Of course as a 3 year employee at CW, I am probably biased, but that is based on my truly amazing experience both personally and professionally with this company where everyone is appreciated, supported, and treated in such a kind, personable and encouraging manner. This company is transparent, fair and responsive to its employees and I know I have found my professional home with them and hope to stay and grow with them for as long as they will have me. I love love love working for Communication Works! read more

I sought out an occupational therapy evaluation for my son through CW when the school failed to do an appropriate evaluation of his OT needs. CW has a great reputation for offering quality recommendations for children. They followed up and were concerned and thorough in ensuring we found an assessor who could help us. I have also met with them regarding their social skills group.The MGW curriculum is amazing and we are looking forward to working with the very talented and caring staff. As an added perk, they are located on a beautiful hillside in Oakland with serene views. The waiting area inside is comfortable with ample space for everyone to relax. We drive an hour to see them and it's totally worth it. Highly recommend this agency. What a treasure for our kids! read more

CW has been a tremendous help to my son. He participates in one of the social groups and loves it. He has fun, he learns about himself, he learns about his interactions with others and we all learn tools to practice with in our daily lives. His therapist is wonderful. She is warm and funny and knows how to meet the kids where they are. My 9 year old said as we were leaving last week, "I don't know how she does it! She just knows, she knows about me and the choices I can make. " I highly recommend Communication Works. read more

I have a wonderful child who is sensitive, creative, and has trouble processing her feelings and emotions, so we sought help, and guess what, help is what we got - big time. We learned several communication methods, ways in which to notice mood swings, we became aware of triggers and other things that "set our child off" and came away with new knowledge of how WE could be changing our methods of communicating with our child (children.) What an eye opener, and what a better family environment because of their help. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a positive experience, as well as wanting positive solutions. The staff are friendly and responsive to our needs and to our questions and were genuinely interested in our child's well-being. Highly recommended!!! read more

My child has been attending speech and participating in social therapy for some time now, and we have seen GREAT improvement from their work with him. I highly recommend their service. I have referred several other parents to them and they love their work as well. If yo are looking for people who listen to you and your child and work with you together, this is the place. read more

Communication Works fell short of our expectations. Our son's first therapist who he did individual therapy with was stronger (as a communicator to us, and as somebody who understood our son) than the second, who led a therapy group that we did not feel was productive for our son at all. We ultimately abandoned therapy at Communication Works because we questioned the consistency of care and were deeply concerned that his last therapist seemed so out of touch with his needs. Particularly with group therapy, you are at the mercy of CW's staff's process of determining which group your kid belongs in, and if they get it wrong, the group will be of little benefit. In the weeks and months following our departure, we discovered another problem: none of the services we received there were reimbursable by our (generally very good PPO) insurance. A child psychologist had advised us to get our son in social/behavioral therapy and we chose CW because behavioral therapy is heavily advertised (by them, on their web site and when you call them for consultation) as a core competency and because it is one of the only organizations that offers group therapy for kids as young as ours. However, Communication Works is only licensed to treat for speech therapy codes 92507 and 92508, so when I submitted our insurance claims, I could not be reimbursed. This, in my opinion, is outrageous. My son was not seen for speech therapy (he has no speech delays or speech issues)--he was seen for social and behavioral issues, yet CW is not licensed to invoice with treatment codes that correspond to anything other than speech therapy. When I called to straighten this out (my husband had been trying for months and he was at the end of his rope), I was confronted with a defensive staff member who went through a litany of technicalities designed to explain to me how it was that their speech therapists were qualified to practice behavioral therapy but just weren't licensed to treat for it, as a behavioral psychologist would be. This person basically blamed me for wrongfully assuming that an organization that advertises behavioral therapy would be licensed to use behavioral therapy treatment codes when billing me. The irony is staggering. An organization that focuses on effective communications pulls an epic fail in communicating transparently with clients. I was appalled that the man I spoke with (who identified himself as the co-owner) was so confrontational, and so resistant to legitimate feedback about the transparency of the ambiguity, if not outright disparity, between the services they advertise and the services they are fully licensed to handle. I also didn't walk away from the conversation confident in this person's ethics (anybody who has to defend themselves with the words "we're not doing anything illegal" is probably doing something shady). My husband has maintained all along, based on the people he dealt with along the way in trying to find resolution, that he thinks that Communication Works deliberately misleads clients. He has also gotten the strong sense that there are questionable ethics at play. At the end of the day, this lack of transparency cost my family a few thousand dollars that we can't afford to lose but won't be able to recover. I plan to take my complaint about Communication Works to their regulating and certifying bodies and I have already documented their advertising materials to be included as part of my complaint. I view this as a case of false advertising. I would like them to stop advertising themselves so aggressively as treating for behavioral and social issues without better disclosure around potential insurance/reimbursement issues. read more

CW has helped my daughter with her emotional regulation. Our coach and the director have listened to our needs and customized lessons that benefit my daughter and family every day. Originally my daughter didn't want to go for help, but when I suggested we take a break this summer she convincingly protested. Thank you CW!! read more

The therapists at CW are exceptional. They are caring, extremely knowledgeable and always looking to improve the children's experiences.

