Assisted Family Care, LLC

Pros

• Assisted Family Care does vital work with disabled people in the community.
• The family is very grateful for everything AFC does for them.
• Tyson and Shelley are described as the greatest by the client.
• Shelley assured open dialogue and appreciated honest communication.
• The client felt supported with paperwork and appreciated that AFC staff had experience helping similar families.
• The first home assistant is considered part of the family because she was so understanding with the parents.
• The family can't imagine life without the service AFC provides.

Cons

• The organization was poorly equipped to provide ECF services to neurodivergent clients.
• The director dictated service days and hours with no regard for the family's needs.
• Outings involved harassment and ridicule about mileage, causing tears and extreme anxiety.
• The care provider was short-tempered, yelled at the client, and offered little activity planning help.
• Late pickups and early drop-offs resulted in loss of CIS hours.
• Attempts to escalate concerns were met with claims of rudeness and being told the client might not be a "good fit."
• Communication failures included lack of follow-through after promises to respond and a client waiting an hour for pickup that never occurred.

Review

Assisted Family Care (AFC) has recently expanded its offerings to provide ECF services to non-veteran clients, and the experiences shared by families in this account paint a picture of both frustration and gratefulness coexisting under the same roof. The narrative centers on the challenges of introducing a new service model to families who rely on consistent, compassionate support for loved ones with complex needs, especially when those needs include intellectual disability, severe autism, and intense anxiety. What emerges is a portrait of an organization that, for some families, struggled to translate good intentions into reliable, day-to-day practice.

One family describes a roughly five-week engagement with AFC that left them feeling overwhelmed and poorly supported. The family's 19-year-old child, who lives with intellectual impairment, severe autism, and extreme anxiety, became the focus of daily struggles rather than a meaningful, stable care experience. According to the reviewer, AFC's leadership did not provide clear guidelines for how to work with their child, and the director, Tyson, dictated service days and hours with what the family perceived as little regard for their actual needs. The reviewer emphasizes a sense of rigidity and misalignment between what the family needed and what was scheduled, noting a lack of consideration for the child's wellbeing or for the family's current situation.

In addition to scheduling and planning gaps, the family recounts a troubling pattern during community outings. They report persistent pressure on their child to "have a plan," coupled with ridicule about mileage or distance required for outings. This criticism reportedly induced tears and heightened anxiety every time a community excursion was planned. The care provider's approach, according to the reviewer, offered "little to no assistance with activity planning" and came with a temperament that could be short or even angry. The situation deteriorated to the point where late pickups and early drop-offs resulted in a loss of CIS hours, compounding the family's frustration. The sense conveyed is that the care experience lacked the stability and supportive framing that families expect when navigating outings for someone with significant needs.

Communication and accountability appear as recurrent themes in the critique. When the parent sought clearer parameters around mileage, distance, cost, and scheduling - questions they say they had repeatedly raised - the orientation and subsequent follow-through did not materialize in a way that addressed those concerns. An escalation to AFC's HR contact, Shelley, seemed to offer some initial reassurance; she reportedly acknowledged the importance of open dialogue and promised to work together to "figure it out." Yet, after about a month and a half, the anticipated orientation finally occurred, but it still failed to establish the necessary guidelines the family had been seeking. When the family pressed again for clarity and performance expectations, Tyson's response, framed as labeling the parent as rude or aggressive, effectively shut down constructive discussion. The reviewer notes that Tyson failed to follow through with a promised check-in within five days, and the service situation culminated with the agency informing the family, via text, that they were "not a good fit for them" and that the service coordinator would be notified - leaving the child waiting in a window for an hour with no driver, an episode that underscored a breakdown in reliability and care continuity.

The overall verdict in this account is stark: the reviewer asserts that AFC "does not know how to deal with neurodivergent people," lacks the capacity or willingness to assist with scheduling and activity planning, struggles with time management and communication, and is averse to questions or constructive feedback. The tone is accusatory and reflective of a deep disappointment in a program that was supposed to be a lifeline. The author emphasizes that, in their experience, the combination of poor planning, unhelpful communication, and an unfocused approach to handling special needs created an environment of stress rather than safety. This perspective culminates in a strongly felt recommendation against recommending AFC's CIS services through ECF, signaling a need for organizational introspection and improvement.

Yet, the narrative is not solely a tale of failure. The same ensemble of individuals - Tyson, Shelley, and the AFC team - also appears in messages that convey genuine gratitude and warmth. In one section, a direct set of lines to Tyson and Shelley expresses appreciation: "To Tyson and Shelley you both are the greatest! I'm looking forward to working with y'all soon." The writer adds personal appreciation for the kindness shown during the paperwork process, noting that "they practically held my hand thru all of that" and that the openness and honesty of the staff were meaningful during a time of uncertainty about home care for their family. The same reviewer describes how the agency helped them feel comfortable inviting someone into their home, transforming initial hesitancy into a sense of familial connection. This sentiment is echoed in a later message that thanks AFC's team for making the paperwork process accessible and for the support in navigating what could have been an overwhelming process.

