By Ally Morrison
Mitchell’s Place, an organization that provides resources for children affected by autism and other developmental disabilities, will soon host its annual Night at the Oscars Gala.
On March 19, the red carpet-inspired event will be held at Haven and will provide guests a chance to support the organization during its largest fundraising event of the year.
Gala guests will be treated to a reception, seated dinner by Hastings Catering and live and silent auctions. All proceeds from the event will benefit the organization and its variety of early intervention programs.
In 2005, after becoming discouraged by the lack of resources for their son Mitchell, Nancy and Allen Meisler founded Mitchell’s Place to provide support to families with children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities.
The pair grew up in Alabama, but they didn’t meet until after college. Nancy Meisler attended Auburn University while Allen Meisler went to the University of Alabama.
The two met after moving to the Birmingham area upon graduating, where they married and had children. But they could not find services Mitchell needed in Alabama.
“We saw the need from a personal standpoint,” Nancy Meisler said. “My husband and I went to a conference in Tuscaloosa put on by the Autism Society that featured speakers from all over the country. We heard a lot about wonderfully innovative therapies for autism, but when we looked around, we didn’t know where to access that in Alabama. Resources were so scattered and nothing was under one roof, and we wanted to do something about it.”
Designed Programs With Experts
With the help of experts from different school systems and Auburn University, the Meisler family created the basis of their Early Learning Program, which is still being used today.
“Mitchell was 9 years old when we started planning, in 2004,” Meisler said. “We broke ground and established a nonprofit status in October of that year, and by February of 2005, our Early Learning Program was full. We opened in August.”
Over the past 16 years, Mitchell’s Place has combined a variety of programs and therapies to help children in need of a place that provides learning opportunities and social interaction. In addition to the original Early Learning Program, the organization implements applied behavioral analysis therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and feeding therapy.
“We have four classrooms ages 2 to 6, and in each classroom half of the children are on the autism spectrum, while half of them are developing peers,” Meisler said. “These students serve as role models for social interaction, and these four classrooms consist of about 40 students.”
According to Meisler, insurance companies in Alabama now are required to cover ABA therapy, under a law passed in 2017. Since this development, many more people can afford services for their children. Because of this increase in people looking for support, Mitchell’s place opened a new facility.
In 2021, Mitchell’s Place expanded its services to Southside, where Meisler has hopes of diminishing the number of children on a waitlist.
“We felt like Southside would open a little more opportunity locationwise for some families in need and also helped us to accommodate students so we could get them into programming as soon as possible,” Meisler said. “Early intervention is very important.”
The Meisler’s have lived in the Birmingham area for more than 40 years and recently have moved back to Mountain Brook, in the same city their children attended school.
Meisler has been a part of many organizations around Birmingham, such as the Heart Guild of Birmingham, in addition to serving on UAB’s School of Nursing Board of Visitors as well as YWCA’s junior board.
For more information, visit mitchells-place.com.
