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Sherwood Sherwood Autism Center Sherwood Autism Center Sherwood Autism Center Sherwood Autism Center

Our History

In 1974, Debbie Wood was a UMKC psychology student, working with a boy in the Olathe Psychiatric Hospital. Debbie and another student had been taking turns, working with him day and night for eight months. The hospital was getting ready to discharge him, yet there were no schools for him to attend. They were going to send him home, without services. Debbie said – no way! There has to be something better. Debbie, and two other students, started Sherwood Center with six students in a church basement. They used a combination of their last names to create the name and drew toothpicks to see who would be president.

At that time, it was the first agency to provide specialized education and support services to individuals with autism in the Kansas City area. Today, Sherwood Center provides high-quality services to both children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a wide range of developmental disabilities.

The philosophy that “there has to be something better” still drives us today. We constantly seek to find the most effective methods and resources available to the individuals that we serve.

Special Education Services

The purpose of Sherwood Center’s Special Education program is to support students to acquire and improve developmental skills in critical areas such as socialization, language/communication, activities of daily living, community inclusion, and functional academics.

  • 92% of participants maintained/improved their ability to live independently

  • 99% of participants made progress on their individual goals

  • 96% of participants have improved physical, mental, and/or social well-being

  • 98% of participants have reduced isolation

Adult Services

The purpose of Sherwood Center’s Adult program is to enable adults with ASD to maintain and strengthen skills in the areas of daily living, language/communication and socialization in order to live, work and function within their communities as independently as possible. The program helps participants learn new skills and build upon previously acquired skills so they can become as independent as possible in their homes and the larger community.

Sherwood Center depends on the generous donations of the community it serves. Through fundraising and donations by individuals, we are able to provide our broad range of services.

Wish List

We have an on-going wish list of items that we can use in our programming. Sherwood Center partners with Maj-R-Thrift to receive a portion of all sales donated on our behalf. Call (816) 965-0975 to schedule a pick up and mention Sherwood Center.

Everyday items we are always in need of:

  • Lysol or Clorox wipes

  • Kleenex

  • Hand sanitizer (desk size-unscented)

  • Toothpaste (travel size)

  • Toothbrushes (individually wrapped)

  • School supplies – crayons, scissors, pencils, pens, glue, etc.

Building items we are currently in need of:

  •  Flat screen, smart tv’s for instructional use

  • Laminating machine

  • DVD players

  • Microwaves

  • Scooters

  • MP3 players/iPods

  • iPads or old iPhones

  •  Playground balls

  •  Therapy balls

  •  CD player/radio combos

  •  Headphones (wired and wireless)

  •  Wii games and controllers

  •  Twin sheets with stripes

  •  Bass guitar