A different voice within the same broader set of communications offers a contrasting, more unequivocally positive perspective. The writer celebrates AFC's helpfulness with paperwork and their general sense that AFC staff have "already experienced someone like us and help us." The family member mentions how the initial home assistant was seen as part of the family, with a father fully appreciating the caregiver. The narrative shifts to warmth and continuity as they describe welcoming a new caregiver and expressing relief at the ongoing access to supportive services. The family notes that a radio advertisement helped connect them with AFC and turned into a meaningful resource for their needs, underscoring that the organization can be a trustworthy ally in navigating complex care arrangements.

Taken together, these accounts reveal a complex, multifaceted picture of AFC's ECF services in this community. For some families, AFC provides a lifeline through supportive intake processes, responsive paperwork assistance, and care teams that feel like part of the family. For others, the experience is marked by misalignment in expectations, inconsistent communication, and a sense that neurodivergent clients are not being supported with the sensitivity and expertise their situations demand. The juxtaposition invites a careful, constructive reading: the organization has strengths in empathy and intake support, yet there are clear gaps in planning, scheduling, follow-through, and staff training that can have serious consequences for vulnerable clients.

In the end, the overall takeaway is nuanced. The reviews speak to real moments of gratitude and real moments of frustration, highlighting that improved clarity, better scheduling, more transparent guidelines, and comprehensive staff training in working with neurodivergent clients could make a substantial difference. The positive experiences remind AFC of the importance of building trust, honoring family involvement, and recognizing the central role of consistent, compassionate care. The negative experiences, meanwhile, underscore the need for stronger accountability and responsive problem-solving when plans go awry. For AFC, these narratives offer a clear map of what is working well and where there is room to grow in delivering reliable, respectful, and effective ECF services to all families in need.

This part of Smyrna, Tennessee boasts a variety of amenities and services that cater to the needs of seniors. From reputable physicians at Morgan Pediatric Group and Stonecrest Internal Medicine to pharmacies such as Walgreens and Walmart Pharmacy, healthcare needs are easily accessible. The selection of restaurants like Chick-Fil-A and Cracker Barrel offer convenient dining options, while parks like Cane Ridge Park and Sharp Springs Park provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. Places of worship such as Walter Hill Church of Christ and Trinity United Methodist Church offer spiritual fulfillment, and nearby hospitals like Allergy & Asthma Center PC ensure quality medical care is within reach. With transportation options including Murfreesboro Municipal Airport nearby, this area provides a well-rounded community for seniors looking to settle down in a welcoming environment.

Physicians

• Morgan Pediatric Group (0.1 miles)
• Stonecrest Internal Medicine (0.4 miles)
• Smyrna Pulmonary & Sleep Associates (1.2 miles)
• Reed Kristal MD (3.9 miles)
• Nissan Motor Manufacturer (4.7 miles)
• Tri Star Medical Group (6.1 miles)
• Nurture Pediatrics (6.6 miles)

Restaurants

• Chick-Fil-A (0.6 miles)
• Cracker Barrel (0.9 miles)
• Sonic Drive-In (6.5 miles)
• Tito's Mexican Restaurant (6.8 miles)
• McDonald's (7.2 miles)
• Casa Fiesta Mexican Restaurant (7.5 miles)
• Olive Garden (7.6 miles)

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (0.9 miles)
• Walmart Pharmacy (2.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3 miles)
• Smyrna Pharmacy and Wellness (3.1 miles)
• Walgreens (3.7 miles)
• Walgreens (7.4 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (7.5 miles)

Parks

• Cane Ridge Park (3.4 miles)
• Sharp Springs Park (4.3 miles)
• Whitney Park Playground (6.1 miles)
• Owl Creek Park (8.4 miles)
• Stones River National Battlefield (9.6 miles)
• Richard Siegel Park (10.1 miles)

Cafes

• Dutch Bros Coffee (3.5 miles)
• Starbucks (7.6 miles)
• Just Love Coffee Cafe - The Fountains at Gateway (11.3 miles)
• Panera Bread (11.6 miles)
• Panera Bread (11.8 miles)

Places of Worship

• Walter Hill Church of Christ (10.1 miles)
• First United Methodist Church (10.5 miles)
• Trinity United Methodist Church (11.1 miles)

Hospitals

• Allergy & Asthma Center PC (11.3 miles)
• Ecmo Advantage (11.5 miles)

Transportation

• Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (MBT) (12.1 miles)