Debbie Vielbaum has shown us her excellence time and time again as our child's advocate for the past several years. During a time of absolute overwhelm with how to get our son proper support at school and at home, she worked with us and our school to help get a new IEP crafted that far better served our child. Since then, we've continued working with her and our son has made incredible progress. We are so happy to have found her and highly recommend her as an advocate. read more

Without Debbie's expertise, my husband and I would have been lost navigating through the IEP process. I would highly recommend Debbie, she understands the system, the players, and is very empathetic. read more

Words can't explain the gratitude I feel for Debbie. She has helped advocate for all three of my boys from elementary school to high school. She has helped our family through some really hard times with the school district. Debbie is extremely knowledgeable during our IEP meetings and always very supportive of our son's needs. She is an expect when it comes to school supports and helps our family work with the schools to ensure our boys success and happiness. I don't know where our boys would be without her. read more

I have appreciated Debbie's expertise in work with our school district and helping me advocate effectively for my son and his education. She has been helpful in making sure IEP goals are solid as well as making sure the team stays focused on my child and his needs. I really appreciate having Debbie sit on my side of the table, especially when IEP meetings get contentious. read more

Ms. Debbie is a fantastic family advocate. Her support and knowledge is impeccable. The extra mile with care and dedication she gives! We feel empowered thanks to her guidance! read more

Debbie is a nice person but she did not do a very good job for my son. First, for high school placement support, she took a retainer. This retainer was never accounted for. When I reached out to her later in the year because the placement wasn't a good fit, she charged me for the discussion. I'm still not sure how the retainer was used or if any was left over. Second, the placement was a terrible fit. I explained to her in detail what the particulars were of our situation and she offered me very cookie-cutter options. She encouraged us to apply to a school where her own son had gone and said they would be kind and flexible. When we got to the school, it was anything but either kind or flexible. They were authoritarian and rigid. They talked to parents like they were teenagers. Their ways were set in stone. Current parents at the school all seemed to know that administration was inflexible and difficult--and they were. The experience was disappointing and when I reached out to discuss our problems and options, she charged me for the time--again without accounting for the previous retainer we paid to her. Obviously, the terrible placement advice had the most impact on my son who left the school rather than being able to have a four-year experience at one place. I'm only not giving a one star review because I truly think she means well. . . read more

Debbie is amazing! I am a dyslexic parent with a 14 month old baby boy. When I learned he has 70% odds of also being dyslexic I reached out to Charles Armstrong school to ask who I could speak with so I could make early decisions that would better set him up for success. They referred me to Debbie and she spent 30 minutes on the phone with answering all my questions (daycare vs. nanny, public vs private schools, quality of schools in Belmont vs. other areas, what I should look out for and could be doing now, when could I start testing him, etc). I feel I have so much more clarity on how to navigate the first 5 years of his life. Thanks so much Debbie!! read more

Debbie referred us to a Dr, who was a total scam. The doctor did not use the correct tests, administered the tests incorrectly and provided an incorrect and damaging diagnosis. Debbie did not do anything during the two hour review call with the Dr. We paid her thousands of dollars with the only service she provided being a very traumatic experience. she initially offered to refund our money, and then refused. At the end of our experience with Debbie we received no helpful guidlane, and we're left in a worse position than before we had engaged with her. We had to put our child through another assessment due to her unprofessional guidance. read more

Debbie was an incredible help in our educational decisions for our son. She was able to lead us away from 'emotional' decisions, towards the right schools that had enough support for our son to thrive. The balance between support and academics is a very tricky one. As parents, we usually miscalculate it and that's where a professional like Debbie is essential. Her advice and direction, has, I'm sure, saved us the heartache of having to, yet again, transition our son. Debbie is able to assess the child's needs by reviewing all the reports, assessments, etc. She also met with our child and connects so nicely that she was able to have a 'grown up' conversation about what he really needed to succeed. It was an overall amazing experience. Thank you Debbie:) read more

Debbie was absolutely wonderful in discussing the best school options for my 4 year old son! We had a 30 minute conversation in which she provided invaluable insight and this was all complementary. I would highly recommend Debbie and Vielbaum Consulting for anyone looking for an Educational consultant. read more

As parents we sometimes get consumed with the educational decisions for our children. If your child has a learning difference, decisions become even more complex and wrenching. Debbie combines her knowledge about schools and testing, her compassion, her personal parenting background and her professionalism to guide and advise families to make the decision that best fits the student. We have known Debbie for six years and she has been our steady ship in the storm. Judi Z. read more

Debbie not only helped find a school for my children with specific learning needs but her years of experience in the education field was something that's priceless. read more

I cannot recommend Debbie enough. She truly is the best there is. Debbie possesses an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge of the wide-range of issues young learners face. Her ability to see each child and identify their individual and specific needs is truly incomparable. Being in the field of special education myself, I have never met anyone with the level of expertise Debbie displays. Her professionalism is impeccable, but when coupled with her deep compassion for the experiences of both the child and the parents, there really is no one better suited to help guide your child's education. read more

