Talk of the Town Opens in Mount Kisco

Talk of the Town, a new speech and language therapy, was lauded last week during a grand opening ceremony.

The gathering, which included a ribbon cutting on the steps of its Smith Avenue site, was visited by members of the chamber of commerce and village board of trustees.

Deputy Mayor George Griffin said it's a service that is “well-needed in our village and i'm sure you'll do very well.”

Dan Taplitz, who is a vice president on the chamber's board of directors, commented that he and others were “really happy you chose Mount Kisco as your location.”

Talk of the Town, which serves people form ages 1 to 21, was started by Carla Commisso-Kelvin and Shaina Rotstein, who previously work together at the Communication Clinic of Connecticut in Ridgefield, CT. Cimmisso-Kelvin has about 15 years of experience in the profession while Rotstein has about eight.

The purpose of Talk of the Town's therapy, Rotstein explained, is “about bringing language to life.” She described bringing meaning to language and teaching it within context as attributes.

Inside, rooms include seemingly mundane household items, such as a bed or a kitchen. However, they serve an important purpose, which is to help teach language in a way that is like what people experience at home. Talk of the Town specializes in helping children with autism and apraxia of speech.

The center opened on July 1 and now has about 12 kids. 

“It's been really exciting, actually,” said Commisso-Kelvin, who said they are busy and getting referrals through word of mouth.

Commisso-Kelvin said that people are taught to use language in a functional way, noting kids that have words but are not appropriately using them. In response, kids are taught to use words to make remarks but in a way that is related to what they are doing, she explained.

Asked why Mount Kisco was chosen for a location, several factors were cited, including the area having a "wealth of knowledge" on different disabilities and the village being central to other areas. Commisso-Kelvin lives in Pawling, while Rotstein resides in Norwalk, CT, so the location is convenient for both.

“I think that it really spoke to us as a community,” Rotstein said.

For more information, click here for Talk of the Town's website.