Like the other negative reviews, I was very surpri...

Like the other negative reviews, I was very surprised and disappointed to be kept in the dark about what was happening during my child s evaluation and therapy. My son is three years old and would have felt safe and confident in the facility if I had been allowed to go in to the therapy room with him. Instead he felt scared and cried in a new place with strangers, not knowing where he was or where I was or what was going to happen. First impressions matter and set expectations with young children, especially those with special needs. I know my son would have been happy to work with the therapists if he could just see me reading in the corner of the room. But they did not ask me the best way to get him to go happily in the room, and just did it their way. I was surprised that they made no effort to establish a relationship of trust with my son before doing things with him that would require a great deal of trust.
Similarly, I felt that they asked for a high level of trust and commitment, time and money from me before doing anything to earn or establish that trust. I was looking for training on how to be involved and help my child with his sensory issues at home. It was soon apparent that this was not the place for that. Perhaps they are better with older children who don t mind being dropped off, with parents who are content to sit in the waiting room. I found the parent education I was seeking to be sorely lacking in this environment. I asked if they would at least consider letting me watch my child s therapy on camera or through a window, and they said, We will never do that. That was not okay with me. We went ahead and went back for a therapy visit a few days later since I d already paid for it and wanted to give it another chance, but again, instead of reassuring my son or finding some way to ease the transition into the therapy room without me, they just scooped him up and shut the door. My son is open to most people and new environments, but was miserable in the therapy session and uncharacteristically clingy and unhappy afterwards. We did not go back because the lack of transparency just didn t feel right to me, and their methods did not feel developmentally appropriate for a three year old. We have since sought OT services elsewhere that involve me in the therapy and create an environment of trust with my son, enabling him to feel safe and confident and open to the therapy and therapists, and make tremendous progress. It s Maslow s hierarchy of needs: if a child doesn t feel safe and happy, he s not going to learn. I hope that Functionabilities will make more efforts to establish trust with young children and their parents so they can feel safe and happy, because we would have loved to use their beautiful facility under different circumstances. If they are unwilling to rethink their no parents past this point policy, I suggest they make it known explicitly to parents before they come. That way, the parents for whom such a policy is a deal breaker can avoid spending unnecessary time, money, and disappointment at a facility that will not accommodate them.