Testimonials

What Our Parents Have To Say About Our Social Communication Groups

"My daughter experienced significant social and developmental delays and wasdiagnosed with PDD-NOS. Her therapist highly recommended Communication Works for their Social Skills Program. We are now in our second year of the program and in that time she has learned to make eye contact, relate to others, have empathy and understand nonverbal communication. She went from friendless to a robust network of friends that enjoy and appreciate her company. Her diagnosis has been downgraded and I can now envision her leading a normal life. Although she has had multiple interventions over the last five years, it is easy to see that Communication Works is the most impactful and cost-effective program that we have used. The therapists are extraordinary in their ability and commitment and we are grateful for their work." – Lynn

"Communication Works has provided our family with a vocabulary we can use to talk about social concepts such as perspective-taking and reading the intentions of others. Our son looks forward to the group every week because he knows he will experience a structured environment fostered by an energetic and engaging facilitator who respects and "gets" him. He has become a better "thinking of others" person and has a better sense of what others think of and expect from him. We've been thrilled with his progress" – Adrienne

"Thanks!  I can't say enough about how much I can see N changing with the work you guys are doing.  Our nanny told me that even the other nannies at the park have commented on how much more talkative N is with the other kids. N has been involved in social learning groups at CW for almost a year now and we're seeing great progress.  The social thinking concepts that they teach are exactly what he needs.  We use all of the langauge we've learned from CW all the time, and it works so well; it's like magic words for us.  As a parent it's also been nice to have contact and with other parents of special needs kids, something we'd been unable to find prior to attending CW. So thank you again."  - Jennifer

"Communication Works has made a huge difference in our son's life. We've seen him become more and more comfortable in social settings, and more and more willing and able to connect with other kids at school. For the first time, we're having successful, interactive playdates. We feel so lucky to have found this wonderful group of people who have done so much for our little guy. It's so true!" – Andrea

"My son has been attending Communication Works’ groups for almost a year and a half and his progress in the area of social skills has been remarkable.  He is more confident, communicative and happy.  He has become friends with the other boys in his group and looks forward to coming every week.  An added bonus for me is talking with the other parents for advice and support while he is in session.  Highly, highly recommended!" – Colleen

"CW's social language groups has given us tools to help our son focus on the other person and to maintain a conversation.  The relationship-building skills he is learning are helping him to make friends at school and have play dates at home.  Thank you, CW!" – Rao

"The social language and skills taught at Communication Works continue to provide a helpful guide for our son. Most importantly though, it's been helpful for our whole family, giving us all the same tools and language to use with him (and each other) on a daily basis. I love Winner-Garcia’s philosophy and the easy-to-remember phrases/lessons that we learn here each week, especially "what's my plan right now?" and "who am I thinking about right now?” It's a huge relief to know that therapists like these exist and they made it an easy process to find a small group to be a part of." – Anonymous

"Of all the additional support, classes, and therapies we have tried for our child, this one seems to directly deal with his challenges. Not only are the social skill lessons directly related to his specific needs, he gets to work on them with other kids of his own age. In addition, he is doing it in a safe, supportive environment where he feels comfortable and valued. (Thank you!)" – Karen

"I like the structured lesson, small group, taking it home and the availability of the teachers for brief feedback. This immediate feedback is excellent and the opportunity to observe is good too. This group has definitely been good for Evan and I would recommend it." – Laura

"Last night L. and I were talking about brain filtering and she said she wished she had gone to communication works when she was younger because it is helping so much. I said I wanted to find something when she was 7 but hadn't heard about this place, and she, "I wish I had gone when I was 5!" We are incorporating so much of what you talk about into our day, from zones and brain filtering to expected and unexpected behavior. You are doing a great job!" – Jane

"He's had a huge leap in the past couple of weeks, for which I totally credit you guys. Do you remember that he was really resistant to the picnic? The following weekend we had our preschool's end of year picnic and Temescal, and he was super psyched for it and had a great time, talking to and playing with more kids than in the 2 years of preschool combined.  His play dates have been great lately too. I think he's just feeling so much more confident now that he understands better what he's supposed to do.  I realize that I gush about this a lot, but we really have seen huge changes since he started CW, and I think it's exactly what he needs.  Even his grandmas have both commented that his conversations on the phone are so much better lately; he's much more conversational and responsive to their questions, and he's asking lots of "wonder" questions of them, including a lot of thoughtful, "how are you feeling?" and "how was your day?" questions.  So, in short, thank you again!"– Anonymous

