Therapist in MoCo for HFA girls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be wary of Alvord and Baker for an HFA girl. We tried them and they were not able to work with us to place our DD in an appropriate social skills group. Be clear about what you want and be a n top of them to ensure your DD gets what she needs.

What was the barrier? What made it difficult for them to place your DD? I’m not understanding.

We asked that our DD be in a group, ideally just girls around her age but at least coed. She had already done a few resilience groups so we were after a social skills group of her same age peers to learn how to carry on conversations, etc. She was placed in a group of very nice kids 18-24 months younger (still in ES rather than MS) doing resilience building. The only reason it was coed was because she was in it. So they did not meet a single criterion that we had requested. It felt like they just wanted to fill their group rather than really work with our DD.

We had a similar experience a number of years ago. My daughter is autistic and as soon as they heard that, without discussing her particular strengths and challenges, they would only consider her for a "coed" ASD group where they could not guarantee that there would be any other girls instead of a girls group. We declined.

To the PP, I strongly recommend PEERs. It's exactly what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

I’m wondering if the issue is that most of the kids seeking out social skills groups are boys; girls present differently, and are better able to “blend in.” At least, that’s what I was told when I was looking for a social skills group for my DD; almost every group was filled with boys rather than girls. Alcoa’s Baker May have a hard time filling spaces for a girls’ group that isn’t focused on resilience-building.

I just put my DD in their group and hope that just interacting with kids her age in a group setting will be beneficial to her, even if not focused specifically on social skills. When she is a teen I’ll pursue PEERS (it’s for older kids, I believe).

[Anonymous]

Childrens national has groups. Ours was 50/50 girls to boys
Also saw some girls only group while waiting for ours a few times.

Alvord Baker is a billing mill like so many other private practices.

The therapists at children's dont get a better profit share or more favor with the owner for selling you a group they know isnt going to help your child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can try Center for Assessment and Treatment in Chevy Chase but avoid Hope Harris Black. I found her overbearing, argumentative and condescending to my child. The practice does have alot of experience in that area and you should be able to find someone else there who your DD jells with.

I will second this. Avoid Hope Harris-Black. Overbearing, argumentative, and condescending is a perfect description. I once caught her rolling her eyes at something I said in therapy. Very unprofessional.