Meet the
Looma team
A clinical psychologist and a special education teacher, working side by side
Looma is a psychoeducational assessment practice serving families on the Westside of Los Angeles. We combine careful clinical evaluation with real classroom experience, so families leave with answers and a plan the school can act on.
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Our approach
An evaluation only helps a student if the adults around them can use it. With a parent's written consent, we involve the school from the start.
Teacher input first
We ask teachers what they see in the classroom before testing begins, so the evaluation looks at the right questions.
Reports written to be used
Recommendations are specific to the classroom and ranked by priority, in plain language parents and teachers can act on.
A meeting with the school team
We walk through the findings with your child's teachers and school staff and answer their questions.
Available afterward
We stay in touch for follow-up questions as you and the school put the plan in place.
![[Photo: Dr. Ronit Molko]](https://looma.works/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Header.jpeg)
Dr. Ronit Molko, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Licensed Clinical Psychologist (CA PSY 18332) | BCBA-D
Dr. Ronit Molko founded Looma to give families across Los Angeles and Southern California something she has spent 35 years helping children and parents find: a clear understanding of how a child learns, behaves, and develops, and a practical plan for what comes next. A licensed clinical psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D), she leads Looma's diagnostic and psychoeducational assessment services for children from early childhood through elementary and middle school.
Dr. Molko's work with children began in clinics and classrooms. She trained at the Claremont Autism Center and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and taught special education. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Psychology at the University of Kansas, where her predoctoral internship spanned developmental disability and child abuse and neglect settings, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. She went on to co-found Autism Spectrum Therapies, which grew into one of the nation's leading autism services organizations, with more than 750 staff serving approximately 1,500 families across four states through home, school, and clinic-based programs.
Over three decades, Dr. Molko has assessed and supported children with autism, ADHD, learning differences, developmental delays, and behavioral challenges. She has designed individualized treatment and service plans for children at every stage of development and has worked alongside school districts and regional centers throughout Los Angeles, from Santa Monica and the South Bay to Long Beach and Orange County. She understands how schools, funding sources, and service systems actually work, and how to help families move through them.
At Looma, Dr. Molko brings that experience to every evaluation. Trained in the ADOS-2, the gold-standard observational assessment for autism, she conducts assessments that go beyond a diagnosis to answer the questions parents are really asking: why their child is struggling, where their child's strengths lie, and what support will make a difference at home and at school. She turns findings into clear, actionable recommendations and service plans, then stays involved after the report through IEP and 504 planning, school placement guidance, and connections to the right therapies and supports.
Dr. Molko is also a nationally recognized leader in autism and behavioral health. She is the author of Autism Matters (ForbesBooks), has served on the boards of Autism Society Los Angeles and LEARN Behavioral, co-chaired the California Senate's North Los Angeles Autism Regional Task Force, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Owner/President Management program.
EDUCATION AND CLINICAL TRAINING
- Ph.D., Developmental and Child Psychology, University of Kansas, 1999
- M.A., Psychology, Claremont Graduate School, 1995
- Predoctoral Internship, University of Kansas, with placements in developmental disability and child abuse and neglect settings
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, 1999–2000
- Clinical training at the UCLA Autism Clinic (UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute), Claremont Autism Center, and Camarillo Developmental Center
LEADERSHIP AND EXPERIENCE
- Co-Founder and CEO, Autism Spectrum Therapies, 2001–2014 (acquired by LEARN Behavioral)
- Program Director, Autism Program, Behavior Change Associates, 1996–1999
- CEO, Alongside (Southern California autism services), 2024–2026
- Founder and Principal, Empowering Synergy, 2016–present
SPECIALTIES AND SERVICES
- Autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, learning differences, developmental delays, and behavioral concerns
- Children from early childhood (18 months) through elementary and middle school
- Trained in the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition)
- Diagnostic and psychoeducational evaluations
- Functional behavior assessment and individualized service and treatment planning
- IEP and 504 advocacy and school placement guidance
PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS
- Licensed Clinical Psychologist, California (PSY 18332)
- Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D), Certification #1-99-0115
"Empowerment has been at the heart of my work for my entire adult life, whether I'm helping a child find their voice, a family find their footing, or an organization find its way forward. At Looma, I get to do that work where it matters most: one family at a time."
Conor Loftus, M.A.
Credentialed Special Education Teacher
Conor is the first person families and schools speak with at Looma. He takes the first call, listens to what a family is seeing at home and at school, and guides them through every step, from scheduling the evaluation to the final meeting with the school team.
Conor has worked in Los Angeles schools since joining Teach For America in 2020. As a special education teacher at a Los Angeles public middle school, he worked with students with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities and other needs. He gave school-based academic assessments, explained results to families in plain language, and worked with school psychologists, speech and occupational therapists, and classroom teachers to turn findings into IEP goals. He went on to teach fifth and sixth grade at an independent school on the Westside.
Before co-founding Looma, Conor ran program operations for a Los Angeles education company. There he led family intake and built the systems that keep families informed from their first inquiry on. He holds a special education teaching credential and a master's degree in the business of education and educational administration, both from Loyola Marymount University.
Why we started Looma
We founded Looma in response to a gap we saw again and again: families would complete a thorough evaluation and receive a diagnosis, only to be left to navigate the next steps on their own.
We believe the evaluation should be the beginning of a family's journey, not the end.
After the assessment, Looma partners with families to identify the right supports for their child, whether that means a behavioral or developmental therapy provider, speech or occupational therapy, educational therapy, tutoring, or the right school and classroom placement.
We meet with the providers and schools families are considering, evaluate the quality of their programs, and help parents make informed, confident decisions.
Conor brings his expertise as a special education teacher, and Dr. Ronit Molko brings 35 years as a clinician working with children with developmental disabilities. Together, their complementary skills offer families a truly multidisciplinary partner at every stage.
Talk with us about your child
The first call is a conversation, with no commitment. We reply to every family within 24 hours.
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