A place to call home

When the Allan Cott School first opened its doors in 1974 with five staff members and 16 students, the goal was to provide educational services to local children with severe emotional disturbances.

At the time, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was a year from becoming law, and many children with special needs were falling through the cracks both inside and outside the classroom.

Forty years later, the once-fledgling school, which started out in donated space at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, has blossomed into Glenwood Autism & Behavioral Health Center, headquartered on a 363-acre campus along Sicard Hollow Road.

The campus’ 28 buildings are nestled in a wooded setting where approximately 350 staff members provide programs and services to more than 2,000 children, adults and their families. Eleven of the campus’ buildings are residential homes for children, adolescents and adults with autism, as well as young boys with severe emotional disturbances.

The campus also is home to the Allan Cott School; Lakeview School; a preschool; the Sullivan Center, which provides adult day services; the Vulcan Center’s outpatient offices; and the Lakeview Center’s consultation and training offices.

Glenwood recently opened facilities in Huntsville and Montgomery, has a smattering of adult residential homes around Birmingham, and provides teacher training and support in public schools. 

“Through our education and residential programs, treatment services, and consultation and training sessions, we touch the lives of over 8,000 people across Alabama,” said Glenwood Communications Coordinator Charlie Peters.

Thirty-eight-year-old Jody Kitchens is one of the people whose life Glenwood has not only touched, but also greatly improved, since 1998 when she entered the Adult Day Program at the Sicard Hollow campus. Jody’s diagnosis is mental retardation and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), which is on the autism spectrum, said her mother, Gina Kitchens.

Jody has lived on campus for more than 10 years, and her parents live nearby in Liberty Park.

“Glenwood has given Jody a safe place for her to live, taught her skills I did not think she could learn and (provided) friends she wouldn’t have otherwise,” Gina said. “She loves to come home for visits and is just as happy to return to Glenwood when (her) home visit is over.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s March estimate, one in 175 Alabama children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although Glenwood is well known for the services it provides children and adults with ASD, the nonprofit organization also provides services to clients with other behavioral health disorders and mental illnesses.

Jody’s mother recommends that parents who suspect their child is struggling with ASD or another behavioral health issue get them assessed and then get them help. She and Jody’s father, Skip, began worrying about their daughter when she didn’t sit up until almost nine months old and didn’t walk until 21 months old. Jody also didn’t like the feeling of sand or grass on her hands and feet, began talking later than most children and then repeated words and phrases over and over.

At three years old, Jody was diagnosed as developmentally delayed. Then, at 20, she was diagnosed with PDD at Glenwood.

“After that all her behaviors started making sense,” Gina said. “Glenwood has provided us with peace of mind that our daughter will be taken care of even when we are no longer here. Never give up on getting the best for your child.”