"Neil Samuels was able to engage our six-year old daughter almost instantaneously as he entered her world. By doing so much, affect and self regulatory processing took place. I was able to see her initiate more, point and gesture her wants and needs with greater tone and pitch as he elongated the tiniest of nuances to help build her repertoire and help her integrate learning. These subtle but extremely critical cues, Neil was able to intuitively and skillfully pick up and understand from a developmental viewpoint. Our child said more in one session then she had over several speech sessions. I am grateful I was able to grow as a parent and share this methodology with others in a dramatic and fun way, as he shared his gift."
Marni G., MFA, Art Therapist /Special Educator
"When our two-year old son was evaluated for Early Intervention, he did not speak at all, just babbling, had no eye contact, was cranky and anxious all the time, and basically totally ignored us. In daycare, he avoided others and cried constantly all the time. We felt completely helpless.
Neil is doing a tremendous job. His experience and unique gift to feel and understand how children perform is a real magic! We have found that he is not an ordinary therapist who trains our child like a robot to execute simple commands and do puzzles. He works at a deep emotional level and helps improve the whole mechanism of children's self-regulation system. In the first three months of Neil's sessions my son has absolutely changed! His production of words has expanded to 15-20 words in both languages – English and Russian. He is becoming more open and friendly, he responds to his name, makes more consistent eye contact during play, can show me what he wants. He is increasingly becoming able to stay or return to more interactions with us. A main part of Neil's job is to teach parents to deal with their kids at the same scale and depth. We would highly recommend Neil to any family, as he is uniquely qualified to work with children with core developmental and communication based challenges. "
Tatiana Stroganov, iR&D club Innovation and R&D Directors Club
"My Daughter was evaluated with Early Intervention at the time she was 2 years and 3 months. She was only speaking about 10-12 words and she wasn’t making eye contact and had developed some behavioral issues. I was nervous throughout the whole process They recommended I take her to a Developmental Pediatrician and an Audiologist . I took her to get tested and she passed her hearing test with flying colors. They had asked me what her interests were. I explained to them that she loved books but they completely ignored me and used their own techniques to evaluate her.
Neil Samuels had worked with my daughter's language and behavioral issues. He explained to me her behavior has largely to do with her underlying and over reactive sensory processing based challenges. She is now much more able to be engaged for long periods of time throughout daily activities and play. She is speaking in short sentences and communicating on her own at the age of 3 yrs. She still does need some extra help with language pronunciations and speech but she made exceptional progress with Neil Samuels. When Neil came she was so ecstatic to see him she actually looked forward to working with him. He worked on pretend floor play and took the time out to explain in detail what our daughter needed and what we needed to do to help her. There were times that I was so shocked of the outcome of what she could do. I would recommend Neil Samuels for any child that is in need of developmental therapy. Thank you Neil for your assistance and patience we are truly grateful for what you’ve done for our daughter." Doniellle Clemente, Retail Professional
"My son was diagnosed with PDD NOS at 22 months. We were so fortunate to have Neil work with him and that he was able to receive DIR/.Floortime therapy 5 hours per week. It made all the difference in the world! My son has done beautifully, and I'm so grateful for the great work Neil did with him during that critical stage. Today, he no longer meets criteria for PDD and is mainstreamed in school and is a very verbal, bright, happy, friendly and social boy who loves to read and learn, and plays competitive football,& basketball, baseball and swim-team. As a clinician myself, I am a huge fan of DIR/Floortime, and of Neil's work. I have seen both professionally and personally how critical early intervention is, as is having the right approach greatly impacts development and prognosis. I was impressed by Neil's skill in working with my son, and with his expertise and integrity. I highly recommend Neil Samuels." Alidia De Rossi, LCSW, Psychotherapist
"Mr. Samuels is an exceptional therapist for children on the autistic spectrum. He had dramatic life changing effect on my child, when he first arrived my son had all of the classic autistic characteristics. By the time Neil completed my son's therapy he was a completely different child. Today my son is a straight A student in the 6th grade, playing sports( league mvp) and a great deal of friends. He is very comfortable in many different social settings and has no difficulty dealing with life's small problems. I can not thank Mr. Samuels enough for what he did for my family."
