Dr Gloria Dura-Vila MD, MRCPsych, MSc, PhD
Senior Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Autism And PDA Specialist
Human Brains Are Diverse and Equally Valuable
Testimonials
I just wanted you to know that your kindness and compassion with us was life changing. You assessed our daughter five years ago and only last week she graduated with a First Class Honours degree and she is currently starting her Masters! When we saw you last, she had not long been discharged from an in-patient unit where, frankly, we were told she wouldn't amount to much. As a SENCO, I will absolutely be recommending my parents to you. I cannot imagine anyone better.
“A Wonderful and Positive Experience”
“I can't thank you [clinic manager, Dr David Bentley] enough. Firstly, for your time, compassion, and kindness to me and secondly, for Dr Glòria's insight, charm, sensitivity, gentleness, and empathy with all of us this morning when she assessed our son. There's a lot to take on board but her warmth and tact made it a wonderful and positive experience. My son’s smile as she gave him his diagnosis is a look I hope to remember forever. A mix of pride, relief and even some excitement. It was beautiful. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the entire team. Paul Young [assistant psychologist] was just fantastic with us all too.”
“Remarkable Progress”
“Your report changed the approach we have taken to my daughter. It was instrumental in professionals adjusting their approach. I refer to the day you assessed her as the most important day in my daughter's life. Since then, remarkable progress has been made with her.”
“Made a Huge Difference”
“Firstly, please can you pass on our sincere thanks to Dr Durà-Vilà again for all her support. I'm pleased to confirm we won our appeal to the LA and the assessment report from Dr Durà-Vilà was referenced throughout the appeal and made a huge difference to the outcome. We are extremely grateful for all the help and support Dr Glòria and the team have given us in understanding our son’s difficulties and how best to support him.”
“Inspirational”
“I have really appreciated your warmth, energy, and unwavering passion and compassion for working with the autistic children and their families… you always bring such warmth into the room… you're inspirational.”
“As Easy and Enjoyable as Possible”
‘Thanks so much David (clinic manager). The report is great. Thanks for all of your help and patience throughout. Please also send my thanks to Glòria and her wonderful teams of psychologists too. You have all made this process as easy and enjoyable as possible and I'm sure with the diagnosis and amazing report we have a much stronger chance of getting my son the support, understanding and education he deserves to enable him to thrive.”
“You Have Changed My Life Completely”
“Dear Dr Durà-Vilà, I would just like to thank you so much for the assessment. You have changed my life completely.”
“Our Daughter Has Been Doing Much Better Since Your Assessment”
“Our daughter has been doing much better since your assessment. We have educated ourselves on ASD and PDA and are using techniques that are more effective. We have also passed on the report findings and recommendations to school, and they have begun to put in place some support for her [and] referred her to an educational psychologist and occupational therapist. Having the formal diagnosis and Dr Durà-Vilà's personalised report has made all the difference to our lives.”
“An Amazing Team”
“I wanted to thank you, David (clinic manager) for making space for me, right from the first chat with you and to all the team, and to thank Dr Glòria, for your knowledge, experience, and tenderness. You are an amazing team and no doubt you will do the same thing to other kids because you are all so kind. You are making an enormous difference to our lives. Forever grateful."
“Opened Our Eyes”
“We want to thank Dr Durà-Vilà for the assessment on Saturday which went very well (email sent to the clinic manager). Dr Glòria opened our eyes even more to the wonders of our son!”
“We Celebrated Our Son’s Amazing Brain”
“Thank you very much for the assessment on Saturday. As Dr Durà-Vilà ‘prescribed’, we celebrated his amazing brain having McDonalds for tea and watching a Pokémon film at my son’s request. We toasted his amazing brain!”
“Our Daughter Is Really Engaging with Her Diagnosis”
“Our daughter is really engaging with her diagnosis and gave a very impressive presentation to her classmates about her ASD experiences. She continues to use Dr Durà-Vilà’s Harry Potter analogy of being 'sorted' into the Autism House [Dr Durà-Vilà often uses this analogy when giving an Autism diagnosis to the Harry Potter fans]. We are so proud of her!”
“Invaluable in Supporting Our Son”
“Many thanks to you, Dr Glòria and your team, for this extensive report which will prove invaluable in supporting our son now and in the future.”
“A Great Blessing to Us!”
“Thank you Dr Durà-Vilà again for the wonderful work you and your whole team did with our daughter. You are a great blessing to us!”
“Compassion and Flexibility”
“Many thanks for the report. Please extend our huge thanks to Dr Glòria and her team for such a comprehensive report and for their compassion and flexibility during the assessment process”
“A Relaxing and Enjoyable Experience for Our Son”
“I am writing to thank Dr Durà-Vilà for making the assessment on Saturday a relaxing and enjoyable experience for our son. He really enjoyed talking to ‘the scientists’. I would also like to thank Dr Durà-Vilà for the helpful feedback session following the assessment which is going to be very useful in finding the right school for our son.”
“A Real Heartfelt Thank You”
"I just want to say a real heartfelt 'thank you' again for everything. I honestly really appreciated how positive the whole assessment process was. in a strange way, I walked away feeling proud of my son and not in any way that there is anything wrong with him. Just hearing such nice words you've used to describe him has made me so happy: it's been a while since anyone just complimented him or said such nice and positive things. I'm a lot more able to be calm and not show any frustration these days, it's been a learning curve over the years but since meeting you I've improved a lot also. I want to say thank you for believing, also - you were the first person I met that did. You should really be aware of just how valued parents like us find you. I am so grateful to have come into contact with you and can't ever express how truly in awe I am of you."
