While I did find Mary to be just as knowledgeable and passionate as many other reviewers here, working with her didn't turn out to be the best fit for my family. There are a few things that I wish I had known from the beginning, so I thought it might be helpful to share them with other families who are interested in the center: -at this point, fall of 2019, it doesn't seem that there is anyone else working at the center-some reviews mentioned a team of people, so I'm guessing that might have been in years past -because of Mary's delicate immune system, she requested that we cancel sessions if anyone in our family had any signs of illness, such as a runny nose. With my family, this was problematic, as I have a younger son too and work with children in my own work, so we ended up missing quite a few sessions even in the first month -communication about scheduling, superbills, etc can be challenging. Overall, I wish that these issues had not cropped up, as I definitely had the feeling that Mary has a lot to offer her clients and she also can be supportive of parents as well, with parenting tips if they are wanted. read more

We went to Simoneon for our daughter's AIT (Auditory Integration Training). She was very sensitive and afraid of harsh and loud sounds. Ms Mary explained us the entire theory of AIT, how to relate the audiogram and the perceived apprehensive sounds, gave us books on the topics, explained us what to expect of AIT. She also explained us how some of these sounds would cause pain in the child's ears and affect them emotionally to develop into a fear of sound. During the entire two week period, Mary was very caring and courteous to our daughter. Apart from the training, helped my daughter get over the fears with a very practical approach making her clean using a silent vacuum cleaner etc. She has given us practical tips of how to eliminate the fear by gradually exposing to attenuated sounds and increasing the intensity etc. the highlight of the entire Training process was the care with which Ms Mary approached and made my child feel comfortable read more

Mary has been very instrumental to our child's development. We started coming to her clinic when our daughter was 6 months old. At that time, she wasn't rolling from her back to her tummy, didn't initiate reaching for objects and was very passive. Our daughter is now 10 months old. She can now roll over both sides, moving to a sitting position and sit independently without losing balance. It has been so wonderful to witness her progress and we are very grateful for all of Mary's help. Not only is Mary very knowledgeable but also very caring and passionate about helping children and their families. We highly recommend Mary and her clinic, Simoneon Pediatric Development Center to anyone needing pediatric Occupational Therapy services. read more

Mary is worth her weight in platinum. She brings over 44 years of experience into the OT field. She brings experience that's non conventional and can't be taught or learned in school. She's genuinely interested in helping children on the spectrum and with SPD. She encourages parent(s) participation, both at her center and at home, for best results. She shares her knowledge from her work experience that you wouldn't know about otherwise or have thought of, such as teaching your child to stack blocks helps trigger the part of the brain that helps them read and understand words more. I didn't think 30 minutes or 45 minutes would amount to much help but her methods are quick, she jumps from one activity to the next to focus on a specific area of learning. Mary is willing to extend her office hours to help children in need of her help. It's very difficult for parents who learn or suspect for the first time that their child may be on the spectrum, searching for high rated OTs on Yelp, you will encounter many are full and don't return calls or place you on a wait list and you never hear from them again. Mary returned my calls within the same evening both times. Most of her reviews discuss auditory help. Reading her website I wasn't clear what OT services she provides. I reached out to her the first time but didn't return her call as I was still trying to figure out myself what my child needed. The second time I reached out, I had a better understanding and wanted to see if she provided those services. It turns out she covers all OT and some physical therapy when working with people. She's been able to help with our child's displeasure in being touched, help with balance, which made her want to swing and slide down the slides, where as before she was afraid of those activities. I believe her activities have also helped our child speak more. Our child has improved leaps and bounds from where she first started off in just a few sessions with Mary. She doesn't require you to download forms and spend hours filling out paperwork. Instead once an appointment is made, you will go into her office the day of the session and you fill out a quick 20 min set of forms. Her office is easy to find and there is ample parking. Her center is well equipped to help any child. I believe even if she does not have room in her schedule, she is willing to speak with you over the phone by listening and helping guide you, the parent. This didn't happen with anyone else I called. read more

