My child has been attending Cortica for various therapies since August and we are really happy with them. My only complaint is the turnaround my child has had in ABA BTs, but I don't necessarily think that's something that is Corticas fault, it seems like it's something general for the field, at all facilities. My child's Supervising staff has been great to work with. They LOVE their SLP, and they have really been enjoying OT, both of those services don't seem to have as high of a turnover, which is great. I have seen a lot of growth with my child. I think the quality of services is great and I appreciate that we can do everything all at 1 place. read more

Update: I have now been charged for 10/19 as well by a provider who has never seen my son and only spoke to her to tell her we are no longer patients of Cortica. They continue to say the charges are legit. BBB complaint has been filed and will be following up with CDPH and legal action. read more

Horrible experience! questionable billing practices. I had a 20 minutes zoom call with a nurse for the initial intake then they send me a bill for $408 for an office visit with a "specialist". They are in network with my insurance but because they billed it as specialist visit not a behavioral visit, insurance requires a referral to cover it. During all my phone calls to schedule with Cortica I was told this would be a screening call, no mentioning of a "specialist". They billed for a neurology visit when all what the nurse did was going over my son's history that I provided on the paperwork. If your child is not high functioning, they will not take him. They sent me an email later saying that they are not a good fit for my son but still keep sending the $408 bill for the imaginary "office visit with a specialist". I am surprised they can get away with things like that. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! read more

Cortica makes me want to pull my hair out on a daily basis. I wish there were more service providers in/around Irvine to help kids on the spectrum because having to deal with the faceless organization that is Cortica is simply awful. Having said that, let me list the good things. Most BCBA's and Assistant Supervisors for ABA are good. Same goes for Speech and OT providers. They really do care. The front desk staff is friendly and helpful. The facilities are clean and modern. Now the bad. SCHEDULING. BILLING. THERAPIST TURNOVER. MANAGEMENT (or lack thereof). I am only posting this here because there is no one else at Cortica with whom I can communicate my frustrations. I one time did talk to someone in customer care who seemed very apologetic and wanted to help. After they assured me they would follow up with me and help fix some of the issues, I never heard back from them. Scheduling is a constant disaster. No shows or last minute communication of cancellations are a regular thing. This is not just when the scheduling team themselves receive a last minute cancellation. This includes times that therapists notify scheduling well in advance and it is not passed along to parents until the last minute. Billing...my child get 2-3 therapies A DAY with Cortica. So I get 2-3 invoices A DAY via email and text. That's upwards of 500 bills a year. And that's with insurance coverage. Perhaps a monthly statement would be more user friendly. Therapist Turnover...I wish I could count how many therapists have quit the organization. I can't even tell you how many have quit on my son's team at all. Three or more quit before their first day. Many quit after 2-3 days. Do not expect ANYONE to remain on your child's team for more than 3 months. And this is driven almost entirely by therapist dissatisfaction with Cortica, their pay, and scheduling problems. Management (whoever BCBA's / Speech and OT therapists report to) exist behind a curtain. My child has been there for over 2 years and I still couldn't tell you who is in charge of anything. This was once a private company that people spoke highly of, but it was bought up by a bunch of Venture Capitalists who are only in it for the $. I hesitated to post this for a long time for fear that Cortica would drop my son as a client, leaving us with few other options for Autism care. But I've reached my breaking point and hope someone at Cortica sees this and actually tries to make things better. If not for the parents, then the kids whose lives are shaped by this company. read more

Had an unfortunate experience with this company, when I tried to get a hold of a supervisor, I was dismissed and never contacted again. I paid for the intake evaluation received an overview of pricing there are so many fees btw... I was expecting decent customer service as a minimum. read more

My child was sick, so she didn't go to therapy for 2 months. But they charged us for the two months. Even though I sent them a notification that my kid is not going. When I talk to the billing team, What's so ridiculous about their response is that I have to pay even if my kid didn't go, and talk to my insurance company about this. And then they sent the same biling three times in a row. I think I'll have to look elsewhere. read more

Cortica - Pediatricians Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I have a very bad experience with Cortica ABA team. I was informed that there is no waiting for ABA when I contacted Cortica. Now it's been more than 2 months waiting. I have a premium insurance. Our insurance doesn't require authorization for ABA Services. Despite that the Cortica team requires authorization. That's fine. But they haven't sent any authorization request to our insurance for ABA Services. I emailed their staff but no one replies. The ABA manager doesn't care to communicate. Is there anyone who can help? I could have used all that time with another ABA provider and got started by now. read more