“It Is Such a Relief to Be Understood”
"I cannot thank you enough for yesterday [daughter's Autism assessment]. You have been wonderful! It is such a relief to be understood. I will be forever grateful for this."
“Kindness and Reactivity”
"You left such a great impression on us [after the Autism assessment]. You have given all of us a great deal of faith that the system isn't irretrievably broken after all! Thank you again for all your kindness and reactivity. Thanks for all the hard work you put into the report too. She seems in good spirits, and you have already shed a light on a lot of things."
"Eternal and Unwavering Gratitude"
"I cannot ever express my eternal and unwavering gratitude."
“A Really Positive Experience for Us All”
"I just wanted to thank Dr Dura -Vila for the appointment we had on Sunday my son keeps talking about it. It was a really positive experience for us all!"
“Professionalism, Genuine Concern, and Care”
"My husband and I would like to relay to Dr Glòria and her team how impressed we were with their professionalism, genuine concern and care and for ensuring that our son would feel comfortable during the assessment. He really enjoyed the time during the assessment, and it had a positive effect on him which was also evident by his calm behaviour at home with his siblings. We and the school look forward to working along with Dr Glòria to help him reach his full potential."
"Really Amazing Report"
"The report is an impressively detailed and narrative description of the observations, it's a really amazing report, and so informative."
"You Are the Best!"
"I couldn't wish for a better doctor. You are the best!"
“Your Passion Really Does Show”
"Congratulations on your nomination [Autism Professional Awards Finalist 2019]. What a great achievement and acknowledgement of your hard work. The passion you have for your work really does show!"
“Relieved and Delighted”
"We were really grateful for the report you sent after meeting with our son and us. When I read it, I felt relieved and delighted that finally someone has understood him! Your observations and suggestions made a lot of sense and were very helpful."
“Kindness and Efficiency”
"We cannot begin to thank you for what you have done for our daughter. Your kindness and efficiency in the diagnostic process made it so much easier for her. And while exhausted (as you suggested she would be after the assessment!) I think she is feeling positive about the future. Having an answer after a nightmare year is a huge relief for us as parents. And knowing that her future isn't as bleak as she anticipated will give her strength to recover."
“Very Pleased with the Report”
"We are very pleased with the content (of the Autism diagnostic report) and feel it depicts exactly what we have been asking of the school for many years."
"Extremely Helpful"
"Many thanks for your time on Friday [consultation for parents]. We found it extremely helpful. We very much value your help."
"Our Son Enjoyed the Assessment!"
"I wanted you to know how much our son enjoyed the assessment!"
"So Grateful"
"It was really good to meet you and finally be on the same wave length as another professional. We (the family and the school) have been through so much to get to this point. I am so grateful I found you!"
‘TO BE LISTENED TO, ACCEPTED BY AND CELEBRATED WAS A BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT FOR ALL OF US’
We just wanted to say how amazing it was to meet Dr Gloria last week and the impact she made on our daughter. It has been a long and difficult journey, and one which is still ongoing, but to be listened to, accepted by and celebrated was a breakthrough moment for all of us. So, thank you will never be enough. The kindness and understanding shown to our daughter was incredible and we left with a renewed positivity about the situation.
‘SHE TRULY TOUCHED OUR HEARTS’
‘Dr Gloria is such a wonderful warm person. She made our son feel relaxed and truly touched our hearts. Thank you so much for everything.’
‘GREAT THAT OUR DAUGHTER OPENED UP TO HER SO WELL’
‘Thank you to Dr Gloria and her team for all your warmth and kindness through this process. It was lovely to meet Dr Gloria, great that our daughter opened up to her so well and to hear her findings. We are very grateful.’
‘HE ENJOYED HIMSELF!’
‘Thank you so much for your time on Saturday. Our son left the room fully understanding his diagnosis and relieved. He also enjoyed himself!
‘THE REPORT’S RECOMMENDATIONS ARE REALLY GOING TO ADVOCATE FOR ME.’
‘Thank you so much for this. I went through the report today. I am so happy with the report. The recommendations are going to really advocate for me. I cannot thank you enough for all of your help and support.
‘SHE HAS NEVER OPENED UP OR WARMED TO A STRANGER LIKE THAT BEFORE’
‘I would like to add that Dr Gloria was wonderful and amazing with my daughter. She has never opened up or warmed to a stranger like that before. We are so grateful to Dr Gloria.’
‘DELIVERY OF THE DIAGNOSIS IN SUCH A POSITIVE AND HONEST WAY’
Please do pass on our thanks to Gloria, for the short notice slot, and also for delivering the diagnosis in such a positive way but also honest, no doubt a very difficult balance!
‘WE HONESTLY CANNOT THANK THE ENTIRE TEAM ENOUGH FOR SPEAKING UP FOR OUR DAUGHTER’
‘We honestly cannot thank the entire team enough for speaking up for our daughter, helping us to advocate for her still, and protecting her mental health in order to educated, capable, world changing, resilient human being in her own right. We promise to maximise this opportunity and guide her to explore her identity and purpose accordingly. Dr Dura-Vila's gift to say thanks was sent out today for next day delivery at the clinic.’