María Serrano-López Ph.D
Autism, Asperger and other Developmental and Cognitive delays Consultant
Testimonials Testimonials Testimonials Testimonials
Seth's Story
Cognitive, Social and Emotional Development due to Brain Injury
Working with Dr. Serrano has been one of the most beneficial experiences for both my son Seth and myself. His needs as a child with a brain injury were never addressed despite my repeated requests. Seth is basically a kid with Autism that is not like the others because his ‘Autism’ is really brain damage.
Dr. Serrano took the time to learn about what was really going on with Seth, not just the diagnosis. She dug into her magic “brain” and developed a very focused plan to work with Seth that placed his needs as a child with a brain injury at the top. Another part of Dr. Serrano that makes her such an invaluable clinician is her heart. She absolutely loves her “kids.” She took the time to ask how we were doing and offer to help if we needed it. She is always looking for opportunities to learn and broaden her understanding of all things neuro-cognitive so that she can expand her repertoire of tools to work with her “kids.” I could never thank her enough for the way she helped Seth to open up and took the time to listen and to learn.
Shanna Mays, MBA-HCA, CBIST
Tucson Feb 14, 2018
Waiting lists, IEPs, ESAs, fear: Here's what it's like to find a local school if your child has autism
Holding a round disc, Greyson Batz pretends to drive a bus. The passengers are his teacher and another student.
He turns the wheel and even bounces in his seat.
"Where are we going?" Maria Serrano-Lopez asks her students at Intermountain Academy, a private school for children with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum.
"Toys-R-Us," replies Greyson, who is 8.
"Are you happy?" Serrano-Lopez asks.
"Yes!" Greyson says as he waves both hands in the air, beaming.
When the imaginary bus stops, Serrano-Lopez tells the kids they need money to purchase a toy.
"How much do you want, Greyson?" she asks.
"Five," Greyson replies.
"Count with me, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5," Serrano-Lopez says as she places coins in Greyson's hand.
Greyson counts along, as he unknowingly receives a math lesson.
Imaginative play was a milestone Greyson never reached as a younger child.
"When I got him, he wouldn't play," Serrano-Lopez said. "He wouldn't touch a toy, now he does. He was really in his own world, but we guided him to do this."
Through games and repetition, Serrano-Lopez taught Greyson to imitate without forcing him.
"I led him to see how I was interacting, then one day he started playing with dinosaurs," Serrano-Lopez recalled. "For him to pretend play, that's amazing."
We had the privilege of working with Dr. Serrano for my son’s (Greyson) second year at Intermountain Academy. Greyson has been diagnosed with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Hypotonia, and Deletion Syndrome. Dr. Serrano approached teaching Greyson differently than others had in the past. When Greyson came to her classroom it was guaranteed he would be aggressive towards himself or others, barely engage with other students, had little concept of pretend play, and had debilitating sensory issues.
Dr. Serrano brought a different way of teaching to our children, providing loving acceptance and creativity to her students. We saw progress and improvement with Greyson almost immediately. Greyson developed a friendship, which was a first for him, that has continued to flourish. He was able to self-regulate better. Negative behaviors were being seen less and less. Self-harm wasn’t a daily thing for him anymore.
Tucson, February 14th, 2018
The Story of Denise
Dyslexia
The Story of J
Cognitive, Social and Emotional Development
Dr Serrano came to our home for an evaluation and right away she told us that Denise was a very bright girl and, most likely, she was dyslexic. She also told us that, if treated the right way, this trait would become her best asset. Despite of the fact that she was still young for traditional interventions, she was going to start a home program and she would teach us how to help her as well. Already, after the initial intensive 4 months of intervention Denise’s improvement was impressive. We were fortunate enough to have Dr Serrano’s expertise for a whole year, where Denise improved not only at school but in her self-perception and identity development.
Denise R from G Caracas, August 2015
My son is a living testimony of Dr. Serrano’s love, dedication, expertise and knowledge of how a “child’s world” can indeed be transformed, if you allow her to touch the life of your family.”
L. Roberts, Ed.D. (Miami, FL)
The Story of A
Autism and behavior problems
While Dr, Serrano’s methodologies may seem avant guard at first glance to some, as a parent, and doctoral candidate in education, who has tried all things traditional, I can confidently say that sometimes you have to work outside of the box to release your child from the box he is in trapped within. Any parent with a child in the spectrum hopes to find the magic key that will release their child. The key if different for every child. We seem to have found our key in Dr. Serrano, her methods, her mind set, her patience, and her wisdom. All parents should be so lucky as to find a key such as her.
A Eskan, (OBD) Ed.D. (Miami FL)
Gaston´s story
Classic Autism -- Intensive intervention
Dr. Serrano´s presence in our lives for more than two intensive weeks to understand and help our son Gaston has been one of the best decisions we could have ever made.
Because I know how slow change happens in children with autism we were not sure how effective Dr. Serrano´s work would be because not matter how intense it was too short.