I took my son here for the Auditory Integration Training (AIT). Mary Scholer is very profession, nice and she patiently discuss everything with me. I came here because it was recommended by the speech therapist, after she noticed the assessment from a different center recommended a 3 month training costing me thousands of dollars, does not seem correct. Mary showed me how to look up for a certified AIT expert and she was right, the previous assessment was done by an uncertified technician. As Mary indicated, (and I researched this time), that the AIT should take only 2 weeks. She even loan me a book on AIT and how hearing can affect behavior. Over the two weeks of treatment, she was clear on what to and what not to do. She checks with us everyday. She replys email quickly and in details. Now that the training is over, my son noticed he hear things clearer and can hear with a lower volume settings. We will wait till a month for the treatment to settle, and we will do an audiogram again. I'm sure the results will be positive. But that was not all. Over the week, we observed how knowledgeable Mary is. I also see how she helped all the children during the occupational therapy and fighting over fears. Just within the two weeks, I can see how some of those children progressed significantly. I'm very blessed to have found her. read more

Amazing place! Very resourceful and helpful staff. Mary goes an extra mile to help her clients. She is very bright and knowledgeable professional and very passionate about the work she does. I will be referring clients over. She is conveniently located near Valley Medical Center and major freeways. read more

This is one of the best if not THE BEST OT center I have come across. Mary and her team are amazing and do such an outstanding job with the kids. I have been taking my son to see Mary for 2 years now. She has always made us feel so special and works with great dedication and passion. I wish there were more professional people out there like Mary who know what they are doing and go an extra mile to help their clients. We are so blessed to have such an amazing place to take our son and the improvements he has made are phenomenal. I look forward to each session with Mary and my son loves going there and enjoys working with Mary. Thank you Simoneon Pediatric Center! read more

I met Mary when she was first starting out at the Simoneon Center. Both of my sons worked with Mary over a period of time. I can't sing Mary's praises enough for her insight, expertise and support. At the time in the 70s, she was a bit of a "lone wolf", convincing schools and doctors that her method was beneficial and necessary for children who might be having difficulties with motor skills, from bilateral coordination, focusing on work, to general developmental skills. Mary's work has paid handsome dividends for my sons, and to this day - some forty plus years - I remember her dedication, knowledge and work ethic. I hope she remembers us! Actually, I got a little sentimental as I was doing some cleaning out during our shelter in place and came across programs she had written out for my boys. Thank you, Mary! I hope you are well. read more

We were referred to an occupational therapist after being diagnosed by a family therapist that what we had in a child was not one that "won't" but a child that "can't". And we are lucky that we found Mary at Simoneon center because she turned out to be one of the most per important person's we ever met in our lives. The therapy itself was very educational not just for the child but also for myself as the parent as I learned see an understand my child in a new way I hadn't understood before. The child made a remarkable turn around with all the love and support. Her school academics improved as well as our relationship with the child. Now we have a child that "can" and will. read more

Just wanted to give an update on my daughter's progress. This weekend, we went to her school and she played on the playground. The play structure has two different styles of monkey bars and a group of rings. To my amazement, she swung effortlessly through the monkey bars and rings! At Simoneon, they have monkey bars to train the kids how to plan their body to swing from bar to bar. When she first started at Simoneon, she could barely hang onto one bar before she lost her grip. She did not know how to rotate her body to move to the next bar. I videotaped her doing the monkey bars to show the therapists at Simoneon. They were so excited. And I was so proud of my daughter knowing how far she has come. In the 3 years with Simoneon, I have not had an issue with my insurance to pay for the OT services. We have a PPO plan. I do know that insurance coverage varies greatly between health insurances. I have also been told by friends that insurance companies are becoming less generous with OT coverage, even with recommendation letters from a doctor or OT documentation. Auditory training (AIT) was also recommended for both of my kids based on Mary's experience with kids with similar issues. The AIT is intriguing, but it does require great time commitment and expense. I never felt pressured into doing it but was informed of the pros and cons. Mary has done AIT for both kids and adults with very good results, but the results can vary person to person. Some will notice a big difference and some will not. This was clearly explained to us. My son also was treated for 2 years at Simoneon and he graduated from their program last year after meeting all his goals. He was sad he no longer needed OT because he had so much fun there. But he still comes with me to my daughter's appointments. Once in a while, he serves as an impromptu peer mentor to other children. A peer mentor helps model the correct action for a specific activity so that the other child can follow it. Simoneon recently moved to a very nice new location providing more private therapy rooms and three separate activity play areas. Their new address is 2542 S. Bascom Ave, Ste 210, Campbell, CA. read more