I am a behavior therapist for children with Autism and I have referred a number of clients to CW for social groups, as well as individual speech therapy. I have gotten nothing but rave reviews from parents about the therapists and services offered there. Both the parents and I have been able to see progress in the areas targeted by the therapists. My clients have made leaps and bounds in conversation and impulse control. It was been really amazing to see and so empowering for the kids. read more

Lego Robotics Summer Camp I was anxious about the camp, because of the mixing of ages, which can be a problem for teenagers who are naturally sensitive about being paired with younger children. Nevertheless, I think the camp was quite imaginative and focused on the skills my son needs to succeed in life: planning and sequencing; working with his hands; and collaborating with others. It's difficult, I think, to engage kids during the summer in a therapeutic camp as opposed to one more focused on bodily pleasures like swimming, but this camp managed to keep the kids focused and learning in a school-like setting---a good prelude to the fall semester. I think the use of lego robotics is fascinating and innovative; and I appreciated all the attention my son received. I would enroll him in this camp again. I do think my teenager enjoyed it and that it reinforced skills he has been practicing in weekly therapy at CW. read more

My son has been attending groups at CW for a semester and over the summer. I feel that he gets a huge amount of value from his 50 minute group. Elizabeth and staff (I know and recommend Kristin as well) are intensely focused and constantly finding teachable moments and reinforcing the skills and ways of thinking that need strengthening. All this without pathologizing, and while keeping it fun and light. Elizabeth also came and worked over several months with a class at my son's private school, did wonders with a group that was having some serious problems! As far as I can tell, Elizabeth and staff are really leading the way in terms of bringing the best cognitive based strategies for the totality of the autism spectrum, including kids who are high functioning but aren't at age-level for perspective-taking (putting oneself in someone else's shoes), and other aspects of social intelligence. Also, they have a new person who is integrating their "social learning" curriculum with self-regulation. One specific feature I like is how the last 10 minutes of the group is parent education. After all, the group is only one hour per week. The rest of the time, it's up to me! Also, during that time, the kids are sometimes in the same room. So we aren't elsewhere whispering about what's wrong with our kids. We're discussing strategies for supporting them to have friendship, know what behaviors are expected, and to recognize and name and communicate what's happening inside. Surprisingingly fast to get there, even from the north side of Berkeley. read more

As an Education Therapist, I have worked with Elizabeth for over 10 years. Recently, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with her through CW in Oakland. Not only is she a wealth of knowledge in her field, she is a true professional. I would highly recommend her program. She is a compassionate person and a loving guide in dealing with her clients. read more

I cannot recommend. Play based social group did not translate into practical skills for use in normal social interactions. Staff would not allow parents to ask questions during ten minute 'parent time'. One of the other tenants in the building was able to walk into the area and right into the room where our kids were and then yell at the kids for being too loud. The staff person with the kids did not confront the person or ask him to leave. The parents were not informed of this incident and were not told how CW would prevent this from happening again. We only found out from our kids. When we spoke to the office, we were told they had issues with this tenant previously!! We were concerned for the safety of our child and along with the lack of practical skills, we discontinued. read more

Would highly recommend CW- I first saw them give a presentation and I picked up so many new practical things to try at home ( In Just an hour) My daughter has been benefiting from her structured play group for almost a year now. We have both learned many new ways of thinking about things and strategies. I've seen my PDD- NOS child make great progress- at CW, at home and most importantly in middle school. The office and staff are fun and professional- have a great vibe. I love my 10 minutes at the end of each session to hear what's happening, ask questions and take home printed info on the topic being covered. As a special education teacher myself, I have very high expectations for the therapist and she exceeds them! I can see the planning that is involved to make each and every session productive in Working towards our kids area of need. Lauren, our therapist is awesome! read more

Elizabeth, Hillary and their therapists are real experts in the speech therapy world. They are really knowledgeable and the know the best practices for the individual needs of your child. I work in a school with children with autism and I have experienced their work and I strongly recommend them. read more

My daughter went to Communication Works to work on managing her emotions and navigating social situations. Her therapist was a speech pathologist/social cognitive specialist with expertise in pragmatic/social language and emotional regulation. I saw another Yelp post that was unclear about this type of therapy but their website clearly states who they are as professionals and the type of work that they do. I know other speech and occupational therapists who also focus on this area, this is not uncommon and I would highly recommend their services. Our therapist was caring, skilled and passionate. My daughter got a lot out of the group and learned many tools and strategies that helped her at home and school, especially with self regulation. I also received information that was helpful for us to implement outside of the session during the weekly parent training. The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. We also appreciate their effort in providing training at a larger scale with their workshops, school trainings, blogging, etc. Lots of great information and support provided to my daughter, myself and many others in our community. read more

My daughter attended "play classes" (as she called them) this summer. She loved her time with the teacher and her peer. I was impressed by the appearance of the office (fun but not cluttered, clean but not clinical looking), the knowledge and professionalism of the staff and I like that the office was easy to get to and easy to park at. I would highly recommend checking out the services offered at CW! read more

2 of my sons have received services at CW. My oldest has come to social skills group and individual therapy for pragmatic issues. My little guy has early intervention for speech delay at CW. We love it there! The therapists are amazing. Also I like the beautiful setting and easy parking. read more

I collaborate and train with the professionals at CW on a regular basis, and as a social cognitive expert in this field, I have the utmost respect for their knowledge, professionalism and innovation. I have observed the therapists in action and can attest to their expertise in teaching their clients in the areas of social communication, social learning and self-regulation. read more

Elizabeth is extremely helpful and tries her best. My daughter loved the group. Unfortunately she needs a lot of practice and we had just the summer program. People were very nice, highly recommended. read more