Gateway Pediatric Therapy

"Gateway was great until it wasn't anymore. Aba therapy was the best thing I've done for my son so far. When he first started he was nonverbal, angry, tantruming frequently, and unable to focus on anything. Tantrums are not as frequent anymore, he's talking in sentences, expressing his emotions, and is now able to sit and focus on whatever task is at hand. We went through ALOT of techs until we found two really good ones. I was ok with weeding out techs, because his sessions were in home and I could keep and eye on things. Most left the company or just didn't fit due to inexperience. We finally got two really good techs (Hunter and Alysia) who stayed with us for almost two years. My son built a great bond with both of them and would look forward to his sessions so that he could see them. Things got tricky when Gateway tried to force me to sign papers giving dad written consent to do whatever he wanted on my sons account and while he was in their care. Dad is not in the picture, my son hasn't seen him in 2 years, and he does not live in michigan. Gateway knew all of this and said legally they had to allow him to make whatever changes he wanted whenever he decided to call in. I declined giving my written consent because it was not something I was comfortable doing and couldnt understand why they needed it if legally they were bound to certain rules. Things went downhill from there, I was told that my son would have to go from 4 hour to 6 hour sessions for his summer schedule to be approved. Only to get his summer schedule, after begging for it to find out he was scheduled for 4 hour sessions. Scheduling was unreasonable asking for schedules MONTHS in advance but giving you your schedule days before it started, forcing substitutes down your throat, and forcing you to give a reason for cancelling. I started to get real bad anxiety whenever I had to interact with anyone from Gateway outside of his techs. One of the techs he had for two years was taken off his team, and replaced with a new person (5 days before he was set to start in clinic sessions) who had no experience with him. This was the end all be all for me, so I decided to cancel my sons services from the company. I started off feeling like a important valued client and ended up feeling like a kid who was being bullied in school by the company."

"I only want what's best for my 4 year old son. Finding aba services that's not all about the money is hard. My son is also in need of speech and OT. I thought I had found a one stop shop that could service my son and allow him to attend preschool. Gateway made it seem as if my son must be full time at the center in order to receive services. Every child child with Autism does not require 40 hours a week of therapy. Although Gateway is not the only company like this, I'm really starting to think it's about the money!! So basically my son must receive 40 hours of aba or no services at all. I want my son to thrive socially and academically, if he only needs 15 to 20 hours a week of aba I think centers should welcome all."

"My son has autism. My son was in this company for four years. I do not deny that at the beginning I noticed the improvement because there was a good work team, but now it is no longer the same as everything in it has changed. It has become the worst place and its employees do not deserve any respect. They forced me to keep my son at home because they Losers who don't know how to do well"

"I absolutely love gateway. Mainly because we have a wonderful BCBA, Molly. She goes over and beyond for our son. We can tell how much she wants the best for him. Also the staff at Shelby township is great! My son has learned all much and grown so much from the last year being here!"

"Unfortunately, Gateway has not upheld the values they originally stood for. The quality of their client services are inconsistent due to a lack of integrity amongst the higher up administrative staff— those in HR and scheduling. They are not interested in resolving major issues in the company to enhance the quality of services provided to our clients. They do not support their behavior technicians, and in fact knowingly work off a ‘churn and burn’ model for their most essential employees. This leads to inconsistency in client services (which is one of the most integral components to ABA therapy) and thus creates delays in positive change for the clients. They have expended terrific employees who loved their work, who made great change in the lives of their clients and clients families. Many technicians, including myself, had to leave due to poor administration, and poor support coordination. I stayed with the company for three years and saw two promotions but left when I realized that my integrity and commitment to delivering excellent client services was not valued. I knew I could make greater change for the autism community elsewhere. I do not foresee the company making improvements any time soon, as they continually preserve a corrupt scheduling employee named Kirstie, at the expense of numerous excellent integral working floor staff (Think: Behavior technicians, BCBA’s and Office support, i.e. the faces of Gateway—those who come into contact with clients every day and create the safe space that clients rely on). Unfortunately this case is not original.. I have seen several other corrupt employees exploit the system as well.. all at the expense of the kiddos and their families and their beloved technicians. Im sorry to see that this continues to occur in this company because there are still many excellent clients and employees there who deserve more respect and consideration. Overall, if you bring your family members to Gateway… be advised that you must be involved in therapy. Know all the people on your kiddos case, and advocate for your needs, or you will be overlooked and treated with poor standards."