My son was attending Mission Valley Academy ( middle school) and the teachers were awesome very…read more professionals and caring but as soon as my son started to attend Cook Center (high school) it was a nightmare his teacher was not patient at all and the principal didn't support the needs of my son, they didn't do anything to help him in his transition from middle school to HS. They never tried to have a meeting with us to try to find a solution for his needs, the principal just said that he cannot assist to Cook Center anymore.

I was also a former student, and I'm telling you: please do not send your child here!…read more The students at this school are not treated as individuals with their own gifts and their own ability to contribute meaningfully to our world. They are instead stripped of their identity, belittled and forced to comply with the demands of the staff by sheer aggression and violence. And every other aspect of the student's lives is negatively affected by the school's agenda as well, oftentimes by unfair and restrictive legal documentation that follows them for the rest of their lives and is very difficult to annul. Their practices also often result in students not graduating on time, (if at all,) which can cause irrevocable damage to their professional standing. I was lucky to leave and I never looked back, but some of the damage they inflicted stays with me, and I may not rectify it for a long time yet.

Crystal Sanford was very helpful in assisting us with the IEP process with our son's school. Our…read moreson is 5 years old with autism and wasn't getting the attention he so desperately needed. His old IEP wasn't being followed, so we needed assistance to be aware of our rights and make sure the new IEP included everything he is entitled to. She reviewed the new IEP and proposed various changes and corrections to it, which the school accepted.

My husband and I decided to use Sanford Autism Consulting to help us with our son (5 years old)…read moreIEP. She offered us free initial interview where we sat down and voiced our concerns first. After our intial meeting we decided to use her service. We gave Crystal a copy of our son current IEP, she reviewed it and developed a proposal action plan/suggestions geared toward getting the best help for our son at his school. Crystal was very professional, well experienced and genuinely helpful. I will personally recommend Crystal to every parents of a child with IEP. Please consult with an advocate first before signing an IEP. She undertstand and helped us with our concerns that we don't know how to ask with school district, she gave us pointers and typed it all out for us to bring on the meeting. We are very thankful for her and definitely recommending her to other parents.

I am so grateful to have Sarah on my team. My autistic daughter has a great Speech and Occupation…read moreTherapist; and an excellent ABA team. We work together to help my daughter making so much progress at home, but she kept struggling at school. I was having a hard time communicating with the school to provide for proper supports for my daughter. I am searching for an advocate who can help me navigate the special education program/ public school system. I found Sarah. Sarah is kind, calm, and knowledgeable. She used to teach a Special Day Class. Sarah understands the system and knows what a student needs to succeed in school. She is a valuable member of my home team.

I highly recommend Sarah to help you with your special education IEP process. When my son first got…read morean IEP I felt so lost. I didn't know what it was or what my rights were. I'm so happy I found Sarah. She made it all so easy for me. She explained to me how everything worked so I knew what services my son was getting. She is always in your corner to be there to help you and make you feel confident going into your IEP meetings. She is so knowledgeable about everything with it. She is also so friendly and easy to talk to. She genuinely cares about the kids and wants what's best for them.

I do not recommend this ABA agency. There is very poor communication with parents from the manager…read more The owner promised to find staff at the start of services but couldn't find a single technician after two months for the San Diego South area. Then, they requested that we change insurance for my kids in order to keep services, but without behavior technicians. They also failed to maintain services until we fully transitioned to a new company. I am very frustrated with this company. Don't waste your time because they lack professionalism and fail to fulfill the basics.

Well, what can I say about ABAcus? Probably too many amazing things to fit in this review. But…read moremaybe I can express how much they have helped my family and I know they can help yours too. Our ASD Story: We have a now 3 1/2 year old who was diagnosed Autism a little after his 2nd birthday. And of course being first time parents we were totally overwhelmed and scared about our new path that we were being placed on. As many of you who are going through the evaluation process it is hard on the parents. This was the same for us. Not knowing how to decide what services to use, or methods to implore left us feeling extremely underqualified as parents. We didn't know what to do or who to turn to. Luckily San Diego County does have very good recourses for those effected by developmental differences. After diagnosis through the San Diego County Regional Center system we were assigned to the ABAcus team as our service providers. Boy can I tell you this was the best thing that could have happened to our family. When we first meet the wonderful folks at ABAcus my sweet boy seemed to lost in his own world. He would not respond to his name, make eye contact, and had lost any language that he had learned in the first few months of his life, just to name a few of his quirks. But when we look at my boy now I am truly amazed by his accomplishments and growth. He now will make and maintain eye contact (even if it's only a few seconds - progress is progress), will respond to his name, and is growing his language every day. And I mean every day - We do ABA Mon-Fri. NONE of this would have been possible without ABAcus. We have two service providers and a supervisor that regularly work with my kiddo, and let me you how amazing they are. They are patient yet firm. They are ALWAYS evaluating his goals to make sure that he is getting as much out of our time together as possible, and it shows. I can tell that they really care about my son and my family. Not only to they care about my son's growth and progress, they also take the time to help us learn the skills we need to help our son succeed. If you are looking for an ABA provider you should definitely give ABAcus a try. They have given us back the ray of light and for that I cannot ever really express how grateful I am for ABAcus, and the folks make it as amazing at it is....

