Our child was a late talker, so we did our research and found East Bay Child Development Center…read more(formerly PLTA). From intake to our final class, the staff made sure that the scheduling process was a breeze, and that visits did not fall short of expectations. They have an excellent staff dedicated to your child's development, and the office is pristine. Not just clean; very well kept. I noticed that there wasn't one tear on a book or broken toys. They put lots of effort into upkeep, knowing well that toys and books can take a beating with younger kids. East Bay Child Development Center has terrific speech therapists and therapists specialized in helping in all other types of child development, including but not limited to physical therapy, etc. We went through 2 different speech therapists and 1 or 2 therapy students which was a little harder for our son to grow accustomed to because it would take him awhile to warm up (which I've learned isn't unusual for any development therapy center), but each therapist tried their absolute best to ensure they were giving him the utmost care and attention.

They failed my son after 3 session. Excuses that he doesn't listen, he runs fast that worried about…read moreyounger children there. That speech is not a good fit for him, that his sister runs around the hallways exploring toys and opened doors of offices, about me get a phone call so they discharged him from services. This is racism and discrimination by the way ladies I want to give you suggestions, your office needs a new administration, organisation and functionality. Everybody there seems to go everywhere, I don't know if these people work here are they clients. The back door to the outside was open, this is called dysfunctional. The office receptionist was like his first day to work, confused and looked around like a lost boy. There four people by office were speaking loud and chatting. They failed my son years ago when he was younger because they said he was not ready for speech when I just changed my insurance to get accepted to come here. Now he's 12 years old saying he's not a good fit. Shame on you to say that to me. You can't discharge him that's illegal. My son is trying with his speech and he has rights in California to receive speech therapy any age. Discrimination by the ability, then age, what's next because his sister running around the office and also I was on the phone? For that lady who spoke with me today over the phone couldn't wait on me. And making me feel like I was being fired from the job, she sounded rude and said my daughter was running around the room and I was speaking loud on the phone so the excuse to fail my son. Then changed her words saying he's not a good fit and he runs fast and wants to push the kids. She needs to find more excuses for her to dismiss him. You don't know how hard and challenging to be a mother of autistic kid. I finally thought I have him his speech going and then you locked me up like shutting my mouth. Go see if your speech therapist is the one who has the problem. She too lazy to give speech therapy or has a lack of skills. This is Shameless and discrimination.

The therapists and front office staff deserve five stars. Leadership's approach to families does…read morenot. As a parent of twins with developmental disabilities, I understand the importance of attendance. I also understand the reality of managing multiple therapies, medical appointments, school meetings, and life. Over time, repeated conversations about missed appointments, attendance reminders, and signing attendance acknowledgments left me feeling judged instead of supported. The final straw was accidentally leaving one week off a summer scheduling form, which led to another conversation about attendance. It wasn't about that one incident--it was the realization that this philosophy simply doesn't align with how I believe families of children with additional needs should be treated. The clinicians were wonderful, and the front desk staff were always professional and kind. My disappointment lies with leadership and the culture created by these policies. Families seeking pediatric therapy need partnership, empathy, and flexibility. Unfortunately, that wasn't our experience, and we chose to take our children elsewhere.

I have to update my review as things have gone downhill. We had a rough start with Childs Play with…read morefrequent turnover with their SLPs made it difficult to find a good match for my daughter. We finally got a good match and they "switched departments". Then they started saying I had to move my time due to scheduling conflicts even though we had waited 2 years to get the time slot we had. We got moved with a new SLP and I complained that they kept canceling and rescheduling. I can only assume they were double booking so instead of taking accountability for their poor planning, they decided to discontinue services simply because i advocated for my daughter. They dont seem to care about the children, they just want their paycheck

I joined AFS as a foster parent and was initially given 3 children who were a part of a family of 9…read morekids. Shortly after we were asked to take a fourth child. A few months later the parents of the 9 gave birth to a tenth child and we were asked to take him at 8 days old. My wife and I had the kids for 22 months. When the initial 3 arrived, the 2 elder ones were 11 and 9 years old while the third was 7. That 7 year old could sing the alphabet song but could no recognize A from B. When he left my home 22 months later he was reading at a Fourth Grade level. During our time one of the kids therapists (Katera) told us that she'd been in this field for 25 years and my wife and I were easily the best foster parents she'd ever worked with. Not only were we involved in every aspect of their lives which included participating in school activities. We were fierce advocates for their education and wellbeing. Bearing in mind that this was a family of 10 and we lived close to Discovery Kingdom I bought at my expense season tickets for all eligible children to that they could attend the park as a family. That meant the other foster parents dropping them off at the park and we took responsibility for the entire group. It was urging Tim's like these that we could see the love these children had for each other. My wife and I discussed it at length and decided we wanted to adopt the 7 youngest children as the older 3 were above the age of 12 and chose not to be adopted. At this point within the Child Protection Services the case was transferred from Foster Care to Adoption Care. Our home was visited maybe on 3 occasions by a Ms.Shipe who turned out to the a**hole of all a**holes. After her third visit she contacted AFS and asked them remove the children immediately from my home. I assume that the agency knowing that the children were at my home for 22 months without any problems waited for about 5 days before taking action then removing them on the sixth day. I tried to prevent this by asking AFS the reason for this, as was told they were removed because Shipe said "she knows there is a problem in that house but she just doesn't know what". Made a follow up attempt to meet with the VP of AFS with no results. Given the emotional investment we had in the kids being our family both my wife and I went into a state of depression and crazy thing is after 1 1/2 years AFS had the verbosity to call and ask us to take 3 more kids. They found no problems with our care for these children but did not defend us from Shipe leading me to believe they are in business not to help children but to make money. It remains to be seen if this is just the way THE SYSTEM WORKS or whether this was just a case that slipped through the cracks. I have sat on this for almost 5 years but it has always bothered me and I feel I need to get it off my chest.

