Since 1979, we work to improve the lives of people with different abilities and their families.

Who are we?

Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú (CASP) is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1979 by Liliana Mayo, P.h.D, with the purpose of improving the lives of people with different abilities, such as autism, Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities.

From our beginnings, we realized the importance of involving families in their children's education, and thus, we founded our School of Families. Since then, we have trained thousands of families and professionals in Peru and around the world.

Today, we are a team of more than 60 specialists from various areas who work with a single goal: to ensure that all people with different abilities can become independent, productive, and happy.

Who is Ann Sullivan?

Anne Sullivan was the teacher of Helen Keller, the famous American writer and activist who contracted a disease that made her deaf and blind in her childhood. Although all the experts of her time predicted that Helen Keller would never learn, Anne Sullivan taught her to speak and write and was her lifelong teacher.

We believe that people with different abilities should be treated like any other person: with respect.

Our Philosophy

The 10 basic rules that govern how we work with people with different abilities and their families.

  1. We can all learn if we are taught using the proper procedures.

  2. We all want to be independent, productive, and happy.

  3. We all want to be included in our homes and our communities.

  4. We all want to be treated with kindness and respect.

  5. Families can be their children's most effective teachers.

  6. Teachers must work together with families in the education of their children.

  7. Teachers must first be friends with their students.

  8. We must focus on abilities and not on disabilities.

  9. Students must be surrounded by people who support them and believe in their success.

  10. Education is a continuous process that lasts a lifetime.

Why do we use the term “people with different abilities”?

Because over the years, we have formulated a philosophy based on the foundation that we should focus on abilities, and not disabilities, because everyone, including people with different abilities, deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.

We believe that education must be practical and functional and that everything we learn must be useful in life.

Our Methodology:

The Functional-Natural Curriculum

Our methodology, the Functional-Natural Curriculum, was developed starting in 1984 based on ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) in conjunction with Judith LeBlanc, Ph.D., of the University of Kansas, and many other consultants over the years.

What sets our methodology apart is that it focuses on teaching functional and practical skills that everyone needs to learn to be independent and productive, and all the teaching is done using real-life activities.

In this way, our students and their families have many opportunities to practice the skills that we teach them in different situations and with different people in the home and in the community, ensuring that what they have learned is maintained over the years.

We believe that families, if taught the proper procedures, can become the best teachers for their children.

The Power of 2:
Families + Professionals

From the first year of our foundation, we realized the importance of involving families in their children's education. We believe that only with the support of the family can the person with different abilities be fully included in their community, in a regular school, and in a real job.

We train families in the same procedures used by our specialists so that they can continue their children's education at home and in the community. We emphasize motivation and maintaining high expectations so that their children can become independent, productive, and happy.

The role of the family is so important that all of our Programs for Students and Families are based on the joint work between specialists and families. Additionally, we offer the monthly School of Families conferences, where we offer keynotes on different topics, as well as practical small-group sessions.

We ask ourselves a question every day: How can we improve the lives of people with different abilities and their families?

Our Team

If there is something that characterizes all the specialists at Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú (CASP), it is their vocation to make a difference in the lives of people with different abilities and their families.

Our specialists typically start out as interns while in their final year of university, studying psychology or education, and go through extensive training to learn our philosophy and methodology.

And their training does not end when they become specialists because we believe there is always something to learn and improve. We provide them with an average of 200 hours of training annually, including training by our international consultants. This ensures we can always offer high-quality Programs for Students and Families and Programs for Professionals and Organizations.

M.A. and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Life from the University of Kansas, United States. B.A. in Psychology from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru.

Liliana founded Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú (CASP) in 1979 in the garage of her parents' house because she saw the need to provide education to the population of people with different abilities and their families. Since then, the center has grown to become an internationally recognized education and training organization.

Liliana has taught at the University of Kansas, the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, and the Universidad Católica del Perú. She has lectured worldwide and received numerous awards, including the Reina Sofía Prize of Spain for Rehabilitation and Integration, the Prize for the International Dissemination of Applied Behavioral Analysis, and the El Sol del Perú Order, in the rank of Commander.

Liliana Mayo, Ph.D.

Founder and General Director

Our Directors

  • Liliana Mayo

    Liliana Mayo, Ph.D.

    Founder and General Director
    Ph.D. & M.A., Human Development, University of Kansas. B.A., Psychology, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

  • Lizbett Tolentino

    Lizbett Tolentino

    Director of Education
    B.A., Psychology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.

  • Carmen Aranda

    Carmen Aranda

    Director of Quality and Training
    B.A., Psychology, Universidad Inca Garcilaso De La Vega.

  • Rosa Yemi Oyama

    Rosa Yemi Oyama, M.A.

    Director of Quality and Training
    M.A., Human Development, University of Kansas. B.A., Psychology, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

  • Hilda Salazar

    Hilda Salazar

    Director of Labor Inclusion
    B.A., Psychology, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal.

  • Elizabeth Peschiera

    Elizabeth Peschiera

    Director of Administration and Resources
    Business Administration, Instituto Peruano de Administración de Empresas (IPAE)

Contact Us

You can contact us through our telephone number +51 1-514-7100, or using WhatsApp.

Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Peru Time Zone).

Additionally, you can write to us using the following form or directly to our email: annsullivan@annsullivanperu.org