Relationship Based Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and DIRFloortime
Proudly Serving Southern Chester County, PA and Surrounding
Neurodiversity, Strengths, and Relationships
210 South Mill Rd. Suite 103 Kennett Square, PA 19348
Phone: 610-947-0404 Fax: 610-947-0405
The Professionals Behind the Care
Cindy Duckworth
MOT, OTR/L, IMC, DIR-FT
Founder/Owner & Clinical Director
Occupational Therapist Interactive Metronome Certified, DIRFloortime Practitioner Proficient-ICDL
cindy@bloomandgrowtherapy.com
Roots: Cindy grew up in Delaware County and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Shippensburg University. After teaching in an inclusive classroom, she discovered occupational therapy and went on to complete her Master of Occupational Therapy at Temple University. Influenced by the wisdom of autistic adults she learned from during graduate school, Cindy’s practice is rooted in always presuming intellect and supporting children and families with respect and care.
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Bloom: Cindy brings nearly 20 years of OT experience in a wide variety of settings with clients across the lifespan. These settings include the NICU, acute care, rehabilitation, hospital outpatient in pediatrics and adults, private practice outpatient, early intervention, preschool, sensory and interest based social groups, aquatic therapy and specialized private and public schools that included programs for autistic adolescents and young adults.
Grow: Cindy has completed specialized training and mentorship in a wide range of pediatric therapy approaches, including Sensory Integration, DIRFloortime through ICDL, Interoception, Interactive Metronome, Therapeutic Listening, kinesiology taping, Handwriting Without Tears, Size Matters Handwriting Program, pediatric yoga and mindfulness, infant massage, aquatic therapy, and NDT. She holds certifications in Interactive Metronome, Integrated Listening Systems, Safe and Sound Protocol, and Focus System, and has earned her Certificate of Proficiency in DIR-Floortime through ICDL. More recently, Cindy has pursued training in Gestalt Language Processing, reflecting her growing interest in this area. Her current educational focus includes feeding support and professional development in skills to support the growth and management of her private practice and early intervention agency.​ Cindy has grown into the role of entrepreneur—founding and operating both an outpatient practice and an early intervention agency. Along the way, she has navigated the complex world of medical insurance, Medicaid, and government contracts. While Cindy is not currently taking new patients, she is dedicated to leading and supporting the carefully selected team she has built—therapists who share her passion, values, and commitment to families.
Why: Bloom and Grow Therapy Services was founded to provide high-quality, neurodiversity-affirming occupational and speech therapy to the greater Southern Chester County area, with a focus on relationships, sensory processing, and building on children’s strengths. Cindy lives in West Grove, PA with her husband and three children. She enjoys all things musical, cheering on her kids at their soccer games, and spending time in the mountains, at the shore, and in OBX.
Rachel Parisi, MS, OTR/L, IMC
Senior Occupational Therapist, Interactive Metronome Certified
Office sessions- Saturdays
Roots: Rachel grew up in Chester County, PA and graduated from Downingtown East High School. She attended Temple University and went on to complete her Masters in Occupational Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University. She specialized in Pediatric Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her passion and dedication to help families and children started in high school and continues to increase as she furthers her experience and continuing education in her field.
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Bloom: Rachel has over 12 years of experience working with children in a variety of settings which include: private schools, outpatient clinics, pediatric hospitals, and early intervention in homes.
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Grow: Rachel continues to learn and enhance her level of expertise in the field. She has received mentorship and training on sensory integration and DIRFloortime. She is certified in Interactive Metronome. She values education and enjoys searching for ways to learn and further her expertise.
Why: Rachel believes in the power of educating families to enhance their child’s development. She strongly believes relationships shape the way a child grows and develops. She understands the importance of social-emotional skills and loves to collaborate with families in order to help a child bloom and grow.
Melissa Crowell, MOT, OTR/L, IMC
Occupational Therapist, Interactive Metronome Certified
Roots: Melissa grew up in Chester County, where she graduated from Avon Grove High School in 2015. While attending Avon Grove, Melissa discovered the field of occupational therapy through the Allied Health Program at the Technical College High School- Pennock’s Bridge Campus. Melissa earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 2019 from West Chester University where she majored in Exercise Science and minored in Psychology. Through her undergraduate internships, Melissa discovered the wonderful world of pediatric OT. After graduation, Melissa moved to Southern California to study occupational therapy at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences and graduated with her Master of Occupational Therapy degree in 2021.
