Hi, I’m Tracy.
I’m Glad You’re Here.
I believe children grow through relationships and that meaningful change begins when we become curious about the person beneath the behavior.
I’m Tracy Merrill Bass, LCSW, founder of Perfect Pitch Child & Family Therapy. I specialize in relationship-based, developmental therapy for autistic and neurodivergent children, adolescents, and their families.
My work begins with understanding the whole child, not simply a diagnosis or a behavior. I want to know what brings your child joy, what helps them feel safe and connected, how they experience the world, and what they may be communicating when words or behavior alone don’t tell the whole story.
WHY I DO THIS WORK
Every child deserves to be known for more than the things that are difficult for them.
Too often, children—especially autistic and neurodivergent children—enter rooms where the first things noticed are the behaviors adults want to change. The meltdown. The withdrawal. The rigidity. The words that aren’t there yet. The difficulty transitioning, participating, or doing what is expected.
But I believe there is always more to the story.
Beneath behavior is a child experiencing the world in their own particular way. A child with preferences and fears, humor and curiosity, sensory needs and emotional needs, ideas they may not yet know how to express, and a deep need to feel safe, understood, and connected.
That is the child I want to know.
I want to understand what makes their eyes light up. I want to notice the small invitation to connect that might be easy to miss. I want to wonder what a difficult moment is communicating instead of assuming it is something to extinguish. And I want children to experience therapy as a place where they do not have to earn connection by performing, complying, or becoming someone different.
I also know that behind every child who is struggling, there is often a family trying extraordinarily hard to understand what their child needs. Parents arrive carrying questions, worry, exhaustion, hope—and sometimes years of being told what their child cannot do.
I want families to leave with a different story.
A story that begins with strengths. With possibility. With a deeper understanding of their child. With practical ways to support regulation, communication, connection, and development—and with the knowledge that progress does not require us to lose sight of the person the child already is.
This is why I do this work.
Because when a child feels safe enough to connect, and when the adults around them become curious enough to truly listen, something changes. We stop simply managing behavior and begin building relationships. We stop asking only what a child should be doing and begin discovering what they are ready to become.
Connection Before Correction
Children learn and grow within relationships. I prioritize safety, trust, shared joy, and genuine connection before asking a child to stretch beyond what feels manageable.
Understand the Child’s Unique Nervous System
Sensory processing, movement, language, attention, motor planning, and emotional regulation shape how a child experiences and responds to the world. Understanding these differences helps us respond with curiosity rather than judgment.
MY APPROACH
Relationship comes first.
I use a developmental, relationship-based, neurodiversity-affirming approach that begins with the individual child—their strengths, interests, sensory and emotional needs, communication style, developmental capacities, and the relationships that matter most to them.
Rather than asking, “How do we stop this behavior?” I often begin with a different question:
“What is this child communicating—and what do they need from us right now?”
Meet the Child Where They Are
Development does not unfold according to a single timetable. I look at each child’s unique developmental capacities and build from the abilities that are already emerging.
Dr. Stanley Greenspan, co-creator of the DIR® model, engaging in Floortime.
Follow Their Lead. Expand Their World.
Play, emotion, movement, imagination, and shared experience become pathways for connection and development. I join children around what matters to them, then gently create opportunities for longer interactions, flexibility, communication, problem-solving, and emotional growth.
EDUCATION
Master of Social Work
University of Southern California, School of Social Work
Specialization: Children & Families + Mental Health
TRAINING & EXPERIENCE
Clinical experience grounded in development, relationships, and the whole child.
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with experience supporting children, adolescents, and families across therapeutic schools, community-based programs, group practice, and private practice.
My clinical work has included children and adolescents with autism, developmental and cognitive differences, sensory processing differences, anxiety, depression, trauma, school avoidance, executive functioning challenges, and complex emotional and behavioral needs.
My approach draws from training in developmental and relationship-based practice, DIR®/Floortime, trauma-informed care, cognitive and behavioral approaches, attachment-focused work, mindfulness, play, and family therapy. I continue to pursue advanced training in DIR®/Floortime because I believe deeply in an approach that asks not simply what a child is doing, but why—and what developmental, sensory, emotional, and relational support may help them grow.
CLINICAL TRAINING
DIR®/Floortime • Trauma-Informed Care
TF-CBT • CBT • DBT • Motivational Interviewing
Play-Based & Relationship-Based Approaches
PROFESSIONAL
Licensed Clinical Social Worker — Connecticut
Founder, Perfect Pitch Child & Family Therapy, LLC
Autism • Neurodivergence • Parent & Family Support
BEYOND THE THERAPY ROOM
I believe the best therapeutic spaces feel human. There should be room for laughter, silliness, movement, imagination, quiet moments, big feelings, and the unexpected. Children don’t need another adult evaluating everything they do—they need people who are genuinely curious about who they are. I try to bring that curiosity, warmth, and sense of play into every relationship.
Outside the therapy room, I’m someone who finds meaning in relationships, animals, creativity, nature, and the small moments that make people feel connected. Those parts of me come into my work, too. Perfect Pitch was created from a simple belief that continues to guide everything I do: when people feel safe enough to be fully themselves, something beautiful becomes possible.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Every relationship begins with a first conversation.
If you’re wondering whether Perfect Pitch might be the right fit for your child or family, I’d be glad to hear your story. A complimentary 15-minute consultation gives us a chance to talk about what you’re noticing, what you’re hoping for, and how I may be able to help.