As leaders in autism care. Cortica helps connect the dots to ensure that every family feels educated, empowered, and equipped. Cortica was founded to fix the fragmented journey families typically navigate while seeking diagnoses and therapies for their children. Our collaborative team of doctors. therapists. and counselors provide neurodiverse children with personalized ABA. medical. and developmental therapies-all in one place. We see accelerated growth when all four areas of care work in concert. It's a comprehensive approach that's greater than the sum of its parts. and it produces life-changing results. Our approach produces superior outcomes and extraordinarily high satisfaction ratings from families.
Starry Foundation is proud of our partnership with Cortica.
Together we are making a difference in the lives of children with SPD and autism.
About Cortica
Cortica was founded to fix the fragmented journey families typically navigate while seeking diagnoses and therapies for their children. Our collaborative team of doctors, therapists, and counselors provide neurodiverse children with personalized ABA, medical, and developmental therapies – all in one place. We see accelerated growth when all four areas of care work in concert. It’s a comprehensive approach that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and it produces life-changing results. Our approach produces superior outcomes and extraordinarily high satisfaction ratings from families.
Doctor-Led Care Plans
Dr. Suzanne Goh, MD, BCBA
Co-Founder | Chief Medical Officer
Suzanne Goh, MD, BCBA, is a board-certified pediatric behavioral neurologist, behavioral analyst, neuroscience researcher, and author. She has dedicated her career to researching and developing therapies for neurological conditions that impact childhood brain development. Specializing in the treatment of autism, she is the founder of Cortica, and creator of the Cortica Care Model.
Neil Hattangadi, MD
Co-Founder | Chief Executive Officer
Healthcare innovation is Neil’s driving passion. Drawing on his training as a physician and scientist, Neil has spent his career leading, advising, and investing in the medical and biotech industries. His experience spans established, market-leading corporations to groundbreaking, early-stage start-ups. Neil holds degrees from Duke University, Harvard Medical School, and Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Elysa Marco, MD
Co-Director, Cortica Innovation Network
Elysa Marco, MD is a board-certified cognitive and behavioral pediatric neurologist, neuroscience researcher, and author. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children with sensory processing disorder, autism, and other neurodevelopmental conditions at Cortica in San Rafael, California. Dr. Marco's research has focused on the genetics, brain anatomy, and treatment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Over her career, she has authored more than 40 peer-review scientific articles and book chapters. Dr. Marco is an internationally recognized expert in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders and has been honored to speak at autism conferences, sensory symposiums, physician educational events, and parent support meetings.
Kevin Shapiro, MD, PhD
Co-Director, Cortica Innovation. Network
Kevin Shapiro, MD, PhD, a renowned expert in cognitive neuroscience, is Executive Director of Research and Therapeutic Technologies at Cortica. Dr. Shapiro uses his expertise to identify and address the underlying causes that may impact a child's development. Dr. Shapiro has dedicated his career to better understand brain development in children with neurodevelopmental differences. With subspecialty training in vascular neurology, Dr. Shapiro is one of only a handful of board-certified pediatric stroke neurologists in the United States. An accomplished researcher, Dr. Shapiro's interests are focused on understanding how learning and the structure of the brain are related to the development of speech and language.
Annie Aitken
Annie Aitken is a PhD in Developmental Psychology and a research scientist with a background in developmental neuropsychology, biostatistics, and clinical health outcomes in both academia and industry. Over the last couple of years Annie, along with Dr. Marco, and researchers at UCSF have been doing work in defining subtypes of Sensory Processing Disorders, and looking at the brain bases of those different types of sensory issues. And in addition, Annie has also assisted with reviewing data we have obtained on how to treat Sensory Processing Disorders with non-invasive neuromodulation techniques. We are now using a technique called Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) which is a powerful non-invasive technique for modulating brain activity, and we looked at whether this could help children with SPD.
Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation
Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) is a technique where an electrical current is applied to the vagus nerve - a nerve that runs between the brain and many areas of the body, including the heart, gastrointestinal tract, and skin. The vagus nerve has important physical and emotional effects in the body and helps the body to achieve balance between states of stress ("fight or flight") and states of relaxation (“rest and digest").
A review of a four week study of at-home treatment of CES found the following.
20% reported a decrease in anxiety symptoms
30% reported a decrease in sleep pattern issues
40% reported no longer having trouble with sensory over-responsivity that was clinically affecting their everyday life
This research has been directly supported by funding through Starry Foundation. Thanks to generous supporters like you, the work, both of understanding sensory processing, and now being able to actually treat it has become a reality.