"I'm sitting there the other day with tears streaming down my face as I watch NH beam and say to his friend, "hey, what do you want to do next?"  I swear that as recently as 3 months ago, I never thought that would happen."– Anonymous

"Just had to tell you guys a quick success story.  On Friday, a friend in N's class at preschool brought in a little beach scene diorama he'd made at home with his mom.  N and I were admiring it, and I quietly suggested that he might want to ask A a few questions about his cool artwork.  On his own, N came up with three questions that he asked A, with talking eyes and everything.  His body language was kind of stiff, and his questions were a little hard for A to answer (such as N's enthusiastic, "How many seconds did it take you to make that?"), but it was huge for him--I have never, ever seen him do that before, no matter how much prompting I do.  So he's definitely learning skills with you guys.  Thank you!"– Anonymous

"I just wanted to tell you how excited I am about the group at CW.  I was really impressed with the lesson yesterday; I think the concept of whole body listening was huge for my son.  It was really on his level, and he really got it and was excited to try it.  We talked about it all night, and we applied the same idea of "listening eyes" to "talking eyes," which is a big thing with him, since he has a hard time remembering to look at us when he's talking to us.  He clearly learned a lot just from the first session.  We've done other facilitated groups before, but I think this one is a great fit for him.  Thank you so much!"– Anonymous

"I just wanted to drop a note about K. K started his 7th grade this September.  Last year, I was concerned about sending him to a mammoth middle school in Fremont, as it will be so different from the small school environment that he is used to.   We decided to do inter-district transfer and he is now going to a very small country setting K-8 public school in Sunol.  Still, I was not sure how he is doing in the new environment, so I went to see his teachers last week. The teacher's first comment was "K is a respectful boy, and he is very much liked by peers."  I was so happy to hear that and I shared the story with K in the evening.  He told me that he is also very happy to be in the new school and he enjoys friendship now.  Then, he continued "may be Communication Works helped me a lot."  Believe me, I did not prompt the comment or anything...As I look back, I see his point.  When he was in fourth grade, he was picked on, lonely, and sad.  I witnessed that he could not get into the circle of classmates in the play ground.  Now, when I drop him off in the morning at school, I see other kids calling him from the distance.  I really think CW changed his life, and I cannot appreciate enough for the changes CW made possible. I know his Apserger is not cured and he still has issues.   But, I see that he is now equipped with many compensation strategies and I also feel more confident of dealing with those issues.   We might come back to CW sometime, but I just wanted to let you know that we are so happy that we got help from CW." – CW Mom

I have to say, we were very surprised to see an immediate response to the work you did with our son on the Zones of Regulation…since Saturday, J. has managed several times to bring himself back to the “green” zone from the “yellow” and even the “red” zone with just a little help from us. He’s used deep breathing, walking away, and hugging me or my husband to help calm down. This is a marked change from his normal M.O., which usually involves screaming, throwing, kicking, hitting, etc. So thank you! - Parent of J.

What Our Students Have to Say

"I am learning how to extend my answers to people and how to use my body language around people more to help me get along in the world." – Ian,15, San Leandro

"I'm learning how people respond to me and my comments" – Ryan, 15, Oakland

"I'm learning how to start a conversation to help me in social situations"
– Gregory, 14, Livermore

"I'm learning how to figure out what people are thinking about by looking at their body language and understand social situations" – Jeremy, 13, Oakland

"I like learning how to branch out so that I can play with more than one person or group."

"I like learning how to be a part of a group."

"I think that it makes everyone more ready for school."

"The whole group is as lovely as a flower and a bunny."

"Groups are how to be friends with other friends."

"I know how to join, and how not to join, a group."

What Our Clients Are Saying About Our Therapists

The therapists at CW genuinely care for the kids and have an amazing passion for the work that they do.  We love the fact that they work with kids of all ages and we can definitely see Nathan participating in CW groups for many years to come and benefitting at each and every level. – Jennifer

Therapists are great! Especially appreciated 1-1 help with problems happening in school, and insurance billing. My son likes to come. Great location. Take-home suggestions were good to share with his teachers. I also like the 1-1 feedback with teachers and therapists at the end of each session. You guys do a terrific job and there is a big need for this kind of therapy! – Mary

About Our Summer Program

I had been looking for a social skills group for a long time but did not find the right one until Communication Works. I tried their 10-week summer session and we loved it so much we decided to continue through.  Both Hillary and Elizabeth do an exceptional job!  They follow a lot of Michelle Garcia Winner’s ideas.  My child is learning all the rules of effective social engagement.  She’s learning to be a part of a group.  It is where they are learning to “listen with their eyes”. My child loves coming here so much that we use it as a reward! – Malini