Exceptional educational program/school but at a huge costs. Unfortunately I don't fall into the…read morecategory of being able to afford their services. My son made huge strides for the 2 months he went there. It's frustrating how private institutions can show the capability of your child but I would literally have to sell my kidney to keep him in the program. If you got the dough, I highly recommend!

From the owner: We specialize in working with students who struggle with dyslexia, reading, writing, and math,…read moreauditory processing, attention, memory, anxiety. We have years of experience with IEPs and special education. Students who are bright but working too hard have found our methods life-changing! The inspiration behind the Learning Center is the banyan tree. This amazing plant grows in regions where the soils is not able to support the heavy branches. It has learned to compensate for the weakness by growing support limbs as the tree branches out. Like the banyan tree, our goal is to provide support and strengthen foundations for learning as students mature into lifelong learners. In addition to the concept of the Learning Center providing support to learners, the foundations, or roots of the tree, must also be feeding the tree and entwine to make a strong trunk. The foundational skills that must be in place for efficient processing are memory, attention, language, reasoning, and integration. When these are intact and working together, students are ready to branch out... and learn basic skills, develop their unique gifts and areas of interest, and find success academically, socially, and emotionally. At Banyan Tree Educational Services, we can assist students in developing skills in any of these areas, either academic or foundational. Please browse our site to find how we can help students at all levels of learning.

Update: An intake manager reached out to me and we have been going back and forth for a week. As of…read moretoday they finally have everything they need although I did not provide anything extra. I apply back and February and since applying availability has changed and it will now take another 3-4 months for my son to get an FBA to start attending, when I was originally told they had immediate availability.

This review is long overdue, but like most special needs parents -- my plate is full and I try to…read morepick my battles wisely ,when it comes to these matters. The therapists do an ok job , depending on who you get but they were very patient with my son, and I am very grateful . The staff who manages these cases deserve their own review , and thats coming when I find more time, and this current issue is resolved. This review comes after a 2 month attempt to get ALP to communicate with Easter Seals to resume service for my child. After being convinced to put my child back on Kaiser insurance (he needed aba at school, state funded insurance doesn't cover) I went through a 60 day process of my child being re evaluated, and services being interrupted all so ALP can bill the higher payer, even though my child has dual coverage. After WEEKS of this, finally get the ball rolling with Easter Seals , and surprise! ALP has went ghost! Their own business partner Easter Seals had to report to me that they had received ZERO feedback when they reached out to resume services for my child. As of today we are going on 4 months without aba services , being forced to find a new provider and failed attempts to get my childs records from them. Today, another attempt to obtain my childs record were made. I will provide an update with the outcome .

Karla has been a lifesaver for our family. The school district repeatedly refused to identify our…read moreson's dyslexia. They insisted he was "fine". But he couldn't read, write or do math (all those word problems require a lot of reading). Worse, he was beginning to think he was stupid. The IEP process is complicated. You absolutely need someone with experience to guide you and advocate for your child. Our son is now reading above grade level due to an appropriate school placement and related services. Karla literally saved our son's future.

If she has a waiting list wait for her. For me, the key to a great advocate is someone who will…read morelisten to my child's story, his experiences, his challenges, and his strengths and combine them with the knowledge of how an IEP works to create a plan that actually moves my child forward. IEP San Diego gives you that, as a parent she makes me feel fully heard in my concerns, most importantly she knows how to express those concerns in a way that carries my child's education forward with meaningful goals in a setting that allows him growth, safety, learning, and friendships. I admire the depth of analysis she gives to each one of the assessments, protocols, and many documents that make up the file. She is really interested in understanding what has been done and how in order to create an IEP that is appropriate for the child.