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Bloom: While attending occupational therapy school in California, Melissa had the opportunity to gain experiences in both the inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient pediatric settings. Melissa completed her first level II fieldwork experience at Casa Colina Hospitals and Centers for Healthcare in Pomona, CA. Here, she was a part of the spinal cord injury team and enjoyed being a part of her patient’s journeys. Melissa completed her second level II fieldwork experience at the Launchpad Therapy for Kids in San Juan Capistrano, CA. This experience enriched her knowledge of sensory integration and the importance of play and having fun! After completing her master’s degree at the University of St. Augustine, Melissa moved back to Pennsylvania to be closer to family.
Grow: Melissa has gained experience with spinal cord injury rehabilitation, Ayres’ Sensory Integration, hippotherapy, outpatient pediatrics, and school-based OT. Melissa is a certified provider of Interactive Metronome.
Why: Melissa believes in the importance of teamwork and collaboration with a child and their family. She loves working with kids to find and highlight their strengths and help them reach their highest potential.
Lauren Beeles, MA, CCC-SLP, CLC
Lead Early Intervention Therapist
Speech-Language Pathologist & Certified Lactation Counselor
Spanish-Speaking Clinician
Roots: Lauren grew up in the Thousand Islands region of Northern New York. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Nazareth University in 2017, where she majored in International Studies and Spanish and minored in Psychology and Legal Studies. While working as a full-time nanny after graduation, Lauren discovered her passion for working with infants/toddlers and their families. Lauren earned her Master of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology from West Chester University in 2021. As a graduate student, Lauren participated in the Bilingual Emphasis Course Sequence program, an experience that contributed to her development as a Spanish-speaking clinician.
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Bloom: During graduate school, Lauren gained professional experience working with individuals across the lifespan while providing therapy services at an outpatient clinic, several middle schools, and an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Before moving back to Chester County, Lauren worked in Infant/Toddler Early Intervention in the Greater Boston region where she was fortunate to collaborate with children and families from a variety of cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It was here that Lauren honed her clinical focus to specialize in feeding and swallowing disorders in premature infants and toddlers with medical complexities. During this time, Lauren completed coursework to become a Certified Lactation Counselor in order to better serve infants/toddlers that chestfeed.
Grow: Lauren has participated in several specialized trainings to continue to develop her expertise in infant feeding, focusing on topics such as adapted baby-led weaning for babies with feeding challenges and optimizing feeding/swallowing for infants with tracheostomy tubes. She is a NOMAS (Neonatal Oral-Motor Assessment Scale) Licensed Professional and a Certified SOFFI (Supporting Oral Feeding in Fragile Infants) Professional. She has also completed training in the assessment and treatment of velopharyngeal dysfunction and pediatric resonance disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital.
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Why: Lauren believes that the heart of communication is connection and emphasizes the importance of building positive collaborative relationships as the foundation for growth. Lauren currently holds speech-language pathology licenses in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Lauren loves adventuring with her dog, traveling abroad, backpacking in the mountains, baking, doing yoga, and crocheting.
Colleen Gannon, MOT, OTR/L, IMC
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Roots: Colleen was born in Philadelphia, moved to Bucks County as an adolescent and recently relocated to the Kennett Square area. Colleen received a bachelor's degree in exercise science from West Chester University and went on to earn her Masters in Occupational Therapy at Salus University in Elkins Park, PA.
Professional Experiences "The Bloom": Colleen’s passion for working with the pediatric population started early, as she has over 15 years of experience working with children of all ages and neuro-types. During high school Colleen was a swim instructor for children of all ages and during her undergraduate and graduate education she spent time nannying infants/children. As an occupational therapist, Colleen has experience across a variety of settings including early intervention, school-based, and outpatient clinics.
Specialized Training "The Grow": Colleen has focused much of her continuing education on neurodiversity-affirming and strengths-based practice, trauma-informed care, primitive reflexes, and sensory integration. Colleen completed her Interactive Metrnome Certification and has taken DIR courses with ICDL.
Why: Colleen prioritizes getting to know each individual child and family. She believes creating a feeling of safety with children is the foundation for learning and growth. Colleen is grateful to work with families to empower their children to build on their strengths and reach their full potential. Colleen is very excited to be a part of the Bloom and Grow team.