Would not recommend working with this agency if you are a working parent. My partner and I filled…read moreout a form inquiring about the fost-adopt program and registered for orientation. Almost immediately we got a call from a woman named Lisa. Her first question was "so who is quitting their job to take care of the child?" I explained that we had good parental leave at our jobs (almost a year), and then we'd look into licensed childcare providers. She responded "foster kids can't go to daycare, because their brains are damaged! Anyway, NO child should be put in day care, even bio kids." Yikes! Definitely trauma affects brain development, but calling all foster kids "brain damaged" is misleading and creates stigma. I was also surprised about the daycare-for-bio-kids comments. That kind of shaming is bad for all families (bio, foster, and adoptive) - makes you wonder how they treat the parents trying to reunify! This woman also asked "why haven't you already arranged parental leave from your jobs?" It seems bizarre to expect that prospective foster parents have parental leave arranged before attending an info session. Most foster parents we know start talking to their workplace about leave as they complete training and can accept placements. The experience put us off applying to be foster parents for a while. We eventually did identify another agency that seemed a little more professional.

At last I am sitting down to write this long overdue review for Bettina. We have been working with…read moreBettina since my daughter has been 22 months old, and she is now 4.5 years old. From our very first interaction and assessment, to our now sessions that have gone virtual, Bettina continues to impress me with her vast knowledge and creative techniques which has translated to immense improvements for our daughter. Bettina also provides a holistic perspective and keeps in mind my daughter's other occupational and physical therapeutic needs, as well as her speech/language goals. Even in this chaotic time of COVID, Bettina has gone the extra mile to make her sessions with my daughter fun and engaging. As an example, she keeps my 4 year old child 100% engaged in virtual sessions for 45 mins straight. Those of you with children (with or without IEPs) understand that this is a near impossible task that Bettina manages to handle with ease....but the truth is that Bettina spends a lot of time thinking of creative ways to keep her engaged! Additionally, our family has always felt incredibly supported by Bettina as we navigate the IEP system. She has taken the time to train my nanny as well as provide exercises for us to do at home. Finally, my daughter absolutely ADORES Bettina and looks forward to 'play' time with her each and every week. If that isn't the greatest endorsement, I don't know what is! Thank you so much Bettina!!

Dr. Bettina Larroude worked with my toddler age son every week for more than one year. She was…read moreprofessional, patient, detail oriented, incredibly knowledgeable and friendly and my son was excited to get to see her every week. Bettina used multiple techniques (including play based therapy) to help my son with total communication in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. Her office and work/play room is very inviting and is well equipped with many toys, games and books for all ages to make the therapeutic learning fun and engaging. Highly recommended!

Debbie was a wonderful OT to our little one ! Although we…read moreonly had a short amount of time with her(due to my son turning 3 and transitioning to preschool program) she helped him achieve a lot of his goals We continue at home with everything we learned from her and all the information she gave us to help our child succeed

Adding an update Feb 2026:…read more Our experience at the new Wonders Pediatric Therapy location has been fantastic. Kids can explore more from here than from home visits. The new facility is huge, and they have such a wide variety of brand-new equipment that my child is actually excited to go. The environment itself is so engaging that the therapy sessions seem much more effective. Ms. Debbie is also wonderful--she's so patient and has such a natural way with kids. If you're looking for a great OT spot, I'd definitely recommend checking out this new location.

Shana is an exceptional speech-language pathologist with whom I had the pleasure of working and…read morecollaborating. She provided outstanding support to her high school students, offering excellent functional social skills/pragmatics therapy, speech and language therapy, and significantly improving our assessment processes. Her extensive knowledge and exceptional interpersonal skills enabled her to build strong relationships with colleagues and parents. You would be in very capable hands if you sought her expertise to improve your child's communication skills.

As a fellow therapist, I wholeheartedly recommend Annia. She brings a rare combination of clinical…read moreexpertise and genuine warmth to her work. Certified in EMDR and deeply experienced in addiction and recovery, she's skilled at supporting clients across the lifespan--from young adults to older adults. Annia connects authentically with her clients and works in a collaborative, engaging style that truly fosters healing. She's passionate about mental health, and it shows in everything she does. Anyone would be lucky to work with her.

I've known Annia as a trusted colleague for many years. She brings a caring, compassionate, and…read morepractical energy to her work with clients. I often refer clients seeking focused healing work like EMDR, or struggling with addiction because I know they'll be in excellent hands.

I have known Marianne very well for many years working with her in speech pathology. She is a…read moregifted therapist, and children light up when around her. She has a gift for working with kids that need guidance with socialization skills. In the past she facilitated many activities cooking, dance, etc! The kids always benefited and her background/knowledge in speech pathology is such an added bonus, as she can really work on communication/language! I highly highly recommend her services!!! The kids will tremendously benefit from these AMAZING services being offered!!

I love this program! It's a fun way for kids to get out of the house and explore their community…read morewhile working on their skills, without it feeling like work. The ladies are knowledgable, sweet and really care about each kid as an individual. I would highly suggest them to anyone looking for a summer camp/after school program. My little one loved coming and would constantly ask when the next time he will be able to see his buddies.