AnaMaria is skilled at “seeing the world through the eyes of her clients” and putting the puzzle of the multiple presenting challenges together to reveal the big picture about the needs and strengths of the child and identify the best path for comprehensive treatment. Putting the puzzle together is essential as two children who find school stressful, have trouble with friendships, and trouble managing their behaviors and emotions may be having these experiences for entirely different reasons. In fact, the most commonly used diagnosis for children with these difficulties may be ADHD but the underlying cause could be anxiety, sensory processing, High Functioning Autism, a learning disability such as dyslexia or language processing.

When working with children, AnaMaria utilizes play-based, sensory integration, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness practices, and social cognition interventions to help children develop neurological pathways necessary for learning and healing.

AnaMaria is keenly aware that in order for children to thrive at home, school and the community at large, they need to reach developmental milestones, improve their ability to understand and navigate their social situations and environments, develop problem solving skills, and learn how to respond to their body’s signals and needs.

In the past ten years, AnaMaria has immersed herself in research and practice with gifted, twice-exceptional, High Functioning Autism and related developmental disorders. AnaMaria has completed training on multiple intervention models such as Integrated Peer Playgroups, Early Start Denver Model, SCERTS, Social Thinking with Michelle Garcia-Winner, Sensory Processing & Integration, and Social Emotional Learning models.