Mobile Therapy Centers Abruptly Closes Its Illinois ABA Clinics Leaving Families and Employees Stunned

An Email, Then an Empty Building

LIBERTYVILLE, ILLINOIS — the notice came by email, and it left families almost no time to plan. Mobile Therapy Centers of America, a pediatric therapy provider north of Chicago, told parents and employees the week of May 18 that it was closing for good, ending applied behavior analysis (ABA) and related therapies it delivered in clinics, in schools, and in daycare centers across Illinois.

For parents of autistic children, the shutdown was not a scheduling problem. Many had built years of routine around the center’s therapists. Now they are calling other providers and joining waitlists, some of which run months before an opening comes free, according to NBC Chicago, which first reported the closure on May 27.

The end came fast. Workers were seen returning to the Libertyville location to collect their belongings and hand back equipment. Parents told the station they had not been able to obtain their children’s clinical records, the documents a new provider needs to pick up treatment where the last one stopped.

“Our kid’s routine will change and that causes regression in autistic kids sometimes, so all the progress is at a pause.” — Ashley Acevedo, parent of a Mobile Therapy Centers client (2026)

Acevedo said her son had attended the center since 2021 and is about to turn 8. “This is like his second home,” she told NBC Chicago. For children whose progress depends on consistency, an unplanned gap in services can undo gains that took months to build.

What the Closure Email Said

The company’s chief executive blamed conditions across the sector rather than a single event. The email cited “significant industry-wide delays in credentialing, authorizations, and reimbursement,” along with “extended gaps in starting services for new clients as well as delays in collections,” according to NBC Chicago, which reviewed the message. The result, the CEO wrote, is that “it is no longer feasible for us to sustainably maintain ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) services in Illinois.”

No allegation of fraud or regulatory enforcement has been reported in connection with the closure. The reasons the company gave are operational and financial: the lag between hiring clinicians and getting them credentialed and paid, and the lag between delivering services and collecting on them.

The chief executive did not respond to repeated attempts by NBC Chicago to reach him by phone, email, and text. As of the station’s report, the company had not given parents or the public a timeline for the wind-down or for releasing records.

A long-running provider: Mobile Therapy Centers of America started roughly 16 years ago, founded after the CEO’s own son needed speech therapy on a schedule that fit around school and work, according to the company and a 2021 Daily Herald profile. It grew from a single therapist into an operation of more than 100 health professionals offering speech, occupational, feeding, behavioral, and other therapies.

The Staff Left Behind

The closure also put the center’s clinicians and aides out of work with little warning. Staff described an abrupt ending and no chance to say goodbye and help transition the families they had worked with for years. Several staff were photographed carrying boxes out of the building.

“My heart is with the families. I can find a new job, but these kids cannot find a new place to call home.” — Lauren Sexton, Mobile Therapy Centers employee (2026)

“All of our therapists cared for these kids as if they were their own,” said Megan Vanhoorebeke, another employee. “The worst part is that nobody even got to say goodbye.” For the board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) and registered behavior technicians (RBTs) on staff, a sudden closure also breaks the continuity of supervised hours and client relationships that their day-to-day work depends on.

Families Searching for Continuity

Continuity of care is now the immediate problem for the families left behind. Parents who relied on Mobile Therapy Centers are scrambling to find new providers mid-treatment.

Two practical barriers make the handoff harder. Records remain out of reach, parents said, and the waits at other clinics mean some children will go without structured therapy in the interim. Parents and former employees have called for an investigation into how the center closed.

Whether Illinois regulators or the company will say more is unsettled. Parents said they are still waiting for two things: a spot on another provider’s schedule, and their children’s records. As of NBC Chicago’s report, the company’s chief executive had not responded to requests for comment.

AT A GLANCE

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