Joseph Sciglitano, President at J.Mariano Construction Corporation
"I have known Neil for several years as part of our DIR/Floortime group. He demonstrates a keen knowledge of early intervention, and appropriate developmental intervention with the birth to three population. Because he has extensive experience and knowledge of sensory integration, language and neurology, he is able intervene with young children that best suits their ability and learning style. The children he sees exhibit great progress because he can tailor to their individual developmental needs. I recommend Neil for any teaching or intervention position."
Avram Ripps, Special Education Resource Teacher, Newark Public Schools
"Mr. Samuel's DIR therapy with my son has brought about tremendous results. When my son was first diagnosed with ASD at 22 months, he spoke approximately 10 words. At the end of Neil's very first session with my son, he said, "See ya" as Mr. Samuels was leaving. That one utterance gave us the resolve to proceed confidently with his therapy. In the days and weeks that followed my son became much more vocal, expressive, and creative in his communications. Shortly after Mr. Samuels started working with him, the words came bursting from him, and he has never looked back. When tested by our local school district virtually all of Anthony's scores were at--and usually far exceeding--the expected score.
As a result of Mr. Samuels efforts my son became developmentally and typically communicative. People sometimes look at us incredulously when we tell them that our son is autistic. Today, my wife and I frequently look at each other and say, "We are so lucky to have such a really nice kid."
Joe Burger, Math Teacher, Bridgeton Public Schools
"I know Neil for about two years. He started working with my daughter when she turned 1 year old. At that time my daughter barely communicated orally and she was still crawling on her belly. After few sessions, they had a good connection and she waited for his visits to play with him. His caring and thoughtful approach helped to build a strong connection that promoted her ability to progress and benefit from the sessions. Neil always informed me about ways to help develop her communications skills, and throughout the session guided me how to implement those skills on a daily basis. From the beginning, Neil had noticed that in order to help my daughter to develop her communication skills there is a need to work with her dominating older brother. Even when it meant to go over and beyond the requested time frame and his formal work duty, he was there for her. He was very caring for her needs and stayed and helped by learning the whole siblings/family dynamic. He went beyond and above just to be able to give as much as he can to help her to close her development gap. His guidance and his wonderful caring personality helped my whole family. Today my daughter communicates beautifully and I am grateful and thankful for having Neil as her therapist."
Zohar "Zack" Zamir, Broker Associate, The Zamir Group, Leader at Keller Williams Town Life Realty
"Neil did the incredibly valuable input, not only on my son (who still lights up at the mention of Neil's name), but also on us as a family. Thanks to Neil, we understood our children better (we are parents of two with disabilities), our own feelings and how to handle them; how to developmentally engage, play and communicate with our son and how to slow down and not feel as overwhelmed. I am today very involved mother on all levels (several groups for parents of disabled children, Parent Advisory Group, etc.), excellent advocate, and before all, I love my children just as they are. Neil had a big role in our life! I told him not once that I am incredibly thankful that just he walked through my door." Sanja Angeli
"Words are not enough to express the level of satisfaction that I have with the therapy that Neil provides to my son. Before Neil I was clueless on how to deal with the sensory and communication issues that my son has. He was been an instrumental part of our lives and has helped us better his life. Neil has been the driving force behind me finding the right help for my son and understanding how best to treat him. Neil helped me find doctors and other experienced DIR professionals. Thanks to Neil - I have a child with a sense of self who shows emotion and is learning."
Christine G. Porras, Partner Development Manager
"Neil Samuels has provided early intervention for many children in my daycare since 2004. He has not only shown me but guided my teachers as well how to slow down and engage children where they are. Neil has explained how each child processes information differently. We have used his information demonstrated over the years with the many children he has provided therapy for in our daycare. I can honestly say that Neil is always reliable, dependable, and more importantly he is always taking the time to explain even when the session with a child is over. It has been a great pleasure working with Neil and extremely beneficial for myself because I too have learned many new things from him." Millie Andreu, Director, Alphabet Soup Daycare, Ridgefield Park, NJ
“We just wanted to say, ‘Thank You’ for your dedication, time, knowledge and patience. We have all come a long way with your help. We think (we know) that Giovanni is moving toward a bright future as a creative thinker and wonderful person. Thank you for being part of his journey!”
Denise Adamo, Ridgefield Park, NJ