Mitchells Place

I am a parent of a 3 year old spectrum kid who was recently in the Early Learning Program (ELP). I truly believe each staff member cares and is doing the best they can, but the ELP program itself was really disappointing. There are a few things I wish I knew before enrolling: Staffing: seemed to be a huge issue - lots of turnover, constantly training new staff. Classroom environment: Our son found it to be very overstimulating. There are a ton of moving pieces throughout the room- kids and aids walking around doing separate tasks, timers going off constantly, etc. It's also supposed to be an inclusive environment where there are neurotypical peer models in the classroom but our son's class had only 1-2 non spectrum kids. Not sure what the contributing factors were, but our son had more challenging behavior in this environment than he previously had at a typical childcare setting. Inclusion: I would say that it's an inclusive environment for spectrum kids with little to no behaviors. Kids who would do fairly well at a normal childcare setting would also do well in the ELP program. If your child has challenging behaviors, this is probably not the place for them. If you're new to ELP, my advice is to have your child on multiple waitlists for ABA at different clinics around town so that you won't be stuck with no options like we were. Behavior management: They use physical restraint (physical holds) for aggressive behaviors. This happened to our son on multiple occasions. I understand protecting other kids/staff from aggressive behaviors, but I'm still struggling with the idea of restraining a 3 year old. Again, truly kind people, just an incredibly disappointing experience and I want other potential ELP families to know that it may not be a magical experience for every kid.

Mitchell’s Place is a great and beautiful place filled with love from teachers, directors, staff up front! Everyone there is warm and genuine and way beyond that they help children shine on the spectrum, grow, and learn. We have been so impressed with our son’s growth and progress here!! I could not be more thankful we have this school about 40 minutes from our home!! The children, staff, school- I would give it more than 5 stars truly!!! 100 stars!!

I don't often write reviews but I can't say enough good things about this place. It is simply magic. My kids love it! Every day my kids look forward to going to Mitchell's Place. They have helped my kids grow by leaps and bounds. The teachers, staff, and administration are well-educated, experience, loving, caring, and always go the extra mile for the MP kids and families.

This place is amazing. It is inclusive & such a positive environment. The staff are so encouraging and happy to see every single person and child that comes in. The progress in the children’s lives after being at Mitchell’s Place is so evident that the people at Mitchell’s Place love what they do and care deeply about the children. Cannot say enough good things about this wonderful place!

Wonderful preschool program! My two children have thrived as typical peers in the preschool at Mitchell's Place. The program uses evidenced-based curriculums and is nationally accredited and DHR certified. The staff are very experienced, well trained, and very caring. I would highly recommend this preschool program.

I have spent many hours volunteering at this school over the years, I have met many of the students and the teachers. The passion and patience which these people have for providing for these children is truly amazing. I have seen children who would completely cut themselves off from the world learn to be social and live a more enjoyable life. Truly a wonderful place with wonderful people.

You can’t. Should have worried about that When my son was there. I loved it when he started (when he was 18-19 months old) in 2016 but the last year and a half it has swiftly gone down hill (new management-I refuse to call It leadership)and that’s why we pulled him out of there after 3 years. I will never again recommend this facility to another family. There are plenty of facilities in the Birmingham area that offer ABA services and they are far superior.