My 6 year old had been going to speech therapy since she was 2 1/2. After the AIT and OT services she received from Mary, the speech therapy was more effective. The sentence structure and pronunciation started to really come together. The confidence and self esteem began to blossom. Mary's services have improved the quality of life for my 6 year old and changed all of our lives. Mary's passion and dedication for her patients makes a world of a difference for my little. We cannot thank her enough!! read more

Mary worked with my son when he was an infant. As a fellow therapist I trusted her wholeheartedly to evaluate and treat my little boy. Within 2 weeks of our first session his hamstrings loosened and he was crawling! I definitely recommend Simoneon to family and friends. It's a special place. Thank you, Simoneon! read more

My daughter is 10 years old and has severe motor planning issues. She has worked with many good occupational therapists over the last 8 years but Mary is head and shoulders above the rest. She is unbelievably passionate and committed to helping children. Her extensive knowledge and experience is amazing and her dedication is priceless. But she has such compassion for special needs children and their families that she has the most reasonable rate you can find. My daughter has made more progress with Mary than any other OT. read more

Simoneon Center is an amazing place that changed our lives forever. This is one of the best therapy centers in the bay area. The people care about the children and provide parents with valuable information to help your child and your family make positive changes. Mary is an absolute genius and she and her team are all outstanding therapusts. Lidia provide wonderful sessions my daughter loved and taught us about body movement and helped us avoid surgical correction for postural issues. Mary gave us guidance that helped us address challenges that our daughters pediatrician never identified. In addition to therapy services, Mary taught us about food allergies and sensitivities which were the contributors to years of disrupted sleep for our daughter and are now resolved. Years of struggle in school and issues related to attention span now resolved after Auditory Integration Therapy suggested and administered by Mary. The team at Simoneon can give you real answers and help that will work miracles in the life of your child. We are forever grateful for the love and care our family received at Simoneon! read more

We have been attending OT at Simoneon Pediatric for almost 2 years now. Our son has been working with Mary as well as another therapist in the practice over the course of his treatment. We worked with two therapists as we felt that the change and the differing styles would really benefit our son, it was great to have that flexibility. When we first started looking for a suitable OT professional / practice, we looked at several in the Bay area and paid out of pocket for several evaluations - this gave us good exposure to the gym space, equipment available for treatment and also for the depth of expertise and application within each practice. Out of all the places we looked at, it was clear that Mary at Simoneon had the most in-depth knowledge about not only OT treatment and techniques but also about how all the various functions of the body interconnect. I felt from the very first conversation with Mary that I was learning a lot about how to help my son, how to work more effectively with him, better understand what was going on with him, resources I could research and how various things in his body impacted him physically, emotionally and socially. During the evaluation process Mary was very flexible in how she conducted the eval and took her prompts from our son on how long a session could last. After a couple of weeks we were ready to start treatment and from the first day our son loved going to Simoneon to do 'fun activities'. We knew we had picked the right place because it was fun, not work! The variety of games, activities, swings, etc., available to kids as well as the creativity within the practice is just awesome! We also liked that we could participate in the therapy as a family so that we all got to better understand things and support our son - our daughter was sad that she could not always attend. Mary avails of situations as learning opportunities for parents and communicates what she is working on and why making the experience both engaging and practical. She also is very willing to share ideas, experiences, perspectives and insights which are nuggets of gold! We did AIT with our son and had we not done this we would not have been aware of a hearing loss in both ears that had not been previously detected. AIT was awesome and we could not believe the benefits - almost like a miracle after only 3 days of doing the program. Fast forward 2 years, we are delighted with the progress our son has made and we'll always be thankful to Mary for doing what she does everyday! Not only has our son made great progress (and enjoyed every moment) but we also feel that we are much more confident in how to best to advocate for our son. In moving state, it's sad to be leaving the practice but we know exactly what type of practice we are seeking and standards of therapy and can only hope we get close to those of Simoneon. Thank you Mary & team!! We'll miss you a lot. read more