Debbie is highly knowledgeable, thoughtful and efficient. I worked with her in making a transition out of Charles Armstrong, and her knowledge of Bay Area schools is excellent. She rolls up her sleeves and does a lot of work to stay current with the schools vs. relying on reputation or a visit from years ago. It can be a daunting process, and Debbie made it more manageable. She was always available to talk, even on short notice. I would highly recommend anyone who thinks their child has a learning difference talk to her about public or private school options. She is pragmatic and empathic and can save you a lot of time and effort and help you make good choices for your child. read more

Debbie is an invaluable ally when trying to navigate your child's educational options. We have an 8th-grader with learning differences, and Debbie helped us evaluate our choices and apply to private high schools that would be the best fit for her. Debbie also provided feedback on high-school applications and essays, and helped our daughter prep for interviews. With Debbie's guidance and thorough planning, our daughter got into all three schools to which she applied. In addition, Debbie helped us pursue a separate track through public schools, ensuring that accommodations would be in place if we chose to go that route. Debbie is an amazing resource. We couldn't have done it without her! read more

Debbie was extremely helpful as we went through the process with our elementary school. It can be a daunting experience. It's super critical to you and your child and if you're like us you're completely new to the challenge. While we never felt our school had an adversarial stance it's an inherently sensitive process. We felt Debbie helped us prepare for and execute on an effective strategy. We'd absolutely recommend her. She also provided excellent recommendations for other service providers that we found to be quite excellent. read more

I strongly recommend Debbie as her extensive knowledge aided our family a great deal in a time of difficult transition. Our daughter was diagnosed in early high school with a learning difference. Debbie was able to educate and guide us in making critical decisions that would allow us to find an environment for our daughter to thrive. Debbie not only provided educational expertise but also needed emotional support to us in this transitional time. Our respect and trust in Debbie is immense and would highly recommend working with Debbie to navigate IEPs, educational decisions and the educational diagnostic process as she her knowledge and experience is vast after years of working with families of children with learning differences. read more

I wish we had found Debbie earlier in our son's educational career. But we were lucky to connect with her as our son is moving from middle to high school. We could have used her expertise in crafting IEPs and holding schools accountable for their legal requirements, particularly in the challenging middle school years. She did jump in on the last IEP and it was smooth and well run. More importantly, she was instrumental in helping us navigate the application process for the private school our son wanted to attend (and to which he has been accepted). She was able to connect quickly with our boy and "got" him right away. From a financial POV, I think what she charges is very reasonable (about 1/3 less than our previous advocate who dropped the ball multiple times and left me with unfinished work). She is very efficient and careful with our time. On so many levels, it's been a pleasure to work with Debbie. read more

My experience meeting with Debbie Vielbaum was more than satisfactory it was EXCELLENT. The labyrinth of information and testing in regards to children with learning differences can be confusing and overwhelming. Debbie examined the information I brought her and with her profound understanding and compassion she was able to give me a narrative that explained my child's learning style. Her years of experience and knowledge gave me confidence that I had found the perfect person to advise me on the best course of action to help my child. There are so many tutors and programs in the area that offer services, I was relieved to find someone that could serve as my personal compass and point me in the best direction that would be prescriptive for my child's needs. I could not recommend her more. read more

Debbie was invaluable in helping our family find the right school placement for our child, who has learning differences. When we learned of our child's learning differences, we were just plain scared! We didn't know what to do, but we knew that traditional education would not be appropriate! In comes Debbie! She attended our IEP meetings for two years through our local public school and guided us through our rights at both meetings. She set up shadow experiences at several private schools, and toured them herself, with her own set of questions that pertained to our childs' needs! She has extensive experience advocating for children in public schools, as well as private schools, which was helpful. She gave us honest and helpful feedback and we are so very happy to our child in the appropriate school now. Not every school is the right fit for your child. There is so much about special education that is outside of the realm of knowledge as a parent. We could not have found the right place without Debbie's assistance!! read more

Debbie has been an invaluable partner who was with us every step of the way navigating the educational needs of our daughter. She is an exceptionally knowledgeable professional who deeply cares about the families and students she works with. We originally started working with Debbie to help us find the right choice of high schools for our daughter and help us navigate the process, including coaching on HS interviews and reviewing application essays. We chose Debbie based on our daughters learning needs. We wanted a HS where our daughter would thrive rather than just survive. We really didn't know where to start and Debbie knew exactly the path and how to navigate it. We started working with Debbie when our daughter was in 7th grade and we found that before our HS decisions, our needs expanded to include negotiating with her middle school regarding accommodations as well as finding a different middle school for her to attend. The new middle school was exactly the right place for our daughter and she has grown in confidence and maturity. For the HS process, Debbie worked with us every step of the way from helping us decide which HSs would best suit our daughter to navigating the HS application process. She did this by really getting to know her abilities, her personality, and her goals. The HS application went smoothly and our daughter was just accepted to a wonderful high school that is perfect for her in every way. There were many times that we needed moral support and Debbie always was there for us. She is truly amazing. We honestly can't imagine navigating the process or the positive outcome without Debbie and we will be forever grateful. read more