This company doesn't properly train their ABA staff. The company doesn't develop behavior plans. Staff are given a list of a few goals and expected to come up with their own ways to achieve these goals with little to no contact with the clients BCBA. read more

This place wouldn't pay attention to the details regarding my sons medical history and made ethical moral and medical mistakes . I believe it was a waste of money and time to take my little one into this medical corporation. We where treated like..., Number 125 as the bunch of the herd . No one cared for my sons needs during tough times . I m hurt that I've allowed adults to be so careless towards my son. Doctor hitha Amin is mean!!!!Tittled a neurologist makes you believe she's knowledgeable, yet has no compasión for children and parents , so, don't be deceived., she made several bad calls medically and ethically , she is unprepared to help our kids specially those of more complicated nervous systems . Because I complained and requested that my child would start on the medicine the previous neurologist had my child on ,she denied my observations as a parent when I told her that me and my sons teachers and therapists thought he was much better when on it. My son cried for days and kicked and scream because she wouldn't call the prescription my son needed. What do they think my son is brat .. didn't the staff know all of his developmental disabilities ???her and her staff decided to send me the fallowing letter for you all to view, knowing how much my baby needs the help. I've attached the letter they sent me. I have the videos of what has happened I never shouted or yield .. all I said please help me!!! So sad when the front desk ladie kicked my son for going in the office and going upside down screaming and wouldn't get out of the office . She looked at me and said get your son out of here. I have the videos and proof if anyone is interested. email me at nikkinikki444@yahoo.com and I would gladly show you all what exactly happened . So sad they would lie like this to protect their own bad behavior . Very petty people for such an honorable labor that is to save the suffering and future of this kids.. you won't find it here. Please read the letter why would someone go in shouting or verbally shredding someone for no reason and by the way I got no email asking what happened how my son was after the facts .., nothing!!! Only a dismissal letter because the neurologist and staff at Irvine cowardly execute in this manner on monthly basis. I've attached a photo of my little one and I and the other one the day my son was having withdrawals from not having his medicine . He is in the cortica irvine office not breathing screaming and shouting .. he was having withdrawals because doctor decided I had said something about the medicine that I never said . I have all the videos . Pls request them and request my recorded phone calls and emails to prove this letter is just a dismissal after their negligence and lack of compassion. read more

Cortica - Menu - Pediatricians Near Me - Santa Ana, California

STAY AWAY! If you'be been searching for help for your child for neurodivergent or other mental health support....RUN! They will set up an intake eval with an NP and offer a bunch of evaluations that you will NEVER be able to schedule! They have NO direct line. They will NEVER answer their phones or messages. No direct ability to schedule appointments and will outright REFUSE to schedule appointments until you complete an initial evaluation ONLY during school. They also will initially pretend to have therapy sessions available only to reply later there's a months long waitlist. They have an F on the Better Business Bureau website for a reason it seems. They should be ashamed considering the population of families they are supposed to be helping. read more

Being a first time mommy, I was sad and embarrassed to get the news that my daughter needed help with her speech. I was nervous to take her to a speech therapist because I didn't know what to expect. I took my daughter to see SLP Amanda Harpst for a second opinion speech assessment. Amanda is a very patient, sweet, and honest person. My daughter attached to her quickly and she didn't want to leave. The whole staff at Aspire TLC are very kind and patient. I had the opportunity to do my clinical internships @ Aspire TLC. I want to thank the whole staff for welcoming me into their Speech Language Pathology office and mentor me as I take my first steps in becoming a speech therapist myself. My favorite thing about Aspire, is that they do a "play-base" therapy where most speech offices do not. The children always walk in with excitement with a big smile and ready to start their day! Some families move to OC just to come to Aspire! That says a lot! Thank you Aspire Team!! read more

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Parents DO NOT call this place!!! They charge you $250 just to talk to them.

