“I just wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude for all you do to help my daughter continually grow and reach her full potential. So much of why she is such an incredibly awesome, attentive and sweet person (yes I’m biased :)), is because of the programming and resources you’ve introduced, the therapists you hold accountable to meet your high expectations and your own personal interactions with her, which by the way, she loves “working with Ray”.
It is truly admirable that for so many years, you have maintained a passion about helping people and making a meaningful difference in their lives. Not many people can say that about their careers. ”
“I knew my daughter needed additional help, but I didn’t know where to turn. I had Ray Cepeda complete a classroom observation and was blown away with his insight into her needs. As a direct result of working with Ray, she has made tremendous gains in all areas of development. I will be forever grateful for his ongoing work with her and our family. During the three years he worked with my family, he has helped my daughter achieve success in all areas of development - emotional, cognitive, physical, behavioral, and academic. Ray is extremely direct and offers practical strategies for parents, children, and teachers for success in all domains. He serves as a liaison with the school and is a key contributor in all programming meetings. Ray is an exceptional teacher/ behaviorist/therapist. It is absolutely without question that my daughter and our family’s continued success is a direct product of working with Ray.”
“I have had the wonderful opportunity of working under the supervision of Ray Cepeda in a home program. His willingness to share with me with his depth of knowledge, expertise in Applied Behavior Analysis, useful feedback, and guidance has been an invaluable asset in my continuing professional development. Ray’s mentorship has provided me with the confidence, knowledge, and skills required to effectively apply the principles and procedures of behavior analysis in my classroom. I cannot emphasize enough how much I’ve benefited from collaborating with him.”
“My son “T” was diagnosed with autism officially at the age of five. There were many milestones that I never thought he’d achieve, and potty training was one of them. When I contacted Ray, I did so with low expectations, because I tried it all! Ray met my son, spent time with him, and gave me a strategy I hadn’t tried before. Magic! A year later, we had a setback, and I called Ray immediately. He spent countless time with me on the phone, gave me advice, and low and behold, it worked again! Last year my husband and I were faced with a new behavioral challenge yet again. Ray personally made a trip to my son’s school, and observed him in the classroom. He met with the teachers and other professionals that work with “T”, and devised a plan that would address the behaviors. He continues to keep in contact with them to receive updates. I have truly never known a person that is so dedicated to their profession. Whenever I’m feeling frustrated or hopeless, I try to focus on all of the accomplishments my son has achieved thus far in his young life; accomplishments I didn’t think were at all possible at the time. Ray has been a significant part of our son’s success. I have hope.”
“Ray started working with my son in Jan 2009. Where he was then: At the age of 3, able to label a lot of pictures of objects, not able to label actions, speech limited to a few cookie cutter phrases, did not really understand much of what people were telling him. Where he is now: Dr. Cecilia McCarton (during the last re-evaluation) said that he no longer meets the definition of being on the spectrum; people who are not in the field cannot tell him apart from typical children; he is reading at above age appropriate level. That is not to say there are no challenges left. We still have a lot of issues to deal with (behavioral, social, abstract thinking, etc.) and the road ahead is long and difficult. But… I am very proud of my son and his accomplishments. And I know that it is only because of Ray that he has been able to make such amazing progress.
So what is so special about Ray? His immense experience allows him to problem solve and trouble shoot in an almost magical way. Ray can always find an alternative approach to solve a behavioral problem or teach things a child is struggling with. But most importantly, he cares. I once wrote Ray an email at 3AM during Christmas week. I was very concerned about my son at that time and really poured out my heart to him. Ray responded within 3 hours and was in my house the next day, figuring out how to fix the latest problem. Another amazing thing about Ray is his office manager. I am a senior officer in one of the major financial corporations. And I can honestly tell you that I have not come across too many people with such administrative talent. So… good luck to you, I hope Ray can do for your child what he is doing for mine.”
“Ray is a highly respected autism specialist all over New York. He has worked with all three of my children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder. He cares about each child as if they were his own, and is a roll up your sleeves, get the goal achieved now professional. His understanding of ABA principles is unbelievable and his speaking engagements keep your attention every single second. Ray has literally changed a lot of children’s lives – I recommend him wholeheartedly.”
“Our son was diagnosed with Autism just before his 4th birthday and we starting working with Ray shortly thereafter. We were desperate for guidance and information on how to better support our son. We clicked with Ray immediately, and what struck us right away about his approach was that he offered us solutions and strategies that would positively impact our whole family, and not just our son. Our son is now 7 years old, and has made tremendous strides, in large part to Ray’s presence in our lives. We don’t need to speak to Ray on a weekly basis any longer (and for a long time day or night he was there for us), but he is still very much a part of our Autism team, and that is because he truly cares about the children and families that he works with as if they are his own.”
“Everything we learn helps us land into the position to make a difference. But the difference you make is how you deliver guidance and support in a way that resonates with the individual! At times that means throwing some rules out the window!!!! (Name of child) is amazing, and I’m so grateful to see the involvement of her support system. Love your work Ray!”