I love working with children.  Every day is new and exciting.  They often look at the world in a different way than we do as adults.  I have been able to experience that firsthand with my son and my stepson.  In raising the two of them I have seen some of the ways that I can help parents give their children the opportunity to be their best.

There are so many things we are expected to do and be as parents and unfortunately, we don’t always have the time to do everything.  Here is where I can help you.  I have been sharing my knowledge on child development for my areas of expertise with friends and family for years, as well as clients.  Let me help lighten your load and make learning fun for your child.

Being a risk taker whether it be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, running a marathon, living in another country, or travelling around the world has expanded me as a person and professional.  In our therapy sessions we not only work on our speech and language skills, but we work on being comfortable being risk takers.

We encourage the children to push their limits and give them the support they need to feel comfortable doing it.

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

My clinical experience involves treatment with the Kauffman Apraxia Program, PROMPT, SOS Feeding Program, Social Thinking Curriculum, Cognitive Connections Executive Functioning Program, Listen Love Learn’s Auditory Processing Training, Level 2 trained TalkTools Therapist, Sounds in Motion, and Sounds FUN!. I am a 3-time ACE Award Winner. This is an award for continuing education (ACE) that formally recognizes professionals who have demonstrated their commitment to lifelong learning by earning over 70 contact hours in a 36-month period.

I received my undergraduate degree in Psychology from Boston College and my Masters in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Maryland, College Park. I am licensed by the New York State Department of Education and New Jersey Department of Education as a speech therapist and hold certifications from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the New York State Department of Education as a Teacher of Speech and Hearing.

I am also a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Health’s coaching program. I continue to take a variety of continuing education courses to stay up to date on the latest technologies and protocols in the field.

Hi, I’m Genna Ricotta the founder and owner of Small Steps Speech and Feeding, LLC.  I’ve been a licensed speech therapist for over 20 years but working with children and helping others for well beyond that.

It began long, long ago when my mother had a baby girl when I was three years old, and I took it upon myself to “help” with the baby.  My poor mother!

From there I continued my helping nature at a school in England where my father was doing a rotation as a doctor.  At the time, given my age, I was only old enough to go to the local hospital school where all my classmates were in fact children with medical issues.  Every day I would come home and talk to my mother about my friends and my mother tells of how I pointed them out not by things such as their leg braces or wheelchairs but by their hair color or what clothes they were wearing that day.  That same attitude is reflected in how I work with the children and the parents who trust me to help them on their journey now.  I never see the limitations, only the possibilities.  Every person has strengths and weaknesses, and we need to recognize them both to discover how to accomplish our goals.