To our family´s delight and surprise, during these short weeks my son connected with her in such a profound way and all the interventions she suggested were so effective and successful, that Gaston´s changes left us speechless The work continues and Dr. Serrano continues to support and guide us despite of not living in our city. We know now how to connect with our child and how to help him more than ever before.
I highly recommend parents with children with autism as deep as mine, to give Dr. Serrano a vote of confidence as she will not only change your child but his entire environment and your family for the better.
Ivan Curran, Tucson, AZ (Dec 2014)
The Story of P
Autism, importat Sensory Procesing Disorders (SPD) and behavioral problems
For some people my experience may seem "magic" but it is not. Behind each of María´s interventions one could see her total commitment to the child. What initially could start as an intuition turns into a full explanation of facts and methods by which she decided to proceed in a particular manner with my child. María supports everything she does with scientific evidence in what she calls "her continuous learning". She is so specific that she leaves no family member out.
María embraced Pxxx globally . She is the first one surprised with Pxxx changes. For us, she became that adorable multifaceted woman who fills the space with the roles of bonding therapist, psychologist, confidant, favorite person, and a friend of everyone around her.
E. B. R, Guanajuato Mexico
100 Latinos / Hispanics Miami
Venezuelan -- Immigrated to Miami: 2003
As the name suggests, the exhibit features 100 present-day Latino singers, musicians, painters, athletes, doctors, academics, journalists, designers, businessmen, bankers and more - all of them living in Miami and with a common element: their willingness to use their talents to contribute to the city's progress.
GiGi
Diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and severe Autism traits
We met Maria at a very important moment in Gigi's life when she was almost 5 years old. Gigi is now 9. How Maria came into our lives remains a mystery, but we are so very happy she did. One day someone us that there was a doctor in town who knew a lot about autism and if we wanted to meet her. We say YES! It was when we started to learn new things about Gigi, as Maria noticed things nobody had seen before.
Maria is a very powerful person who transmits a lot of energy and a deep sense of security. She taught us how to work with Gigi in what would become a very deep and loving connection with our daughter. Before, she was not connected at all to us as she was always distant in her own world.
Lic Yolanda Lona , Guanajuato, Mexico
DIEGO´S STORY
Underwent surgery for epilepsy. Diagnosed with mesial temporal sclerosis, delayed gross and fine motor, language and intellectual disabilities
We have had so many achievements and seen many changes in Diego thanks to Dr Maria's guidance and interventions. She knows exactly what do do next after one mildstone had been accomplished.
She is the compass that guides our path and I can only say that life with Diego never had been so much fun and our work with him more enjoyable! ... There is something enigmatic about Dr. Maria's work. It is definitely THE LOVE SHE PUTS IN HER WORK. I can not put into words what Dr Serrano has meant for us.
Reyna Torres Zermeño, Leon Guanajuato. Mexico
Dylan's Story
Severe Emotional trauma, Selective Mutism
Severe Autism Traits
Emotional and Cognitive Development
The wonderful thing about Dr. Serrano’s arrival to our life in 2010, was the kind of connection she established with her "big brain": Her Heart, along with the many years of experience in creating truly effective interventions that helped children like my son get on the “developmental train” he lost at one point in his life. I have witnessed changes in many other children as well.
My heart goes to her sincere, realistic, pragmatic, and in many cases revolutionary methodology that enabled us, the mothers, discover that every child has all what it is needed to develop his true potential. Maria’s interventions were crucial in our initially complex and frustrating path, facing the challenges Dylan had at the time.
Electra Cotsioupould, Miami, FL
Story of R
Interdisciplinary work
Anxiety, Misdiagnosis: Asperger Syndrome
"Maria, I am very happy to write on your behalf and to testify that you were the main character in R’s empowerment while under your supervision. The recommendations you gave us as well as the connection you established with him at the time and with us were priceless.
I clearly remember when you told me that you thought the problem was environmental and our attitude was not helping him at all. You also told us how to deal with R with love and not under the climate of fear we were dealing with his problems.
We are very grateful to you for everything. We are also grateful for your recommendations to visit Dr H, he was wonderful for R, but you were the main character nevertheless. R is doing very well and has excellent grades. He was accepted into a university abroad and we are extremely happy. Thank you Maria. "
ER Pinton, Panama
I will never forget the tenderness of her eyes when she saw my son for the first time. From that moment on, my son started to evolve more positively, as if he felt more confidence in himself for the first time.
I can describe Dr. Serrano as the person who firmly believed that my son would move on to the next level. Little by little, she began building the way for my little autistic boy to leave his own secluded world and he started making more contact with the outside world. It was while she was in charge of his treatment, that my child began to speak his first words and lose the fear he had to approach other kids.
Today my child is 12 years old, attends middle school, follows directions, develops more language and new skills as well.
Thanks Dr. Serrano for your tenderness, tenacity and patience. All these atributes had a tremendous impact on the life of my beloved son. God bless you for helping so many children like mine and for bringing a message of hope to their families.
Erika Paez, Orlando FL
David's Story
Classic Autism
