I am a forty-one year old woman with autism and other diagnoses , although being a person…read more/Individual with autism is my primary diagnosis. I attend the adult program Mondays through Thursdays and work with a very nice person named Kiara Allen . She is helping me with establishing my newsletter "Our Voices" and Magazine "Women with autism : The Magazine" - I was a little hesitate at first - but Kiara's wonderful smile and bright personality make me feel very welcomed - although sometimes it's hard being somewhere that has other participants that might have more complicated disabilities than my own. that being said Kiara always puts me at ease and asks me what I think and takes into consideration my thoughts, feelings, and Opinons on certain issues and shout out to Sheryl Bobroff with the big erase on her desk that says "My Bad" - meaning that her and her staff are willing and able to learn from their pass mistakes.

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.

Honestly, I don't think you can really give a review about schools or rate them. Really, what are…read moreyou gonna base it on? Anyhow, this is a very wonderful school. My brother is a Down syndrome and has been going there for the past seven years. He will be transitioning soon to adult program.

I am writing this to warn other Families about the current Leadership at the Sam and rose Stein…read moreSpecial Education Center. While this school is funded to support severe special needs, the director has shown a complete lack of understanding of autism behavioral support and basic safety. Ever since my urgent email request on September 1,2026 the director has actively avoided holding an emergency IEP meeting to fix our son transportation plan. Instead of helping he demands that we Immediately drive over to pick up our son whenever he has a rough day or exhibits escalating behaviors. The director casually assumed we live 1-5 minutes away and tried to control our schedules. He does not care about family safety or the reality of highway driving ; he just expects us to drop everything because he cannot handle special needs. Instead of implementing proper behavioral interventions or accommodating school-provided transit, he relies on evasion and punitive measures - ultimately issuing a sudden 20 days removal notice to run out the clock. It is a Shamed that a facility meant for vulnerable special needs children is run by administrators ChrisH, who avoids Legal IEP meeting and try to bully parents proceed with extreme caution. the previous director Ms Chayo Chavez she's been amazing to us for 3 years , she understands about families with special needs children.

I do NOT like this school. I went here a couple of years ago and let me start off with talking…read moreabout the primetime staff. The old supervisor sucked balls and was a very sh1tty person she would always yell at kids and not care about them. The supervisor would always make up lies about children and even talk sh1t about them when all of them left which is why I had to drop out because of how careless they were to kids. Let me also talk about the music teacher she was racist,disrespectful and judged kids about how they would play with certain instruments that she provided us the p.e teacher is also a very careless person and I don't not like her at all she was very very bratty and had a bad attitude towards kids?

I've had 2 children attend McKinley Elementary School. One just graduated from there and one is…read moreentering 3rd grade. This school has been phenomenal and has gone above and beyond. We have experienced different teachers year, and each one has been more than exceptional. They have been absolutely lovely, caring, thoughtful, smart, and have the best interest of our kids, their classmates, and even their community in mind. They have been taught not only the basic academics, but also how to be a good human in this crazy world, and how to lean on community and their peers to grow and become educated. I have felt like the teachers have always kept the individual student in mind, and advocated it on their behalf for all of their needs. The school, the teachers, the staff, down to the janitors....Absolutely lovely. The community that is involved at Mckinley Elementry school is the absolute best. There is a constant fundraising happening by the parents and community to support Mckinley's vast programs. The jog-a-thon, Sono Fest, the Gala, etc. Programs like music, theater dance for, art, and Spanish, our kids have been getting a very well rounded experiences in elementary school.

Navigating the school system for a child with special needs can be overwhelming, but Sarah Tira has…read moremade all the difference. Working with her has been an absolute game-changer. She takes incredible initiative and is deeply dedicated to her clients. Her expertise makes me feel supported and confident during every IEP meeting. If you need a passionate, proactive advocate who will fight for your child's services, look no further! Thank you Sarah for being in our corner. You are truly a blessing for our family!

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.

This is a great specialty school for students in special education. I take kids here who need lots…read moreof one-on-one attention, and the staff are very dedicated and patient with each student.

The challenges and experiences our child enjoys are experiences that bond friends for life and…read morebuild positive outlook that helps the children to excel to their highest as well as learn German! He has a high regard for his classmates, teachers, & SAY instructors. His vocabulary has grown exponentially since starting as well as as his physical development has been on track! All this culminates to his ability to have self control for longer stretches. The classmates he has are all supportively each other. The jobs the teachers give the children help each focus or stay engaged in each's particular way. Let's just say We are Ecstatic for our son to be at AEA!