Kelsey Schmidt, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Natural Language Acquisition Certified
Roots: Kelsey grew up in Coatesville, PA. After taking a sign language class, Kelsey became interested in the way people communicate, and she decided to pursue speech language pathology. After graduating high school, she attended Ithaca College in New York state, where she majored in Communication Sciences and Disorders and minored in Deaf Studies. Her student teaching experiences cemented her interest in working with children with complex communication needs. She received her masters from University at Buffalo. After working in New York state, Kelsey has returned to the Chester County area to be near family.
Professional Experiences "The Bloom": Kelsey has over 6 years of experience working with children who have complex communication needs. Previously, she has worked as an SLP in a specialized school. She is familiar with AAC programs such as TouchChat, Proloquo2Go, TD Snap, LAMP Words for Life, and GoTalk, and has obtained personal devices for students. She has worked with students using alternative ways to access devices, such as eye gaze and keyguards. Within the past several years, Kelsey has gained experience in utilizing the Natural Acquisition framework to support students who are gestalt language processors. She is currently completing the Natural Language Acquisition Certification course with Meaningful Speech.
Specialized Training "The Grow": Kelsey continues to seek out new ways to support children's language acquisition. She has a basic knowledge of ASL, and she is experienced in using AAC and the Natural Language Acquisition framework. She has also received training in sensory integration. In the future, Kelsey hopes to become NLA certified.
Why: Kelsey believes that communication is a human right. Children should be empowered to communicate, and their families should be able to learn about communication along with them. She believes that a neurodiversity affirming approach fosters true connections, which promotes meaningful communication. Her goal is to support and empower communicators to share their true thoughts and feelings using a variety of modalities.
Coleen DeFruscio, MS, OTR/L, IMC
Senior Occupational Therapist, Interactive Metronome Certified
Roots: Coleen has remained close to her roots for her education and professionalcareer. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from St. Joseph’s Universityand a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from Thomas Jefferson University. Asa graduate assistant, Coleen was introduced to Sensory Integration Theory and thework of Jane Ayres, which ignited her interest in learning about and incorporating thisapproach into her work as an occupational therapist.
Bloom: Coleen has nearly 20 years of experience as a pediatric occupational therapist. She has worked in a variety of settings including early intervention, preschool and school-age educational settings as a direct provider and a consultant to teachers and staff, pediatric outpatient settings, and private sensory integration-based clinics.
Grow: Coleen has a passion for learning, and continually seeks new ways to enhance her skills and grow as a therapist. She has completedtrainings in DIR Floortime®, Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration®(MNRI)approach, John Barnes’s Myofacial Release, visual motor skills, Handwriting withoutTears®and executive functioning, in addition to extensive trainings in sensoryintegration. Coleen has certifications in Interactive Metronome, Therapeutic Listening,and Handwriting without Tears®.
Why: Coleen has always been interested in child development and helping others, so occupational therapy was the perfect way to combine these passions. She loves working as part of a team, and enjoys collaborating with families, school staff, and fellow team members to help children achieve their full potential. She believes that all children should be met where they are, treated with respect, and supported to feel safe andunderstood. Coleen hopes to continue to deepen her practice of DIR/Floortime® and is so happy to be part of the Bloom and Grow community. Outside of Bloom and Grow, Coleen enjoys spending time with her husband and threeboys, usually cheering them on at the hockey rink or lacrosse field. If she can squeeze it in, she loves to go for runs, attend cycle classes, and read.
Ann Marie Wehe
Office Manager
Early Intervention and Outpatient
Roots: Ann Marie was raised in Delaware County and graduated from Garnet Valley High School. She then traveled to Florida to pursue her studies at St. Petersburg College, where she earned her Associate degrees in Health Sciences and Medical Billing and Coding from Delaware County Community College.
The Bloom: Ann Marie has more than eight years of experience as an Occupational Therapy Office Manager, bringing a solid background in assisting and caring for both children and adults.
The Grow: In addition to her professional qualifications, Ann Marie is a volunteer firefighter and holds various related certifications, including CPR certification.
Currently, Ann Marie lives in Brookhaven, PA, with her two daughters. She has a passion for country music, enjoys going on cruises, and loves spending time at the beach! Ann Marie is thrilled to be part of the Bloom and Grow administrative team, where she looks forward to supporting the expanding team!
