Treatments and care that transcend international boundaries

After turning to Marcus Autism Center for guidance and training, clinicians in Russia found new, empowering ways to help children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

“Marcus Autism Center is the leader in helping individuals with autism, especially those with severe behavior, feeding and toilet training problems,” said Svyatoslav “Slava” Dovbnya, MD, pediatric neurologist and senior consultant with the Naked Heart Foundation Russia. 

Dr. Dovbnya, and his colleague, Tatiana Morozova, a clinical psychologist and senior consultant, met Marcus Autism Center Clinical Director, Nathan A. Call, PhD, BCBA-D, at a conference in Moscow, Russia, in 2018.

After connecting with Dr. Call at the conference, Dr. Dovbnya and Tatiana realized that Dr. Call was an exceptional resource to learn from. They invited him to host a one-week seminar in St. Petersburgh, Russia, in which Dr. Call spoke to clinicians and parents about how to help children with autism, specifically kids with challenging behaviors.

“Oftentimes, these families are isolated, whether they live in Moscow or Atlanta, because they don’t have support they need,” Dr. Call explained. “The parents we spoke with during the seminar were quite animated; I could see there was a clear need for access to services like those we offer at Marcus Autism Center.”

Not long after his first visit, Dr. Call returned to Russia with Joanna Lomas Mevers, PhD, BCBA, Director of the Severe Behavior Program at Marcus Autism Center, for hands-on demonstrations. They worked with a few of Dr. Dovbnya and Tatiana’s patients in Russia, showing them how to use readily available resources to support kids with autism.  

“We wanted to demonstrate to them that the equipment, space, facilities and resources are not as important as having a background on how to address challenging behavior and working to solve problems, one at a time, until you find a solution that addresses the problem overall,” said Dr. Call.

A few months later, Dr. Dovbnya and Tatiana visited Marcus Autism Center with three members of the Naked Heart Foundation. During the visit, Dr. Call and his team showed their foundation members how to plan for future activities, projects and services that will best support their patients.

“Marcus Autism Center is a good model and long-term goal for us to create in Russia,” Dr. Dovbnya said. “We don’t have anything like this in Russia, but we need to figure out how to open doors for our foundation to see the potential of what major donors could do.”

Tatiana added that she believes their children deserve services and a future like what Marcus Autism Center provides for our patients. “The world is developing so fast in classification, diagnosis, treatment intervention and parent education,” Dr. Dovbnya said. “To be able to catch up, we need the help of more experienced clinicians like those at Marcus Autism Center.”