Greek word for horse, hippotherapy is not to be confused with equine therapy, its more casual cousin that does not incorporate clinical practices. Also, no hippos.

Ridgebury Farm excels at its dual purpose. With a sprawling property that includes lush meadows, private trails, an antique barn, outdoor and indoor riding rings (with a dust-free floor for those with sensory issues), the farm exudes a welcoming sense of peace, even with the flurry of things happening on the grounds.

As Executive Director Katy Schermann says, “We offer excellent therapy and excellent riding lessons.”

There is a lot of ground to cover here, both literally and figuratively, but let’s start with the transformative - but little known - therapy that inspired this farm. Originating in Germany in the 1960s, hippotherapy started as an adjunct to physical therapy. Today in order to be accredited by the American Hippotherapy Association, you must be licensed in one of three areas - physical, occupational, or speech therapy. Ridgebury Farm and Stables sees people of all abilities dealing with a variety of challenges, including those who may not be able to get around on their own. At the farm, they can leave the wheelchair outside the barn and feel the freeing movement of the horse.

“One of the most incredible things is for individuals specifically with gait issues that require a walker isbecause the horse’s pelvic movement is the same as ours, they are literally building the muscle memory on the horse without walking,” explains Gearin. “So then without the horse, there is a marked transformation. It’s mind-blowing.” Anyone who needs traditional occupational, physical, or speech therapy can benefit from hippotherapy. And as the passionate staff at Ridgebury Farm points out - it’s a fun break from being in an office setting.

Schermann explains that when doing hippotherapy, individuals are not usually in a typical saddle with reins. “They are on a bareback pad, because the key component of this is the movement of the horse; the gait of the horse is the same as a human’s gait, which is why, scientifically speaking, the synapses in the brain and the neural pathways are triggered much differently when an individual is mounted on horseback than when they are on a ball or some of the other modalities a therapist would use.”

Another thing that differs from what you would traditionally think of when up on a horse is that individuals aren’t always facing forward. “Most of them sit backwards, and ride backwards, which is why we have a side-walker for everybody,” says Schermann. “Even if the person is able-bodied, the things we have them doing are not typical. So you start forward, you ride backward, you ride forward, you ride sideways.”

Sometimes, a person might not be on the horse at all. The farm also offers psychotherapy with Judith Liu, a licensed clinical social worker who is certified in Animal Assisted Psychotherapy (AAT). Working with

CONTINUED >

"Everything around here has intention." “ ”

Liu, either as an individual or a family, is a one-on-one experience for privacy reasons. Sessions are often centered around talk therapy while working with the horses by grooming them, feeding them, and just being with them, which is in itself a calming experience.

The staff at Ridgebury Farm is warm, friendly, and passionate about their work. The main building, complete with a charming front porch and antique detail throughout, is a former tavern transformed into a general store in 1858, before it became a horse farm in 1947. If you walk up the steps someone will happily show you “Nacho” the bunny in one area, and all the baby bunnies in another. Outside the window is a view of “Farmer Phil’s Barnyard,” home to mini goats, sheep, and chickens happily roaming.

They refer to this peaceful enclave as a Holistic Wellness Farm, and it is apparent everywhere you look.

That’s because so much of the experience at Ridgebury Farm And Stables is focused on the wellness of the entire family. While kids and adults with special needs get the therapy they need, every detail of the experience is thoughtfully considered. “Everything around here has intention,” Schermann says. For example, the Mercantile - a space in the main house complete with Wi-Fi, coffee, and bathrooms, where siblings, parents, or companions can sit if it’s too hot or too cold outside. Clients and siblings can enjoy the big swing, the (indoor and clean) Corn Pit, or the Mud Kitchen, where play and stress relief double as additional sensory stimulation. The idea is everyone gets what they need, with the least amount of running around. “Our families are dealing with a lot,” Schermann tells us.

You might call it kismet that the farm ended up in Ridgefield, a community wired to be supportive of

those with special needs, smack in the middle of horse country. With all the equine properties in the area, none of them incorporate hippotherapy because everything that comes with owning a medical facility and a farm is infrastructure-heavy. “It’s expensive and it takes the right team, and after three years we have a rock-solid team that’s able to deliver those components.” It takes a village of 20 staff and a roster of over 65 volunteers to make this magic happen.

“Ridgefield is so closely connected with the special needs population and it’s just a really core element of the community here, and that’s one thing that we love about it,” says Schermann. “And not only is everyone super kind, but it’s just already so adaptive and inclusive.”

