Without any doubt, AVANCE was Liz Garza’s top choice when selecting a place for her son, Xavi Morales, to receive academic instruction in preparation for kindergarten.
Xavi was a student at AVANCE-Houston Head Start at Browning for the program year 2021-2022.
He was born with spina bifida. This condition appears when the baby’s spinal cord fails to develop or close appropriately while in the womb. As a result, he doesn’t have movement in his legs and needs catheterization every four hours.
“At AVANCE, we were privileged to receive exceptional care. They went above and beyond by hiring a health technician who provided unwavering support to my child throughout the day, taking care of his catheterization needs. The building was equipped with wheelchair ramps, making it easily accessible. Xavi was treated with respect and fairness, leaving us with a renewed sense of hope and optimism.”
Today, Xavi is improving every day at school, with reading and math as his favorite subjects.
AVANCE’s Intervention Support Manager, Elizabeth Diaz, highlighted the collaborative approach taken when providing services to Xavi, including close collaboration with his family throughout the processes of recruitment, enrollment, and transition to kindergarten.
“During the enrollment process for Xavi, we adopted a MTD (multidisciplinary) Meeting approach for nine weeks, focusing on addressing his health, development, education, and nutrition. We designed a comprehensive plan,” Elizabeth noted. “Hiring a specialized health technician to assist him with the catheter was the important part of the health plan.”
Regarding his integration, Elizabeth stated that Xavi “is very smart and charismatic, and his intelligence was on par with children his age. His only limitation is physical. Xavi’s mother actively participated in the center’s activities, and desired for him to be part of an inclusive organization. She listened to our experts’ advice and now has more information to navigate on this adventure of educating her son.”
Liz Garza credits AVANCE for empowering children to reach their full potential by providing them with better opportunities, preparing them for elementary school, and guiding them through the critical journey of socialization while giving them the tools they need to succeed in school and life.
Her recommendation to other parents is to take advantage of what the organization offers, mainly giving the family “structure in life: bedtimes, schedules, lunchtime, art time. That kind of structure will stay with the children throughout their lives.”
What AVANCE offers to children with special needs
Other resources for parents
