MAPS; Montessori Autism Programs and Services Inc.

Scam run by staff. My daughter has been going here for a little over a year. After little progress I brought up my concerns with the owner Robin that the people that provide the services don't seem to know how to handle the children. Robin reassured me that her staff is highly qualified and certified in providing the services. I called ALTA regional and my insurance provider for some help. They decided to investigate. Their investigation concluded that the services are provided staff who are not certified or qualified. So what MAPS does is hire college students who have no experience or certification to monitor kids, then they send 1 certified staff member who runs between 7-8 groups that are in session monitoring these college students. That means you child gets less than 15 minutes with a professional and the rest of 1 1/2 hours is spent with a glorified babysitter. That is why there is no progress in these therapies at MAPS keep in mind they charge full price for the 1.5 hours of therapy at the rate of a fully certified BCBA, yet the child spends less than 15 minutes with them. The woman who was overseeing my daughters progress is a certified marriage counsel, when I asked if she had any experience with childcare on the spectrum they said "no" but marriage counselors are well trained to deal with them. These guys are scammers and should be shut down.
Jun 9th, 2020

MAPS helps special needs kids develop social skills and pragmatics through play groups.  There are usually 2 adults and about 6 kids per group.  Half of the kids have a disability (I think most frequently autism) and the others are neurotypical kids (who serve as role models).  When I observe the kids play, it just looks like they're playing.  But the staff guides their interactions in a way that teaches important skills -- plus all the kids have fun.
Jun 23rd, 2016

Amazing. I have had my kids attending IPGs with MAPS for 4 years now as "expert players" (aka children without autism or special needs). I have a lot of people ask me why I would volunteer my children for this service. The answer is simply: MAPS provides an education in empathy, compassion, and team work with peers that are not identical to you. Besides what my kids gain, I see the amazing growth in the the other children. These kids are taught skills in interactions and appropriate play. The playguides for MAPS are top notch and give their all to this job. I can't recommend this service enough.
Sep 13th, 2011