Rothenberg Annye

I am mystified with the negative reviews of Dr Rothenberg here. Dr Rothenberg has decades of experience and has literally «written the book» when it comes to childhood behavior issues. We felt very fortunate to be able to avail of her services and had an excellent experience with her.
We had a number of sessions with Dr Rothenbery while working through some issues with one of our children and found her to be exceptionally thorough, helpful and easy to deal with. She spoke to us (in detail) to understand our concerns, spoke to our child’s teacher, and observed our child both in the classroom and at home (without our child being aware that they were being observed). She then came back with concrete, practical recommendations which we implemented, and which worked. We felt that Dr Rothenberg was available and supportive throughout the whole process. I’m very grateful for the positive impact that Dr Rothenberg has had on our family and would not hesitate to recommend her.

If you’re looking for a professional who can help you sort through family dynamics and guide you with your child rearing issues then look no further. You will find Dr. Rothenberg to be warm, compassionate and equipped with many ideas for you to apply to any situation. She’s there to get you through any challenges you may be facing, and help you see that there are better, happier days ahead. Your time with Dr. Rothenberg will be well-​spent for each session is constructive and comforting. She listens to your concerns and issues carefully, and demonstrates empathy as she works through each concern you may be facing. She is insightful, and always has positive ideas to suggest to help you move forward as you try to deal with everyday child rearing issues. Her years of experience in working with families should give you confidence that you are in excellent hands.

Our family has benefitted immensely from Dr. Annye’s deep experience, keen insights and collaborative style. She has been an extraordinary resource and helpful adjunct to our family.

Like the other negative reviews here, we also received an incorrect «diagnosis» for our son which led to a long, painful summer of misery for our whole family. Dr. Rothenberg’s standard «diagnosis» seems to be that children are «difficult» and need to be yelled at. This destructive approach provided no help for our son who was seen by another practice and diagnosed correctly with ASD.
Stay far away from this expensive «doctor.»

We had a completely opposite experience with Dr. Annye than the other three reviewers. We were referred to Dr. Annye by a friend, who was also referred to her from another friend. Dr. Annye was amazing, and truly helped our family. For context, my husband & I have four children, two girls and then two boys (less than 5.5 years between the oldest & youngest child). Our challenge was with our 2^nd daughter. At the time we sought Dr. Annye’s help, our 2^nd daughter was 4 years old and VERY challenging at home and at preschool — defiant, lack of empathy, highly disrespectful, selfish, no impulse control. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, and didn’t care about anyone else in the process. I will also add that our daughter is quite bright — she’s never been tested, but she earns starlight A’s at her private school and her teachers continually tell us that «she processes at a higher level» (she is now 10 in the 4^th grade).
When our daughter was on the verge of getting kicked out of preschool — the top, «best-​of», home-​based, academic&play-based preschool in our area — my husband & I decided to seek help. We first talked with Dr. Annye over the phone for about 15 minutes (at no charge) to determine if there was a good fit between our needs and Dr. Annye’s services. After agreeing it was, my husband and I met with Dr. Annye at her home for about an hour where we went more in depth into the issues. Following that, Dr. Annye observed our daughter at her preschool and at our home to see how she interacted with others. (Prior to observing at the preschool, Dr. Annye talked with the preschool Director and primary teacher over the phone for about 30 minutes. She also spoke with them afterward, over the phone, to discuss her findings. The preschool Director said that what she heard from Dr. Annye was not only good practices for my daughter, but also all of the children at the school). After her observations, my husband & I met with her again for close to two hours. That session was recorded and we took the CD’s with us so we could listen to them over and over as needed — much preferred over written reports.
It was hard implementing Dr. Annye’s guidance, but it was worth every minute and tear shed. It was also worth every penny we paid. Years late, our daughter is a highly adjusted 10 year old — she is an honest, respectful, straight-​A student, and an award-​winning athlete in two sports who demonstrates care & empathy for others. It is not 100% of the time — she approaching puberty, after all, and she still makes us mad by some of her decisions — but it is no where near the level of frustration that ruled our home at the time we first met Dr. Annye. (And what is probably obvious by now, our daughter is not on the autism spectrum or have other behavioral diagnoses, which other reviewers’ children exhibited — and yes, always get a 2^nd opinion if you are not satisfied with the first.)
I will also say this… while we met with Dr. Annye in hopes of her «fixing» our daughter, what we actually learned was how to fix our parenting of our daughter. What worked well for our older daughter and two sons wasn’t what our 2^nd daughter needed from us, and Dr. Annye helped us see the gaps in our parenting and how to be the parents our daughter needs us to be. Dr. Annye didn’t speak in generalities either, but gave us specifics from what she observed of our daughter and said, «when (your daughter) does (this behavior) then you need to say (these words)». And it was very specific to various behaviors. Over the course of the next year, we saw a massive change in our daughter’s behavior and attitude, and the level of stress and frustration in our home greatly reduced.
Six years later, we still use the techniques Dr. Annye taught us from time to time as needed. It was invaluable, and there is nothing we regret.
P. S. In regards to insurance, while Dr. Annye did not accept insurance, she did provide us with an invoice with dates & medical codes so that we could submit it to our insurance for out-​of-​network reimbursement (which we did receive).

Unfortunately, our experience was the same as the 2 reviews written here. Our son, who has autism, was diagnosed with not being disciplined correctly, not PDD, not autism, and the preschools she suggested simply were not at all a match to his needs. He needed help immediately and we didn’t end up gaining advice that we could use to head in the right direction from seeing her. The 2 reviews I see listed here are correct, unfortunately. She seems like a very nice and well educated, smart woman. Perhaps just not right for autism in the time frame we needed help, which was in the early 2000s.

Please do not waste your time and money with Dr. Rothenberg because 1) she does not provide written reports (nor is she able to communicate via email), which is challenging when trying to get health insurance to pay for coverage, and when other parties, such as doctors or school districts want her report, 2) she has a rude and sometime condescending demeanor toward parents, 3) she added no value with her diagnosis, which was essentially the same thing that our speech therapist told us. We spent a lot of money with her and did not get what we expected.

Always get a second opinion. This woman mis-​diagnosed our son, telling us we just did not discipline him correctly. We later discovered that he is ADHD and is on the Autism Spectrum – which led to depression and High Anxiety – the poor kid was not being treated for his real issues. ALWAYS get a second, and/​or third opinion. Just because someone is a licensed professional does not mean they are always right.