Maliaka began working with my son Jordan in 2005. She has been a blessing to my family and has had a great impact on Jordan’s life. Maliaka worked as an in -home therapist for our family for 8 years,and helped us navigate through some of the most challenging times. She always greeted us with a smile, a positive attitude and most importantly she provided us with Hope.She not only worked closely with my husband and I, she worked with all members of my family to ensure that we all understood Jordan’s behaviors.She provided my family with vital skills that helped us through the many struggles we have faced raising a special needs child. Prior to Maliaka working with Jordan,he was not able to sit and focus for more than one minute,he was a runner and at times extremely aggressive. Jordan would run out of the house into the street without a moment’s notice, he was very strong and quick. By the time services ended, Maliaka was able to get Jordan to sit and attend the session for two hours with small breaks, he stopped running out of the house and his aggressive behaviors decreased tremendously. Over the years, Maliaka has been a strong educational advocate for Jordan; she attends IEP meetings, observed Jordan in his school setting, provided recommendations, helped to set attainable goals and also assisted us on our family trips to Disneyland. She has taught Jordan so much and we are so grateful for the services she provides. Jordan is now a young man and he continues to have a special bond/ friendship with Maliaka. He has such a bright smile when I mention her name and he is always excited to see her. Maliaka now works with Jordan on life skills, personal hygiene and social skills. Jordan has attended camps and special outings with Maliaka and he always has a wonderful time with her and her team. We are very fortunate to have had Maliaka work with Jordan for so many years, she has made a tremendous impact on his life and he has progressed so much under her guidance. She is very passionate about her work and she cares deeply for the individuals and families that she supports. I highly recommend her services for any family with a son or daughter with a special ability.
Cynthia Holmes
Parent
How do I even begin to describe what Maliaka’s method did for my family? There are no words. It truly was exactly what we needed, and in all honesty, it has been a complete miracle. Maliaka entered our life in 2012. For the first time, I felt hope when I talked to Maliaka. Maliaka worked with my son for about four years. She brings insight and a measured approach and a willingness to make every family member accountable without judging anyone’s behavior. She has helped us understand our son’s disorder and has taught us parenting strategies to effectively respond to him. Maliaka also has been an advocate for our son. She has partnered with us in confronting school-related issues, IEP- Goals, and accommodations.
She has helped us navigate and helping our son going through every stage of his life. More importantly, she has developed long standing, trusting relationship with our son.
Maliaka helped us understand that there is a reason behind every behavior and that we need to observe and find the triggers for each action. To keep us on track, she documented each day and asked us to do the same to find ways of coping with the challenging behaviors. She found ways to help Seena communicate his needs throughout every setting at home, school, and the community. She showed us that we needed to talk him through his tantrums and keep our cool to help him. We needed to take control of our anxiety to relieve his pressure. Maliaka was an asset in helping Seena being able to fly on an airplane. We couldn’t have done it without her. Taking Seena on an aircraft was a huge accomplishment, and we always will be grateful for that. Maliaka also was helping us taking Seena to different amusement parks and putting him on rides. She gave him the confidence that he needed and worked through his fears with him. One of her ways that I admire is always including Seena in every activity, event, or community gathering. Being in the community, she said, is the only way that would force him to socialize with his typical peers and make him learn being surrounded by crowds. The only way for him to cope with his sensitivity to sounds and people. Maliaka is the master of teaching life skills to everyone.
I could write a long list of the work Maliaka has done with and for Seena, but the most important fact is that she always believed in Seena as a person and not a person with a disability. She always encouraged my son to be better and try his best; she never gave up on him. She wouldn’t take his NO for an answer and made him do things that no one else believed Seena could do.
I never saw anyone else being able to connect and work with this big spectrum of kids and adults of all kinds, ages, and ethnicities other than Maliaka. She truly connects magically with anyone but especially with individuals with different abilities. Maliaka’s unconditional love and miracle work for these individuals made me give her the name “dailyautismwhisperer.”
She will always be our dailyautismwhisperer and my Rock.
We love you.Bee.”
Maliaka has been working with our family for the past 6 years. Our son has made huge strides in behavioral, academic, social & life skills. After having gone through several changes with his school placement, we decided to increase his individual sessions with Maliaka and it’s amazing to see him accomplish beyond what they said he couldn’t do! Her passion & commitment to helping him succeed has certainly given us a more progressive route to enhancing his quality of life. We’ve participated in her camps & community events, which offer other children a place to be understood, accepted and to do many of the activities that other children have access to. We are so grateful for Maliaka. Our son looks forward to his sessions with her & we truly see her as our guardian angel! I’m sure that any family with a child on the spectrum would benefit from her services.
-Faith Evans-Jordan
Parent
I am the parent of Ethan Pettiford, a 14-year-old boy diagnosed with Autism. Ethan is nonverbal and communicates with a Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. I should add that he is an effective communicator when an atmosphere of trust has been established. If not, he struggles to express himself. Mailaka Mitchell of Mailaka Associates has done amazing work with my son Ethan. She was able to establish trust with him in a relatively quick amount of time. I had not seen Ethan feel comfortable enough to share his thoughts so quickly with a service provider. Maliaka has the ability to earn trust, create a circle of trust among peers, and provide the tools that young people need to thrive! I have complete confidence in her abilities as a professional. Moreover, her skills are effortless which means it doesn’t even feel like she’s even working. Maliaka Mitchell of Maliaka Associates connects well with our children so I would highly recommend her to any family that needs support for their child!
Cheri Pettiford