Scheduling called me and changed our therapy schedule for the next day. We left the next day to go to the new schedule they called me for. And halfway going to their office, they called me saying we're not scheduled for that day. This happened twice. I don't know why someone would make mistakes like this 2x. Its a lot of hassle for us since we have 2 kids in therapy. And I have to drive them to these places. We don't live close by. And their billing is SO BAD! -they won't even talk to you about your insurance ahead of time- they just want money. They recommended twice a month of OT . And now finding out we had a max of 60 therapies per our insurance. So now we're left half of the year without therapy for our son because we've been going twice a week and have maxed out. Paying out of pocket is too expensive for us. Now he has to stop therapy and won't have the consistency he needs. Just poorly run back office. read more

Our 4-year-old daughter had a lisp when saying "s" sounds and was unable to say certain sounds (ie. "er" mispronounced as "uh"). She worked with therapist Jenny Armstrong for several months, and the initial speech concerns we had were resolved with flying colors and our daughter now speaks very clearly and articulately. Jenny was awesome during her time with our daughter. Our daughter enjoyed her weekly speech sessions and loved Jenny, who made the sessions fun with word games, etc. Jenny was really great at communicating with me regarding the sessions and our daughter's progress. Both Jenny and Aspire were flexible and understanding of scheduling change requests that arose. Our daughter is often complimented on her speech, and we thank Jenny and Aspire. Both are professional, a pleasure to work with, and highly recommended. read more

Their billing is awful. In Sept. 22 I received a statement showing I paid in full for all past services, including for a service completed in Jan. 22. Then in Dec. 22 they re-billed me for this same service from Jan. 22 claiming they moved a payment from that service in Jan. To April. Please keep track of your services and payments and beware! read more

Be sure to check other places for reviews as well. I've been taking my son here for over a year and there's always some kind of problem with admin/front office and billing, and I'm not the only one that deals with this. Employees with competency are needed, badly. Dr Wong is amazing, as are the therapists. read more

Our experience with Aspire was nothing but positive! Jenny was our speech therapist and my daughter really enjoyed the time they spent together. I love love love that they work on speech through play because it keeps the child engaged and because children learn best through play of course. My daughter made great improvement during her time there and we truly miss speech! I can't thank Jenny, Amanda and all the ladies at Aspire enough!!! read more

Worst! Never go here for ABA. They will rip you off! They don't have enough experienced BCBA's. I switched to Cortica from another agency, and I am repenting like anything now. They took so many months to complete the initial assessment and billed me for all those sessions. Then they changed the BCBA who did many more initial assessments, which just kept on adding to my bills. Then the second BCBA left Cortica . My poor child has been waiting for more than 6 months now to get ABA and I am just paying off those bills for nothing. Finally, I have decided to go back to my previous agency. read more

I am thrilled to write this five star review after a year of fantastic and incredible support from the amazing trio at Aspire, Alyson, Amanda and Jenny! My son was a bit behind on formulating and processing 'WH' questions (who, what, where, when, why) and effectively communicating his emotions. I have to admit, after his school suggested that I should look into speech therapy to help him adapt better in the classroom, I felt a bit overwhelmed and at a loss of where to turn. I am truly blessed to have found Aspire, as now he has graduated and actually scored ahead of his age! One proud mama! And this would not have been possible without these three talented and compassionate ladies (especially Alyson!!). From the assessment in the beginning, to goal setting, to progress reports and even emotional support for me (yes, when on an unknown journey this is a HUGE plus), their guidance and knowledge truly mapped our road to success. The support system they provide shows how passionate they are in striving to achieve the utmost progression with their kiddos. I want to say that Alyson has practically been an extension of our family to our son throughout the entire process. She is patient, caring, effective in communication, compassionate, knowledgeable, and wonderful with our son. She has impacted his life in so many ways and has helped him find his confidence in expressing himself. I am beyond grateful to have her impact his language in such a positive way. Thank you to Aspire for all that you have done for me, and most importantly our son. I couldn't have asked or hoped for a better team and end result. Stellar job!!! read more

Love the therapy my daughter is getting there. She loves it and is starting to talk more and asking to go to Cortica.