While Ridgebury Farm is indeed a medical facility where transformative therapies take place, it is also a unique destination in that it also offers something for everyone. Casual riders can find excellent lessons from renowned instructors, families can take advantage of

tractor rides through private trails strung with twinkling lights, and anyone can join in events like “Hooves and Happy Hour,” which includes a group riding lesson followed by drinks, cheese and mingling. Supporters can also look forward to signing up for the official “Ridgebury Riders Membership Program,” available late summer.

The Spruce Ridge Barn, known among staff as “The Antique,” is a gorgeous structure built in the 1850s that has just recently been renovated into a magical event space. An enormous, glass garage door dominates a side wall, while chandeliers twinkle up in the original rafters. The reservations for weddings have already started rolling in, with the first one slated to take place in October.

Before that, however, adults can join in the Third Annual Farm Fete on Saturday, September 28, and families should check out the farm’s Second Annual Fall Festival on Friday, October 25. See if you can find the one hippo on the farm (hint: its house is dust-free).

Rooted in Community

YOUNG DANCERS THRIVE AT RIDGEFIELD CONSERVATORY OF DANCE

ARTICLE BY KRISTY JEFFERSON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARIUSZ TEREPKA

There is a moment during Amy Piantaggini’s independent ballet class when all her 3 and 4-year-old charges fold themselves up into little balls on the ballet floor. Piantaggini then produces a green watering can, and gently pantomimes sprinkling water over these little buds. It could not be more appropriate, because as you watch these little ones in leotards move joyfully throughout the space at Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance on Main Street, you can practically see the ballerina within them starting to grow. They are, quite literally, budding dancers.

The atmosphere in this class is quietly magical, yet bursting with energy. Starting with bubbles wafting around the room and ending in the frenetic shaking of a parachute, the flow of what looks like any child’s ballet class actually has influences ranging from the Montessori program to the theories of Howard Gardner. “Her method with the little ones is unbelievable,” says Polly Kingsbury, Educational Director of the Conservatory. “I’ve been in this business a very long time and what she’s doing is unique and amazing. What the kids learn without realizing it is terrific.”

Piantaggini has been the Executive Director of RCD for a decade, and after teaching for 18 years you still see the sparkle in her eyes and her excitement as she talks about dance, and her students. The kids delight in her presence, swarming her like buzzing bees when getting their ribbons out for the next activity, and she presides over the class with a gentle warmth. Her approach to teaching the littlest of dancers aims to build a strong foundation that can take them through graduation and beyond. There is a recognition that what you learn in the ballet studio has a long tail. “The self-discipline, the organization of your time, the mind-body connection - no matter if kids go on to careers in [any field], I feel like you can take that into whatever you do,” Piantaggini told us. “And that’s the idea - just because

you come through our school that doesn’t have to be the end goal. It is for some of our kids, and they take the appropriate classes to get there, but there is room for everybody here and they start as young as one!”

These early connections remain whether students are there for 10 years or 10 months. “I will have kids who will come to me for just one year,” says Piantaggini. And then eight years later I see them over at Deborah Ann’s eating ice cream and it’s a big reunion. It’s the personal connections you make with the parents and the kids. It’s meaningful within this community that there is so much interaction, and the friendships that we see the kids form.”

If you take a peek into the Conservatory’s well-known window on Main Street, you might see kids just learning to walk already dancing with their parents, absorbing the fundamentals of the lessons to come. When kids get their feet under them, so to speak, they start to break out on their own, having fun with Piantaggini and her assistants from some of the more advanced classes. “With the young ones, it’s just the joy. It’s the remembering what dance is all about,” she says. Hiding sneakily behind the joyful abandon, however, are research-based practices of the phase RCD refers to as “pre-ballet.” Piantaggini has even written a curriculum book that other teachers are starting to reference in their own classrooms. “When the school was founded as a non-profit, Howard Turner (also the founder of Ridgefield Academy) understood the importance of a strong educational model, so we’ve tried to carry that with us,” says Piantaggini.

Even though we Ridgefielders walk by their window practically every day, many may not know that Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance is the only dance studio in the surrounding area that operates as a nonprofit. Founded by Patricia Schuster in 1965, the studio was willed to the Ridgefield Playhouse upon

"It’s a real misnomer that ballet is for one type. Absolutely not true. We train everybody and we like to think we have a lot of fun doing it.”

