Professional Child Development Associates

My son (diagnosed with HFA at age 3 ½) started going to PCDA for speech therapy at age 4 when our other speech therapist moved out of state. Our therapist had 10+ years of experience with great experience. Our son also received feeding therapy there and had social skills classes there for a couple of years.
In addition, we had Dr. Cullinane, a wonderfully trained, experienced, talented and intuitive developmental pediatrician, perform a comprehensive evaluation of our son. This was after he had one done at UCLA (very weak) and another one by a supposed top developmental pediatrician in Beverly Hills. Dr. C went the extra mile in her evaluation. She conducted her first tests and meeting with him and then went to his preschool at Pacific Oaks and observed him at length, spoke with all his speech and occupational therapists, watched video of a speech therapy session, and provided an incredible report along with a meeting that helped me be the «team leader» in deciding what schools, services, etc that my son should provide.
Normally I would be suspect of a large place. But if you have a child with a developmental issue you will realize that having a 1 stop shop helps because they all talk to each other. The speech therapist talks to the OT who confer with Dr. C. They see it all.
In addition, they are vendors for the schools and Regional Center whereas some places do not want to take the discounted fee. I’ve been to places where the therapists are right out of school and don’t have much experience. These therapists are well trained and the younger ones are well supervised.
My son is now an 8^th grader. He’s in regular classes at a top public middle school. He is not labeled at school and I believe the foundation — especially the positive floortime model — has made him a happy, positive and socially appropriate kid. It’s been a long ride but I have learned as much from my son as he’s learned from me.
I also learned a great deal from the PCDA therapists. I modeled myself after them since they are well trained. I would see how they’d handle a situation (throwing something during speech therapy) and ask them about it. For example, the speech therapist would simply calmly say «go pick that up.» I’d say why that and not «well the rule is that in speech you don’t throw things.» I was told — you don’t want to negatively reinforce behavior. He is frustrated because he can’t speak (he speaks very well now BTW) and we do not want to negatively reinforce especially since he may be hoping that if he throws a fit, he’ll get to leave. They helped me be a mom/​floortime therapist and I am so grateful for all I learned there.
Any selection of medical and other professionals is very personal. This was a terrific experience. But I also appreciated their honesty. They do not sugar coat things and that’s because it’s all about the kids. No place is perfect and there are times that mixed up appointments, difficulty parking & other things come up but they handle any issues very professionally. But what is great is their commitment to helping children. A wonderful asset to the medical and treatment community.

As a testament to how wonderful I believe this organization to be, I’ll start by saying that our family drives an hour each way once/​week to PCDA despite the many therapy options we have in town. Our son has a very rare genetic disorder and an unbelievable number of allergies. Our OT, Katherine, and RD, Gloria, constantly go the extra mile to research and understand his condition and the options available to us. They have researched medical journals, made contact with our doctors, and when communication was failing with one of our current providers, they served as our advocates to get us in touch with another leading provider in the field. In the midst of a very trying season in our lives, the staff at PCDA has felt like our true advocates. Katherine follows up with emails throughout the week to check on our son’s status while also providing other ideas for exercises we can try at home. On a regular basis, our son’s file is reviewed with a multi-​disciplinary team at PCDA to gain further possible insight beyond Katherine’s assessment. She has never judged us as parents, and where there is room for improvement has offered wonderful advice. She has such a gentle heart and connects with children and parents with ease. Each week, they ensure the room and toys are thoroughly cleaned knowing that our son has a very low immune system and allergic reactions on contact. Though we have a long road ahead of us, I have no reservations that PCDA is where we need to be.

I cannot stress to STEER CLEAR of this agency !! Perhaps, there are people who do truly care about children and their well being here, but my experience was short lived and really unnecessary. If you are a young, single — parent, you will be misjudged. Do not entrust your child to the facilitator, Mary. She will fabricate ludicrous stories and make false allegations resulting in a nice, surprise visit from Department of Social Services and your local sheriffs. I’m curious as to how many other parents have been through a similar ordeal here. I would love to swap horror stories as to what all took place and for any other potential client, please think twice before having your child take place in services and, definitely inquire within !!

I’ve been bringing my child here off and on for 17 years if you can believe that. They have been in three different locations. They have gotten very busy and it can be a challenge getting in and out of the parking lot since they are on busy Lake Ave and if you get there at the wrong time their fairly large parking lot is full. That being said, they are a wonderful professional organization. We have done social skills, teen club and continue in their wonderful music therapy program. All of their services are outstanding but music therapy has made the most dramatic impact on my child. Their entire staff is truly outstanding and very helpful.