Patients are often referred to Civitan-Sparks Clinics by their family doctor or pediatrician but families can also make direct appointments. Click here for appointment information, map to our location, and a listing and description of each of our clinics. Please contact us by telephone if you have questions about our services or the appointment process. Contact Civitan-Sparks Clinics by telephone: 205-934-5471 or call 1-800-822-2472 from anywhere in the nation (choose option "8" Sparks Clinics).

Serving Alabamians For More Than Three Decades
For more than three decades the UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics has played an important role for families, students, and communities throughout the state of Alabama and around the world. Originally known as the UAB Chauncey Sparks Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders, it remains dedicated to the well-being of families and individuals with or at-risk for developmental disabilities. Through the affiliation with the U.A.B. Civitan International Research Center Sparks Clinics faculty and therapists collaborate with colleagues and researchers in the field of developmental disabilities worldwide. No other clinic in Alabama provides such a broad range of services to Alabama's families with or at-risk for developmental disabilities. Alan Percy, M.D. is Medical Director of Sparks Clinics.

In The News

Associated Press Produces Feature Story on Center's ADHD Camp
The Associated Press (AP) has produced a story sent to regional markets about the Civitan-Sparks Clinics ADHD Summer Treatment Program (STP). Now in its 2nd year, the program helps children and parents with a wide range of activities of daily life, including interaction with peers in various settings, while providing a strictly monitored curriculum of sports, academic activities, and art classes. The story from the AP linked below on the Montgomery Advertiser web site also includes comments on the UAB STP and other ADHD therapies from a number of health professionals. Click here for the story in the Advertiser and here for the story on CNN. The story was carried throughout the USA on major health news web sites including MSNBC, Yahoo Health, USA Today online, and many others.

UAB Sparks Clinics have moved to a new location

Above, the new patient entrance to Civitan-Sparks Clinics is located at 930 South 20th Street.
Administrative offices are entered from the 19th Street entrance of the Community Health
Services Building at 933 South 19th Street. Patient parking is located to the right of the building.

The UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics have moved to a newly renovated space in the Community Health Services Building at 930 20th Street South. The clinics and evaluation areas are now in one contiguous space with facilities appointed in colors and décor appealing to children and adults alike. Offices for staff and clinicians are also located in the Community Health Services Building on the 3rd floor and entered at 933 19th Street South. Interested UAB faculty and staff are invited to visit the new facilities. Watch for an announcement regarding a formal open house in 2005. Clinic appointments are still made at the previous numbers: 934-5471 (local Birmingham metro area call) or 1-800-822-2472 from anywhere in the nation.

" Learn the Signs. Act Early." is a new public awareness campaign launched by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its partners to increase the understanding of developmental milestones and the importance of acting early when a possible delay is noticed. The earlier a child with a developmental delay receives appropriate assessment and intervention, the more likely the child is to reach full potential. Click here for links to the program as well as information of importance to parents of young children, health care professionals, and individuals and organizations who would like to support the program at the community level.

Sparks Rett Syndrome Research Program and the Sparks Pediatric Neuropsychology Clinic Have Web Presence
Two new web sites have been developed at Civitan-Sparks Clinics to provide online information about clinical services, research efforts, and community projects and service. The Pediatric Neuropsychology web site provides detailed information about clinic appointment information, an overview of the pediatric neuropsychology, and information about projects including the MORE tutoring program (this site will be updated in early 2005). The Rett Syndrome Research Program site provides an overview of Rett Syndrome (RS) research efforts here along with links to national and international information about RS.

KnowKidding.org Web Site Aims to Assist Parents and Professionals with Early Intervention Online Resources
The Health Libraries Access for Alabama Early Intervention grant was written in the spring of 2002 to meet the requirements for a grant RFP (request for projects) by the National Libraries of Medicine, within the National Institutes of Health under the Department of Health and Human Services. We were successful in getting these funds to Alabama to develop an administrative infrastructure, a web site, and a training program for Alabama Early Intervention providers and parents. The emphasis is on teaching and learning how to acquire high quality health information over the Internet and getting that information in the hands of providers and families. The grant to create www.knowkidding.org and its related activities was written by Dr. Judy Drews, senior physical therapist for at the Civitan Research Center. Sparks Clinics is known as the State's original one-stop center for world class early intervention services and clinical research in developmental disabilities. Please visit www.knowkidding.org to learn more about this new resource and please share the link with others who may be interested.

Online Resources for Early Childhood Technical Assistance
The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance (NECTAC) web site has a wide range of online resources to assist families, individuals, and professionals interested in early intervention, related disscusion forums, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and much more. The site also has these resources available in Spanish. Click here to visit the NECTAC web site.

First in the Nation Pediatric Constraint Therapy Clinic Achieving Exciting Results
Pediatric Constraint Induced Therapy - The UAB Pediatric Neuromotor Clinic is conducting new research and applying techniques pioneered at UAB. For more information about this exciting new therapy click here.

Ivanhoe Video News Features Sparks Clinics Therapist Cathy Burke - Therapists at UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics are leaders in their fields. Read about one of our therapists, Cathy Burke, who was featured in a nationally distributed video news story detailing augmentative communication techniques. Click here to go to the story.

Featured Story and Links
We were honored a while back when the Bowman family shared their story with us in one of the Civitan Center's annual video reports. Young Andrew Bowman has a disorder known as Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) and has received received Stem Cell therapy. A web site detailing his progress is available by clicking here. You can learn more about MPS by going to the MPS Society web site. Every family that visits Sparks linics has a wonderful story to share. We appreciate the effort of the Bowmans to help other families by sharing vital information through their web site and ours. In 2005 we plan to make the video segment they participated in available through the Sparks web site. Click here for some thoughts from the Bowmans.

For More Information
Visit the UAB Civitan International Research Center for information related to research on developmental disabilities, links to national organizations, and relevant consumer information.

The free translation service below links to a non-UAB web site and is provided for the convenience of our international visitors. UAB and the CIRC are not responsible for the accuracy of translations provided through this link. Graphics will not be translated but alt text descriptions of embedded graphics will translate.

Sparks Cinics web site content is coordinated by Jim Willett.
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