Tender Love and Care.... This is all we want when we are caring for our children.. Turquoise is my favorite color and Alyson was so accommodating. She made my three daughters so comfortable and has been such a great speech therapist. I love my children and when I see someone that treats them as if they truly love them too it melts my heart.. Thank you so much to Aspire TLC and Alyson... she is wonderful!!! Such an amazing redhead just like my oldest daughter... Kaylee looks forward to her time here! read more

Amanda, Jenny and Alyson at Aspire TLC are the most loving and supportive speech therapists parents could ever ask for. My daughter sees Jenny on a regular basis, but she has had the pleasure of working with all three ladies at some point during her therapy. My daughter takes a bit to warm up to people but that wasn't the case here. They approach the kids on their level and encourage speech through play--so while there is "work" happening, the child grows and learns at a more natural pace for them without feeling forced. My daughter's first experience was with an ABA therapist who never took the time to build a relationship with her and constantly made her feel frustrated. It was so hard to watch, and my daughter didn't seem to be getting anything out of it that she began to close up during her sessions. If you're a parent and are looking for some help with your little one's speech, please don't hesitate to call up Aspire. They genuinely care about each individual child (and their parents!). My daughter is showing improvement after a couple months and always looks forward to her visits with Miss Jenny! read more

When my son was 2.5 years old, I got the ok with his pediatrician to start speech therapy sessions. He understood the 3 languages we spoke at home, but didn't speak much. We began speech therapy sessions with both Amanda and Jenny, but primarily Jenny. He loved his sessions every time; so much so that I had to beg him to leave after every session. His speech increased so greatly after working with Jenny that when he started preschool recently, his teachers didn't even know he required speech therapy. Now, about 6 months later, he speaks non-stop. Jenny, Amanda, and everyone at Aspire are so kind and sweet, and all the children love being there. I highly recommend taking your young and even older children here (they have a variety of enrichment classes/reading programs). They work with our insurance, too! We love Aspire!!! read more

Alyson is amazing with our son Tyler. We took a little break because it was a long drive for us but my son insisted for us to return with Alyson. I would definitely recommend this place. read more

Do your due diligence and always get 2nd or 3rd opinions before proceeding with any treatment for your child. The previous neurologist we dealt with here seemed to have a good background. We came for a diagnosis and spent so much time, effort, energy, money and most importantly, TRUST. Every week 1-2x week, driving back and forth, waiting, and hoping it will help your child even a little bit. My child was treated here for over a year here. He was recommended medication and other treatments. When district contradicted his diagnosis, the doctor just shrugged and were like "maybe they're right." Taking someone else's word without follow up or further investigation even though he was supposed to know my child's condition best. Cortica diagnosed my child and treated for a condition they did not "believe" he had. Wasted so much valuable time already and our child needs help NOW. This has impacted my child's trust with medical professionals whom we said he could trust. He is not getting the help he needs at school, and we must start all over. It's frustrating and heartbreaking. read more

I first found Aspire after attending multiple sessions with another provider that ended up being a waist of time and money. Aspire was a welcome breath of fresh air, they were quick to work with us to get our daughter on track with a schedule, we see Alison and so far the results have been great. We look forward to what the future holds. read more

My 2 year old son had a speech delay so I began taking him 2 times a week to Aspire. The entire staff is friendly and welcoming. They were very flexible with my schedule, considering there were times my son would fall asleep on the way to our session or was sick. He uses a lot more words now and can express himself much better. His teacher Jenny was very patient and he loves his sessions so much he sometimes has a hard time leaving! Another plus is that I also have a one year old daughter, and she was more than welcome to attend the sessions with him. I feel like she also benefited from the speech therapy and she and her brother play better together. Would recommend these therapists to anyone! read more

Caring and loving clinic! As a person who used to work at Aspire, I know first hand that everyone is focused on what's best for the child. Not one kind of therapy is appropriate for every child. They use different approaches and techniques to fit the child's development and needs. Aspire TLC develops great relationships with not only the child but the family as well. Also, a great working environment which involves lots of collaboration. Amanda, Alyson, Jenny, Diane, and Nives are the best! Highly recommend Aspire TLC for your family:) read more

We have been Aspire clients for about 5 years and started when my son was 3. Over the course of 5 years, we have had the chance to work with Amanda and Jenny. Their guidance and love has helped him blossom into a happy, friendly, confident little man. He has made phenomenal progress and is doing great in school. He attends speech therapy sessions integrated with DIR/Floortime and Visualizing and Verbalizing sessions to help him with reading comprehension. I HIGHLY recommend Aspire to any parent out there looking for help for their child. Thank you Aspire! read more

They do amazing work with the kids here. My daughter was 3 when she started but she was speaking 18 months behind according to our pediatrician. It's only been a few months now and she has become quite the little talker. She is able to articulate her words wonderfully now and we couldn't be happier. read more

