Audrey Spellman, M.Ed.

Audrey has 28 years experience working in the field of early intervention. With a BA from the University of Vermont and a master’s in Special Education from Boston College, Audrey has worked at Perkins School for the Blind and in the Stamford, CT public schools. Until starting Family First in 2007, Audrey spent 18 years in the New Canaan public school system where she coordinated the Opportunity Center Preschool, the district’s early intervention program, designing and implementing programs for special needs preschoolers within an integrated preschool program.

 Her responsibilities included leading a team of teachers, parents, therapists, and behavior specialists in conducting developmental and behavioral assessments and planning individualized programs for children with autism and related disorders.  She also coordinated the pre-referral process for children in community preschools and the Birth to Three transition process for children coming into the program.  Audrey has advanced professional training in the areas of early childhood assessment and intervention, including behavioral strategies and effective teaching techniques based on Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), picture exchange communications systems (PECS), and sensory integration.  She is a Certificate Candidate, Level III, trained in the DIR/Floortime approach. She conducts parent training and staff development workshops on a variety of topics related to early intervention, including the DIR/Floortime approach, recognizing at risk behaviors, and behavioral supports for home and preschool. Audrey@familyfirstct.org

Melody Cohen OTR/L 

Melody graduated from Boston University’s Sargent College and holds Connecticut and National Board Certification in Occupational Therapy (OT).  She has been working with children and families since 1980, in a variety of settings in Connecticut, evaluating, planning interventions and developing individualized treatment plans.  Melody has extensive professional training in sensory integration/processing, DIR/Floortime, neuro-developmental treatments, brain gym, neurokinesthetic approach to handwriting, fine/visual motor skills and designing sensory diets. She also conducts workshops on sensory processing and its impact on learning and behavior.

Melody’s experience and work include individual and group therapies in both the New Canaan and Westport CT public schools on transdiciplinary teams for children with autism and other related disorders. She has also provided home-based therapy to the birth to three, pediatric and adult population. 

In addition, Melody worked at the Rehabilitation Center of Eastern Fairfield County where her responsibilities included evaluation, treatment and family training in both ‘The Ripple Program’ (birth to 3 yrs) and ‘The C-DEC Program’ (children of the ages 3-6 yrs). This process included The Ayres Sensory Integration Evaluation along with assessment of individual developmental profiles.  Melody was also the Director of OT for a Traumatic Brain Injury Unit and Inpatient Therapy Supervisor for the Burn Unit at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut. Melody@familyfirstct.org

Carol Kaufman, PhD

Dr. Carol Kaufman earned her undergraduate degree in Speech Therapy from Boston University, a Masters degree in special education and 6^th year equivalent in communication disorders from Southern Connecticut State University. She obtained her Ed.D. in speech/language pathology and audiology from Teachers College, Columbia University.  Dr. Kaufman holds the certificate of clinical competence in speech/language pathology that is awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Dr. Kaufman has over 45 years of experience as a speech/language pathologist.  She has worked in the public school sector as well as maintaining a private practice specializing in working with young children including toddlers to middle school age.   Dr. Kaufman is an adjunct associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University.   She has also been a clinical supervisor for graduate students in communication disorders at Southern Connecticut State University and Teachers College.  Dr. Kaufman consults with several Connecticut school districts specifically working with teams to develop effective speech/language programs for children with such disabilities as autism, with a focus on the DIR/Floortime approach to help facilitate joint attention, communication skills and social communication interaction.

Dr. Kaufman was awarded the National Practitioner Award by the Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Mental Retardation.  She has also presented workshops on language assessment and intervention for children on the pervasive developmental disorder spectrum. Carol@familyfirstct.org

Ailene Tisser, MA, PT 

Ailene has 19 years experience in the field of pediatric physical therapy, licensed in both Connecticut and New York. She received her BS in Physical Therapy from SUNY Health Science Center in Brooklyn, NY and her MA in Developmental Disabilities from New York University, plus advanced training in NDT from St. Agnes Children’s Hospital in White Plains, NY.   Ailene was a senior physical therapist at the Rusk Institute in New York City and the Senior Pediatric Clinical Coordinator at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Los Angeles, California. She has also treated children from birth through school age at St. Vincent’s Special Needs Center in Trumbull, CT and at the Rehabilitation Center, Easter Seals, of Stamford, CT. 

Since 2001, Ailene has provided services to children in the New Canaan Public School district’s early intervention program. Trained in the DIR/Floortime approach, Ailene has significant experience working with children with autism and related disorders using interactive play techniques on land and in the water.  She has also developed an innovative aquatic therapy program, Therafins L.L.C. which uses the DIR/Floortime approach in water therapy. 

As a physical therapy educator, Ailene has been a lecturer for Loma Linda College’s Pediatric Physical Therapy Master’s Program, a clinical instructor for Sacred Heart University’s OT Program- NDT Lab, and a co-instructor for a continuing education course “Total Treatment-An Innovative Approach to Pediatric Aquatic Therapy”. Ailene@familyfirstct.org For more information, check out AngelfishTherapy.com

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