Jana Parker spent years working as a school psychologist, and she loved the work: the evaluations, the puzzle of understanding each child, the collaboration with families. But she kept running into the same wall.
In public education, even the most thorough evaluation had limits. School based assessments were designed to determine eligibility for special education, not to answer all the clinical questions a family might have about their child. Jana often couldn’t make the kind of specific, transparent recommendations she knew would actually help. The educators and specialists around her were dedicated, but overstretched, trying to support too many different kids with too many different needs at once. Everyone wanted to do right by the families. The system made it hard.
When Jana began working in private practice alongside her school work, something shifted. She could actually answer the questions parents were asking. She could make recommendations she believed in, refer families to providers she trusted, and see what happened when a child got the right support. That experience of working without those constraints clarified exactly what she wanted to build.
She started Mind by Design to bring quality evaluations and intervention services under one roof, so that the team who understood a child could be the same team that helped them grow. Not a handoff. Not a referral list. A connected team that stays with the family.
What started as a small practice in Campbell has grown into the South Bay’s most comprehensive educational psychology practice, with a second location in Morgan Hill and a team that spans educational psychology, clinical psychology, school neuropsychology, speech language pathology, structured literacy, behavior analysis, therapy, and academic and executive function coaching.
The mission hasn’t changed. Every child deserves to be understood. And every family deserves a team that sticks around to help.
We write every report with two audiences in mind: you and your child’s support team. Parents should be able to understand what the findings mean for their child’s daily life. Teachers, intervention specialists, and school teams should find recommendations specific enough to inform their work right away. We don’t write reports that sit in filing cabinets. We write reports that change how people support your child.
At most practices, the person who evaluates your child and the person who provides intervention work in different buildings, different organizations, different worlds. At Mind by Design, they share a hallway. When our educational psychologist identifies a reading concern, our literacy specialist can begin working with your child using the exact data from that evaluation. When a psychoeducational evaluation surfaces social emotional needs, your child’s therapist starts with the full context from day one. This kind of connected care is rare. It’s also the reason families tell us their children make faster, more lasting progress here.
Most of our team members built their careers working inside school systems before joining our private practice. We understand IEPs, 504 plans, eligibility decisions, and the language that gets results in a school meeting. When we write a report, we’re writing it for the team that will sit across the table from you. And when you need someone to help you prepare for that meeting, we know exactly what to do because we’ve been on the other side of that table.
Our work is rooted in a neurodiversity affirming philosophy. We believe every child’s brain is wired to do remarkable things, and that learning differences are exactly that: differences, not disorders. When a clinical diagnosis is appropriate and helpful for accessing services, we provide one. But the diagnosis is never the headline. We start with what your child does well and build from there. Every child who walks through our doors should leave knowing that the way their brain works is something to understand and celebrate, not something to fix.
Serving South Bay Families since 2020
A Full Multidisciplinary Team of Specialists
Two Offices in Campbell & Morgan Hill
An Active Blog & Resource Library
Every child’s brain is built to do incredible things. When a child is struggling in school, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with them. It means they haven’t yet found the approach, the environment, or the support that fits the way they learn.
We use the language of strengths. We celebrate how each child’s mind works, and we make sure the people in their lives (parents, teachers, and coaches) do the same.
When a diagnosis opens doors to services, accommodations, or a deeper understanding, we provide one. But the goal is always the same: to know your child so well that the plan we build actually fits them.
Our team includes educational psychologists, clinical psychologists, speech language pathologists, literacy specialists, behavior analysts, mental health therapists, executive function coaches, and academic support specialists. Meet the people your family will be working with.
