I want to start by saying that the Marcus Autism Center was highly recommended by my pediatrician. We were ecstatic to get our first appointment with Dr. Talboy who is a Developmental Pediatrician at the facility. After our appointment we were left feeling abandoned, and in the dark because we didn't have any idea of how to move forward with the treatment of our child with a dual diagnosis. Dr. Talboy did not provide any additional help or referrals related to our situation, and when I did attempt to reach her with questions and concerns her gatekeepers did a great job of ensuring that she was never "bothered" with my concerns. I attempted to reach her for a week with no return phone call from her about my child. However, she did in fact recruit her nurse to refer me to an outside agency for an evaluation. Because of her indifference and passive behavior towards my case, I was incredibly apprehensive about returning to the center for further services. As a very well versed and knowledgeable parent, I wanted to present my child with every opportunity for success, so I placed him on the wait list for the Language and Learning Clinic at Marcus Autism Center. After 18 months we received a phone call with an opening for LLC. I immediately discontinued our services with an outside clinic to enroll my son in this spot at Marcus because I held high expectations for what the Language and Learning Clinc had to offer. I now humbly admit that I was completely wrong in my hasty assumption of the quality of the program. By all means, I think that the therapists and the case managers ( Videsha M.) do a great job in conducting their research-based methods and protocols to ensure that the children in the program are equipped with individual assessments that cater to their specific needs. However, I was severely disappointed in the services that we were provided. Without out going into great detail, my commute to the center was an hour and a half on a good day. With that said, the ABA instruction that was presented to my son was no different than the services he received in our own community. I will be honest and say that I did hold a high expectation for what the highly acclaimed ABA practitioners had to offer, but was extremely disappointed with the overall services that were actually implemented during each session. Overall, all children are different and I feel like the assessments used for their plan of action for the program is based on a "one size fits all" child with Autism. This is unequivocally not the appropriate plan to address each child's individual needs, and I am of the opinion that this center uses these clinics as an opportunity to collect method-based research for profit. Again, solely my opinion, and I am certainly entitled to it. Moving on, after careful consideration of the possible benefits of the program I decided after 2 months to remove my child from the LLC. Beyond my commute, I found that the ABA techniques utilzed in this 2-hr session was not profoundly different from any other programs offering Speech Language Clinics. I did inquire about the difference between SLP's and ABA practitioners for clarity, and the bottom line is that ABA practitioners have a certain amount of "training" in ABA techniques and methods. In other words, as an SLP if you enroll in ABA technique courses or conferences for an alloted amount of time, you are an ABA practitioner. Quite frankly, every therapist I have encountered is very familiar with ABA, and they are more than willing to incorporate ABA methods into therapy sessions at any given time. In closing, I spoke with the case manager about removing my child from the LLC at the Marcus Autism Center, and in walks the program coordinator who dismissively states that he will be sending me a bill for the balance pertaining to the services provided. No "Hate, to see you go," or "are there any alternatives I can offer that may assist you so that you child can remain in the program?" Simply put, Here's your bill, and we can take you payment whenever you're ready. I am usually a very no non-sense individual who doesn't bother with egos and proverbial promises. However, I did indulge into the acclaim that the Marcus Autism Center had to offer, and it snapped me back into reality. Get over yourselves Marcus! You are not the end all be all to families of children with special needs, and you are definitely not worth all of the stress. My child was known for his charming personality and sweet spirit. I don't believe that there is a single person that we encountered at this facility that will dispute this fact, which ultimately states that i have no reason to speak poorly of this facility for no reason beyond my personal experience. I have provided a thorough, and truthful account of my experience with Marcus Autism Center, and I encourage anyone with questions regarding the Language and Learning Clinic to contact me via email. I will gladly address an read more