“Her method with the little ones is unbelievable. What the kids learn without realizing it is terrific.”

her passing in 1999, starting a long-standing partnership that continues to this day. RCD holds its annual (and very popular) production of The Nutcracker at this other Ridgefield institution every year. When five Ridgefield families got together with the vision of incorporating the Conservatory into a non-profit, the Playhouse “acted as a bridge” during the transition. This status has allowed them to both have additional resources from grants, and continue Schuster’s vision of exposing the young people of Ridgefield to the wider world of dance. And not just ballet - RCD has a thriving Modern program, as well as jazz, tap, musical theater, hip hop, and even specialty classes that come through, like Stage Combat.

In a town where the arts and nonprofit culture are deeply ingrained in the fabric of the community, running the Conservatory as a nonprofit is fitting. As Piantaggini puts it, “To me what a nonprofit means … is the give-back to the community. The reinvesting in the people here.” Whether they are engaging in the school systems, collaborating with SPHERE as they did for eight years, or performing at the Aldrich, “doing free, pro bono things for the town is important to us.”

There is also a strong sense of legacy within the RCD community. Says one former student/current parent, “Our family's experience with RCD began in 1984, when I began taking my first classes with Patricia Schuster. I spent countless hours studying ballet under her guidance, all the way through the Ridgefield Civic Ballet,

until I graduated from RHS in 2000. In 2014, we came full circle when my oldest daughter started her first ballet classes at RCD. All three of my daughters now study at RCD, and we're so grateful for the community of welcoming, professional teachers who are instilling a love of dance in this next generation of dancers.”

Back in the studio, Piantaggini is taking her charges through a story set in the forest, using each element to emphasize a different movement. The trees are stretching to the sky, the roots keep the tree steady and standing tall. The children delight in placing a unicorn atop their heads, practicing balance and poise. As one mom put it, another former RCD student, “It's abundantly clear that the curriculum is developed to foster a love of dance through movement and play, all the while respecting ballet/dance fundamentals. RCD emphasizes respect for self/others, the studio, and the art of dance - lessons for our little dancers to heed in all aspects of life.”

Piantaggini stresses that the Conservatory is both a rigorous dance program, and a place where everyone is welcome. “It’s a real misnomer that ballet is for one type,” Piantaggini says. “Absolutely not true. We train everybody and we like to think we have a lot of fun doing it.” You can feel that energy with her 3 and 4-yearolds in class that starts with gentle exercises, builds up to a high-energy obstacle course, and relaxes back into calm. Kids leave the studio bouncing and happy, the seeds of dance firmly planted and ready to grow.

JOINING FORCES

Alley Adds to the Nod Hill Experience

ARTICLE BY KRISTY JEFFERSON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARIUSZ TEREPKA

Hitch and the Giddy Up. Massive Diva. String Fingers. Symphonic Bodega. These are just some of the bands that tie together Nod Hill Owner David Kaye and Joe Farrell, owner of Walrus Alley, a Westport mainstay that recently opened an outpost at the Ridgefield brewery. Their friendship goes back more

Walrus

"We’ve kind of brought it full circle, which is cool.”

than a decade, and it’s hard not to see how one has influenced the other, back and forth, since the opening of Farrell’s Walrus and Carpenter back in 2013.

With the goal of creating something uniquely American, Farrell’s restaurant focused on Southern food with a smoker and exclusively American liquor. When getting a live music program up and running, bluegrass felt like a natural extension of that ethos. “We created something called “Brewgrass, so once a month we did a pig roast while Hitch and the Giddy Up played - I think we cut it up in the dining room.”

Seated at a table in the atmospheric event space of Nod Hill, Kaye nods his agreement. This is where Kaye enters the stage as Hitch’s lead mandolin player - a local favorite that turned into a Walrus and Carpenter fixture. After performing monthly for what turned

out to be more than 80 shows, Dave looked at Joe and said “This sounds crazy but we’re thinking of opening a brewery. Would you guys carry our beer if we do?”

Since his days of homebrewing in college, Kaye had fantasized about opening a brewery, but never imagined that it would actually happen. After his family’s business, Riverside Fence, bought the building that would become Nod Hill, Kaye looked around at the wood shop (now the event space) and the storage area (now the brewing equipment) and thought “Wait a sec, this location could be really good.” What began as a thought experiment slowly progressed into a reality where, as Kaye puts it, “I guess we’re actually going to try and do this.”