We have been to literally TONS of speech people in Orange County and they are all odd or crazy! Amanda is the first "normal" one. She is intuitive and our child absolutely loves her. Our child loves to see her every week and cannot wait to "play" with her. The growth and success that we have seen, in a few months, is exciting and it is more than we the past 5 years combined. Thank you so much Amanda and as always.....may the force be with you. read more

Alyson at Aspire is such a kind, loving, yet firm speech therapist. Our daughter's speech has improved dramatically since working with Alyson. The sessions are fun and they include physical activities like swinging to keep our daughter's interests. Alyson has worked with us and our ABA therapists to tailor sessions suited to our daughter's needs and create a fun, successful, and positive environment. read more

As a mom to a 6 year boy who is on the Autism Spectrum, I am incredibly happy with Aspire TLC and their incredible team of therapists. Amanda and her staff have been absolutely amazing with my son. In fact, Amanda was his first speech therapist and we have continued to go back to her over the years for additional therapy, most recently for DIR Floortime. I can't say enough about the amazing staff and support I have received from Aspire TLC, and would highly recommend them to any family searching for quality therapy. read more

WE cannot thank Amanda and Jenny at Aspire TLC for all they have done for our daughter. Abby started with these amazing ladies in November of 2017 after we were told by her kindergarten teacher she had speech development issues. They were extremely understanding of our position and worries about her development. They work amazingly with Abby and we have no issues with our appointments, Abby is always willing and wanting to get to her speech class! Thank you so much, Jenny and Amanda! We appreciate you more than this review can say. read more

I've seen a lot of improvement in my son's speech during the last year that he has worked with Amanda and Jenny at Aspire TLC. My son looks forward to his speech sessions because they make it fun with different activities, toys and reward incentives. Amanda and Jenny are very caring and knowledgeable. They're able to travel to my son's school for his speech sessions, which has been very helpful for us since both my husband and I work full-time and we're not able to make it into the clinic regularly. read more

My sons pediatrician recommended that I start enrolling my 2.5 year old son in speech therapy to help him progress in his language development. Although he understood me he didn't have the words to communicate. The doctor recommended that I take my son to Providence Speech, which I did. However, after a few weeks I started to realize that they weren't giving my son the attention he needed. They forced too many kids onto one teacher (the teacher was great but overloaded) and my son spent the first 15 mins of each 45 min class sitting on my lap because the teacher was unable to give him the one on one he needed. I decided we needed to make a change. I found Aspire through a friend and went in for an interview. I was so happy to see that they had dedicated play rooms that my son could run around in and learn. His therapist, Jenny, is so great with him. It took him awhile to come out of his bubble but now he runs into her arms at the start of each session. Now, he is progressing so fast! Within the first few weeks, family and friends were remarking on what a huge improvement he had made. I am also able to bring along my 1 year old daughter and play with her in any of the open rooms while my sons has his sessions. It is very open and kid friendly. I am so happy that I was able to find Aspire. I believe it was the best choice for him. read more

There are not enough stars to accurately rate how happy we are at Aspire! A huge thank you to Clarissa who has been so patient, loving and deep understanding for our daughter who was delayed in her speech. She has made tremendous progress which has given her language to express herself and confidence in preschool. Cannot recommend Clarissa and Amanda enough! Our daughter looks forward to going to Aspire because she has so much fun. Only regret is not having found Aspire sooner! read more

Insurance accepted: Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cigna. Not United Heathcare, Not Cal Optima/Medi-Cal. Does not yet contract with school districts, though that would be amazing! read more

If I could give Amanda and her team more then 5 stars I would; they are awesome; I contacted Amanda back in May after a speech pathologist who shall remain nameless basically dropped my son due to his "making no progress" and that he "would most likely never speak." Amanda had me bring my son in and she immediately saw his potential. Since working with Amanda and Jenny who my son adores he has made so much progress! He still has a ways to go but with Jenny and the rest of the Aspire team by his side I know he will get there!! They are angels and we adore them!! Thanks so much ladies for all you have done and continue to do for our sweet boy!!! read more

My son is diagnosed with Autism and Apraxia of Speech. Our sessions are "play" based which makes a big difference. He has made a huge progress since Amanda has worked with him...eye contact, initiates play, and will verbally request for items. Amanda and her team is very supportive and knowledgeable, and understands that each child is unique and has helped my child with his sensory, oral motor, motor planning and expressive/receptive needs. Thanks Amanda for your hard work and dedication! read more