Audrey Conforti, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Natural Language Acquisition Certified
Early Intervention and Outpatient
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Roots: Audrey grew up along the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Monmouth University, majoring in Health Studies with a minor in Communication Disorders. Early on, Audrey discovered her passion for working with young children and knew she wanted to dedicate her career to advocating for and supporting them.
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The Bloom: She went on to earn her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Long Island University-Brooklyn. During graduate school, Audrey gained invaluable experience providing therapy to individuals across the lifespan in various settings, including an outpatient clinic, an inpatient Level One trauma hospital, and her university clinic.
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The Grow: Since then, Audrey has worked in an outpatient clinic, where she has cultivated her love for working with the early intervention population, as well as her expertise in articulation and phonological disorders, expressive/receptive language delays/disorders, and Gestalt Language Processing. She is certified in Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) to better support gestalt language processors and has also earned a certification in play-based therapy. Committed to staying current in her field, Audrey actively pursues continuing education to ensure her treatment approaches are evidence-based and neurodiversity-affirming..
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Why:: Audrey is dedicated to meeting each child's unique needs, creating a supportive, encouraging, and understanding environment every step of the way. She holds speech-language pathology licenses in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is certified with the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
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Outside of work, Audrey enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, relaxing at the beach, listening to music, and traveling.
Cydney Panichi, COTA/L, DIRFT, IMC, CEIM
Occupational Therapy Assistant
Certified DIRFloortime Basic Provider
Interactive Metronome Certified
Certified Educator of Infant Massage
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Roots: Cydney grew up in Chester County PA where she graduated from Unionville High School. After high school, she worked as a teaching assistant in an Autistic support classroom at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. It was here that she found her passion for helping children learn and grow as well as her love for Occupational Therapy. Cydney went on to pursue her degree as a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant at Harcum College and graduated in 2016.​
Professional Experiences “The Bloom”: Cydney has 15 years of experience working with the pediatric population throughout her life. Prior to becoming a COTA, she spent many years babysitting infants/children and was even a full time nanny for multiples. This is where she learned a lot about the importance of development! After graduation, Cydney gained experience working as a COTA both in an outpatient setting as well as a school-based setting. She also spent some time working with the Geriatric population in a Skilled Nursing setting.
​Specialized Training “The Grow”: Cydney’s passion for working with children started when she was younger and continues to grow. After experiencing the importance and great benefits of DIRFloortime, she went on to receive her certification through ICDL. Cydney is a Certified Educator of Infant Massage. She is also certified in Interactive Metronome and Therapeutic Listening.​
Why: Cydney believes in the importance of helping children grow and develop to their utmost potential. She feels as though relationships play a key role in both of those pieces and strives to create an individual relationship with each of her clients. Cydney also sees and understands the significance of social-emotional skills in development. She loves to work on building these skills in order to help each child bloom and grow.​
Caitlin Pluta, OTD, OTR/L, IMC
Occupational Therapist
Outpatient and Early Intervention
Interactive Metronome Certified
Roots: Cait grew up in Carroll County, MD and attended Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York where she played lacrosse and graduated with a degree in Exercise Science. She went on to complete her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University, and completed a capstone focusing on evidenced based practice and universal design in pediatrics. Her passion for helping others began with missions trips each summer throughout high school, and continued to grow as she entered the field occupational therapy and saw the impact it has on assisting children and families meet their goals!
Professional Experiences: While attending occupational therapy school in Philadelphia, Cait had the opportunity to gain pediatric experiences in both school and outpatient- clinic based settings. Cait completed her first Level 2 fieldwork experience at the Fairwold Academy in Fort Washington, PA where she was a part of the WORC program, working with students on work readiness and social skills. She completed her second level 2 fieldwork experience at an outpatient clinic in Rockville, MD where she was introduced to DIRFloortime and found her love for outpatient pediatrics. Cait also has work experience in public elementary, middle and high school settings, as well as birth – 3y early intervention and outpatient pediatrics.
Specialized training: Cait has gained experience working with children with a variety of needs in early intervention, outpatient pediatrics, and school-based OT. Cait is a certified provider of Interactive Metronome.
Why: Cait believes in the importance of working closely with families to support their child’s development through parent education and child-led, play-based approaches to therapy. She feels strongly about meeting each child’s individual needs through open lines of communication with their family and care team to create a positive and uplifting environment for growth and development. She is incredibly excited to be a part of the Bloom and Grow family!