After officially opening in 2017, Nod Hill began distributing beer, with a familiar place to go. “Joe was

one of our very first customers, which was awesome,” says Kaye. “That was such a cool moment, seeing our beer on tap there and playing music there.”

Nod Hill quickly became known for its craft beers and laid-back atmosphere. They came out of the gate with a full flight of offerings including hearty IPAs, flavorful ales, and limited seasonal runs. The tap room up front is cozy, where rustic chandeliers hang over pine tables, and the warm wood gives up the spotlight to the vivid green cabinets surrounding the bar. “What I like that stands out about Nod Hill specifically,” says Farrell, “is a lot of breweries are these industrial-type spaces, where Dave’s aesthetic is more - this is a comfortable place to be. Oh yeah, and we make beer.” The doors of the tap room take you past the brewing equipment to an event space that can hold up to 100 people. Even for a large space it feels cozy, with large beer barrels lining a dark green wall, another bar, plenty of seating, and a small stage.

“We had just gotten that trailer to go to breweries and we knew Nod Hill was a great brewery to go to right out of the gate."

When the pandemic hit, plans got underway to expand the property with a proper outdoor biergarten. It took a lot of work - not only did Kaye have to double the size of the parking lot, but with their proximity to the Norwalk River came mitigation work, while also trying to make the site more environmentally friendly. By the time the biergarten opened in August 2021, surrounded by trees and a wildflower meadow, Covid-weary Ridgefield was thrilled. As one patron told us, “On the right night it’s ethereal. People play lawn games, laugh, dance, chat at the picnic tables. The string lights are lit. It’s a lightness I don’t know of being anywhere else in town. It’s basically a movie set.”

Back in 2019, even before the biergarten opened, Farrell and Walrus Alley had purchased a food truck. “We had just gotten that trailer to

go to breweries,” says Farrell. “And we knew that Nod Hill was a great brewery to go to right out of the gate, so I had confidence in getting that trailer.” After Walrus spent a couple summers visiting Nod Hill for special events, Jeff Taibe (of Taproot in South Norwalk), who was running the resident Nod Hill food truck, decided he wanted to step away to work on other projects. It was an obvious fit for Kaye to ask Walrus Alley to simply take up permanent residence, offering their signature Southern fare both at the truck and as Nod Hill’s catering partner. “It actually didn’t take that much thinking,” according to Farrell. “It was like yeah … yeah, we should do that.”

As for the music, Kaye took a page from Farrell’s booking style, rotating a similar set of bands on a monthly basis. With a similar system up and running at Nod Hill, “we kind of

continued that whole Brewgrass thing, you know, Dave sold tickets for a Hitch and the Giddy Up concert which included a Walrus buffet,” says Farrell, with Kaye adding “so we’ve kind of brought it full circle, which is cool.”

Both Farrell and Kaye influenced and impacted each other to the point where what was once just an idea is now a sprawling campus where each brings their strengths to create more than a restaurant or a brewery, but a vibe. “If you’re coming out, you hope you’re going to find the place you really … dig and you enjoy the environment because it’s not just about the eating and the drinking,” says Farrell. Whether it’s trivia night, “bring your own vinyl” night, live shows, or just a chill night in the tap room, Nod Hill and Walrus Alley offer a sense of community with a unique sensibility - a vibe that you won’t find anywhere else.

Camie Cohen, MS, CCC-SLP csctalk2me@gmail.com

(917) 582-4409 | cscpediatricspeech.com 100B Danbury Rd, Ridgefield, CT 06877 Fairfield county based aesthetic photographer

Are you looking for help booking your next trip? We can help with that!

AUGUST 2024

A SELECTION OF UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS

NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 20TH

KICKS Public Art

Throughout Ridgefield

KICKS Public Art is an event where local citizens and businesses can purchase fiberglass resin sneaker sculptures to decorate in any and every way possible to be displayed all over Ridgefield. All Sculptures are up for auction. Proceeds will be donated to KICKS for Kids and ArtFul Visual Arts Initiative. artfulgives.org

AUGUST 9TH

Roseanne Cash Duo

Ridgefield Playhouse | 8:00 PM

Grammy Award-winner, Rosanne Cash, returns to Ridgefield for her third performance. Cash’s distinctive vocals turn every song into a revelatory tale. Joined by her husband and six-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter, John Leventhal, this show celebrates the 30th anniversary of Cash’s landmark album, The Wheel. ridgefieldplayhouse.org

