I’ve been wanting to write this review for quite some time but I honestly don’t know where to start or how to express my feelings about how amazing our family’s experience has been at the Oak Lawn West Side Children’s Therapy location. My son(7) started in April 2023, he has autism with high support needs, was completely non verbal with no desire to use his AAC device, has OCD tendencies, would not interact/play with peers- just to name a few of my son’s struggles. The first person I spoke with was Mary Beth, the clinic manager. This woman has been a godsend us. She made me feel so understood and heard about every concern I had for my child and to this day a year later MB still makes me feel that way. My son loves walking in the door and seeing MB & Katherine there to greet him, he adores them both. The clinic is always decorated for the kids & they really enjoy looking at all the different pictures, colors, & shapes hanging throughout the office- my son is terrified of waiting rooms and this definitely has helped! I really appreciate the extra effort put in to making waiting a lot more fun. Ericka is my son’s BCBA & I don’t know how I ever did it without her, I honestly feel like she helps me be a better Mom sometimes. She has given me so much advice and shown me new ideas to help make things easier for my child, Ericka has even come to IEP meetings at school with us. My son clicked with Ericka almost instantly and it’s been awesome seeing him thrive and crush so many goals under her guidance. I appreciate her so much. My son had a grand mal seizure in the clinic (July 2023) it was terrifying for everyone and it was the first time that has ever happened to my son, after being rushed to the hospital and a few days in the hospital- my son was sent home on seizure meds & with a rescue seizure medication and a seizure protocol. MB and E were extremely concerned about my son, they checked on him every day until he was back in their clinic and while he was still home resting, they were trained on how to use his rescue seizure medication and on the seizure protocol. That medication really changed my sons behavior and he became a little aggressive, unfocused, and uncooperative (unfortunately) he was struggling for a little bit there but he still enjoyed ABA. One day in December 2023, while my son was at ABA Ericka reached out to me to let me know something was unusual with Jordan that day and she suggested I come pick him. I picked him up and took him to Luries Children’s Hospital as per his neurologist, Ericka met us there and sat with us at the hospital for hours. After that scare there was a change in his medication again but we started seeing improvement (epilepsy is difficult to figure out). Ericka, I appreciate everything you do for my family and I can’t thank you enough for how much you care about my boy. As a mom, it’s hard to let your baby go spend hours a day with (at the beginning) strangers. Especially when your baby has no way of communicating anything to you, I know my son loves Westside because they love him too. (Part 1)