We moved here recently and we ultimately decided this would be the best place for my TKer and 5th…read moregrader. My TKer within the first 2 weeks, got bit so hard by a classmate on the face that it left a mark for 7 days. All because he was cleaning up like he was told to do and the other kid didn't like my TKer touching a toy that he previously played with? I thought you know give them the benefit of the doubt, although I feel as if both backs shouldn't have been turned during this interaction and less than 20 kids in this class with 2 teachers someone should have gotten between the child trying to attack mine. Well, fast forward 2 weeks and now my child is sobbing about how much he doesn't want to go to school because nobody will play with him. I talk to the co teacher in the morning about this and her reasoning is to blame my child because he doesn't know personal space...he's 4...there was no empathy there was only blaming. As for my 5th grader, her teacher was a NIGHTMARE this was the most miserable human I've ever seen in my life. We were told on the first day of school that her teacher would meet us in the morning to introduce herself and meet my child. So we're waiting for the teacher to show up in the morning and when she finally does she walks right past us, glances at us, and then ignores us. So I walk up and introduce my child and myself since she obviously wasn't going to. She says hi and that's about it. No enthusiasm, no warm welcome, just an utter miserable human of a teacher. Within a week of my child being in her class she's already messaged me twice about my child's not being at grade level in math. Obviously this is a big change for my child, my 5th grader just moved and is nervous. I tell her my child was close to end of year grade level for math the year prior, and that we were doing a lot at home to support her. I'm then asked if she has a 504 or IEP because she truly thought my child knew nothing! Like what a terrible assumption to make of someone after a week? I tell her no and that my child is being actively helped at home as well and to just give her time to adjust. Anyways, for the remainder of the time we're there any questions I have about my child's learning anything at all about homework, she doesn't respond to me or my child's father. They kept sending emails about how my 5th graders class needed a room parent and after a few weeks of nobody signing up I figure I can volunteer my time, I'm a very involved parent and it will help me get integrated in the school community. I'm told as room parent to reach out to my child's teacher and just let them know I'll be room parent and ask if they need help with anything and if she could send me a list or link of the things she likes/wants for classroom gifts like for her birthday and Christmas and whatnot. I didn't receive a reply it's more radio silence. She instead contacts PTA and gives her list to them. Ok odd...what weird childish behavior. My 5th grader is now coming home in tears. Telling me her teachers yell a lot and like they're not guiding her, but getting mad that she doesn't know their process (it's her first year here!) Then she tells me her teacher enters her room most mornings not addressing the class, but on her phone and doesn't acknowledge them. Wow no cellphone or smart watch policy for children but teachers get to just sit on their phone all day, great! They have different teachers for math. So of course I reach out to the math teacher letting them know my child keeps forgetting her math homework at school and if they could please ensure she has all the work she missed the past few days so we can complete and return to school. Luckily, he responds and ensures me he can do that. My child comes home and has one paper she already did... I ask her where her homework is and she said that's all that was given. At this point I'm frustrated, I've done everything on my end to ensure my child is bringing home her homework but I can only do so much. I let it go and say ok if that's all they give you idk I've spoken to the teacher at this point, to my child, reminding her to bring it home every morning at drop off. I have done everything on my end. Then 2 weeks later I get a message from math teacher! Guess what about? Yep, my child is missing homework (no duh) and that I the parent need to ensure she's doing it at home and bringing it back and really "hound" her. Did our conversation two week prior not compute? Does anybody at this school comprehend what communication actually is???? Obviously not. The cherry on top? I'm contacted by other room parents that the school cut funding for 5th grade field trips and somehow we need to try to raise 15k so the kids don't miss out. What a joke! Curious as to why this was the part they felt they needed to cut in funding, looks like someone needs a pay cut! This has by far been the worst school my children have ever attended and I'm so happy I pulled them out!

Amazing school with a staff that cares about your children. The principal at Tunis school is…read morewonderful.

I have a 10 year old son and the public school system was not providing what he needed to be…read moresuccessful academically, behaviorally, and socially. We were thrilled to find and join TLC. Their AIM program is brilliant as is there Choice program. We have experienced both and the TLC staff and their support is 100% and their attitude is 100% positive and child oriented. There are no politics at TLC. There is just a truly caring atmosphere and it is fully geared to each child. I've loved working with the staff, from Giulia at the front desk, to Ms. Katie - the Director for Scripps Ranch, to academic and behavioral staff, and of course, to our wonderful teacher, Ms. G.!!! TLC has really turned my son's education experience around and we're now on a positive, productive path.

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.