AUGUST 10TH

Ridgefield Farmers Market

Jesse Lee Church | 10:00 AM

Featuring a curated selection of some of the best growers and makers around. Every other Saturday you’ll find organic farm fresh produce, baked goods, and specialty items alongside family activities and live music on the beautiful, historic Main Street. ridgefieldfarmersmarket.org

AUGUST 11TH

Nature Center

Open House

Woodcock Nature Center | 10:00 AM

Check out the indoor animal enclosures and say hello to your favorite Woodcock ambassador animal. Plan a longer visit by enjoying the grounds, trails and playground. Open from dawn to dusk daily, free of charge. woodcocknaturecenter.org

AUGUST 21ST

Seniors-Only Tour

The Aldrich | 1:00 PM

Enjoy this in-person gallery tour of highlighted works from our current exhibitions, guided by Education and Access Specialist Holly Lapine, reserved specifically for senior adults ages 60 and above. $8. Includes Museum Admission. thealdrich.org

SEPTEMBER 14TH

The ABC’s of Pickleball

Silver Spring Country Club | 10:00 AM

Join the fun and support Ridgefield A Better Chance at our inaugural Pickleball Fundraising event! This is one Pickleball party you don’t want to miss! All levels welcome, tips from the pros, watch a fast-paced exhibition game and enjoy lunch at Silver Spring Country Club. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities go to ridgefieldabc.org

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Design. Build.

JOYFUL APPROACHES AT csc pediatric speech

CAMIE COHEN ON THE POWER OF CONNECTION

ARTICLE BY KRISTY JEFFERSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATASHA FLEMING

Camie Cohen wants you to trust your gut. As the energetic founder of CSC Pediatric Speech, Cohen has learned from her years of experience as a pediatric speech-language pathologist that parents are in the best position to identify when something might not be quite right. “I think it’s important to not wait and see, and go with your gut instinct as a parent,” Cohen says. “Because studies have shown that the earlier we treat these children, the better the outcomes.”

Cohen draws you right in with her warmth and her easy laugh. When talking about the kids she works with, she lights up even more, excited to share how joyful it is to get down on their level and connect with them. “Play is a microcosm of a child’s world,” she says. “Children learn by experiences they have with objects and people while exploring through their senses.” Whether she is visiting a client at their home or in her new office on Danbury Road, the kids are just as excited. When a client recently moved, mom asked her son who he wanted to call, and he said “I want to call Grammy and Miss Camie.” According to Cohen, “my clients are like family.”

A practitioner for 30 years, Cohen works with children of a wide range of ages dealing with everything from articulation delays to language difficulties. She stresses that developmental “norms” we hear about have variations, so you want to give young children a little time. “Sometimes the parents will come to me at about 15 months and I’ll say alright, sit tight, let’s see,” Cohen explains. “I want you to take a journal; I want you to document what you hear and what they do, including non-verbal communication such as pointing, gesturing and how well they understand language.” Children with speech and language delays often feel frustrated, which can manifest in behavioral issues and difficulties with reading and writing as they get older.

Her passion for the process is also on display, her eyes shining as she talks

"When I tell you I love what I do, I really love what I do."

about the collaborative approach she takes with her youngest clients and their parents. “Most of my job is training and coaching the parents what to do … we work together,” she says. By modeling and setting examples for the parents, she can tweak small behaviors that make a big difference. These adjustments in interaction can be used during bathtime, dinner time, and parents often see an “explosion of language.”

Her older clients, including nine and tenyear-olds, often come to her for help with their articulation. “Maybe they’ll have difficulty pronouncing the “r” sound correctly, or they may have a lisp occurring on “s” and “z” sounds so I work with them on that,” she says. “That’s a lot of fun. It’s a whole different vibe.”

Cohen is herself a Ridgefield mom, having raised her children here and knowing the value of getting advice from other moms. “Who better

to recommend their child for speech therapy than a mom.” She stresses the importance of not comparing children and where they are in their journeys. “We never want to compare one child to another as every child is unique,” she says. “But as a mom you know.” It is always better to get evaluated as soon as possible because early intervention can make a huge difference.

Her excitement and enthusiasm don't stop with her job, but extend to the town she has made her home. “The sense of community is huge,” she says. “And a lot of businesses are women-owned and run businesses and I feel we all support each other.”

It is obvious that Camie Cohen was born to work with children - her enthusiasm is infectious, her smile contagious. “It’s so gratifying, and when I tell you I love what I do, I really love what I do. I wake up and … I don’t feel like I’m working.”