Ridgefield Area Children with Autism Can Find Refuge in New Learning Center

RIDGEFIELD, CT—Families who have children with autism or kids on the spectrum can find relief from the stress of scheduling multiple appointments with therapists, dealing with insurance companies and other related issues at the area’s newest child development center that is specifically tailored to their needs. Springtide Child Development Center is pleased to announce the opening of their newest location on Copps Hill Road in Ridgefield, Conn.

Co-Founder and CEO Jia Jia said she opened the facility in Ridgefield after seeing a great need in the area for the unique services they provide for families who are impacted by autism. Springtide opened its first center in Trumbull in June 2020. In this short amount of time, they’ve seen tremendous need and have gotten really positive feedback from the families they work with.
For Jia Jia it’s personal.

“When I was a kid growing up in Salt Lake City, we had a really close family friend with a kid with autism. They would fly their therapist from the East Coast to Salt Lake once a month, and then work with their kid on the therapeutic practices throughout the month, until they could see their therapist again next month. I remember how difficult this was for the family, and also how much the therapy helped. Nearly 30 years later, I am struck by how access is still a major issue for many families today,” she shared.

The center hopes to provide refuge for parents who struggle to schedule appointments across multiple therapists and have to navigate the tough waters of dealing with confusing insurance issues and other related problems by streamlining the process all into one place.

“I realized I could make a difference,” Jia Jia said. “Over the last 20 years, I have worked for some of the most innovative and customer-oriented healthcare companies, and I discovered I could apply my learnings here to really help families. We offer convenient interdisciplinary centers where kids can receive ABA, occupational and speech therapies in one location. We manage all the insurance paperwork. And we integrate our practices with seamless technology that improves the quality of our practice and enhances our therapist effectiveness.”

Jia Jia said they opened in Ridgefield because they loved the town Ridgefield and its community. Prior to Springtide, Jia Jia served in multiple executive leadership roles including Director of Operations at One Medical Group (NASDAQ: ONEM), SVP of Operations at Sandbox VR and COO of Oxeon Partners, and VP of Service Experience at Oscar Health Insurance (NYSE: OSCR).