The Matthew Reardon Center (MRC) is dedicated to the care and education of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities through partnership with existing medical, educational and community services. We provide special programs which enhance the quality of life for these children and their families. The Matthew Reardon Center ADVANCE Academy is designed to provide neurologically impaired children with related communication/speech and language deficits with the opportunity to reach their full academic potential.

The Center uses a multidisciplinary approach to best meet the individual needs of the student/client population, which is comprised of various diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, FAS, and ADD/ADHD. This mixed-model method of teaching and treatment allows the center to provide a comprehensive program that incorporates speech and language services, occupational services, applied behavior analysis (ABA), discrete trial teaching and other techniques to best meet the students’ individual needs. The main focus of the program is to help these children develop appropriate life skills and the cognitive abilities to enable them to live productive lives. Currently, the Matthew Reardon Center is the only facility in the South-East region of Georgia that provides comprehensive intervention services with an emphasis on communication development and an ABA based curriculum.

Overall Goals:

The specific aims of the program are:

1)To develop an educational design based on a mixed-model method of teaching that is ABA based and involves curriculum-based assessment in conjunction with the implementation of various strategies matched to each student’s/client’s specific needs.

2)To provide parent training and community workshops geared toward developing consistent and supportive environments. This type of intervention has been proven to maximize academic success, generalize skills to natural environments and improve the overall quality of family life.

3)To provide parent advocacy that allows parents to have access to an individual that is independent of the school system and who will assist them in obtaining appropriate treatment and educational opportunities available in the community. Parent advocates of The Center provide access to legal knowledge, Individual Education Planning Support, and acts as liaisons to local community support services.

4)To provide training to professionals and other organizations in the community who are providing inclusion opportunities or simply have the demand to address the educational needs specific to the increasing number of ASD children in the area.