Stepping Stones Therapy Inc.

I'm so sorry that the other reviewer here had a negative experience with Stepping Stones but my family's experience could not be more different than hers so please don't let her review sway you from considering Stepping Stones if you're looking for excellent play-based autism therapy for your child. My son has been a regular at Stepping Stones for 6 years, since he was diagnosed at the age of 3. He wasn't making eye contact, using more than about 5 words, wouldn't hold crayons or play with typical toys for kids that age, wouldn't acknowledge people who spoke to him, had huge problems if he was cared for by anyone besides my husband or myself. When he was frustrated he would bang his head as hard as he could on hard surfaces like walls or concrete and would scream for what seemed like hours at times--it was terrifying and exhausting. When we first got the diagnoses, I was frightened and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information we were expected to process. Thank God for Stepping Stones. The owners and staff there have held our hands through every obstacle we've had to overcome for the past six years...I consider the owners (Shantelle and Sandra) a part of our extended family at this point. They helped us deal with all of the massive amounts of paperwork we were handed with the news that our child had autism. They have shown up at every single Education Plan meeting we've had with schools and have strongly advocated for our son and supported his teachers and other staff at school by sharing insights and learning techniques that they've found effective for him throughout the years. Our son is now a very happy, outgoing and extremely verbal kid who has a few interesting quirks once in a while but generally fits right in at school with his peers thanks in large part to the early intervention and incredible support and love we've experienced as clients at Stepping Stones. The staff has grown throughout the years and the location is much bigger than when it was run out of Shantelle's home but I've rarely had any issues with the quality of care our family has received. The owners also often offer free work-shops on their own time for families interested in knowing more about autism-related subjects. I don't know how we would have managed without their help and I don't believe my son would have integrated so well into regular" school with his own age group without the work that Stepping Stones has done with him. Yes

Behaviour Interventionists are underpaid which translates into frequent staff turnover and in turn, lack of consistency. Progress reports were hard to come by even when requested. Cancellation policy was basically non-existent. They keep you waiting outside until the very last minute to start sessions but end sessions early.