TutorVille
It's a brand-new school year, and advancing to the next grade can be exciting for students. However, it can also be a source of stress and anxiety with new courses, new teachers, and sometimes a new school. In Houston, selective parents and their children have been flocking to locally-based TutorVille for over 14 years. Since its inception in 2009, the boutique concierge education service has built a reputation for excellence among discerning parents and kids.
TutorVille has worked with more than 10,000 students over the years, supporting students in primary school through college with its holistic, individualized, and nurturing approach to tutoring and homeschooling.
TutorVille provides academic tutoring for all core subjects, foreign languages, college courses, organizational and study skills, as well as test prep tutoring for ISEE testing, all standardized testing, entrance exams, honors exams, and more. At TutorVille, each student is custom matched with a highly trained, experienced, and motivated tutor who works diligently to maximize each student's potential while also making learning exciting and fun. TutorVille offers students and families the flexibility of distraction-free learning at their corporate office or at-home learning. Through TutorVille's mentorship program for middle and high school students, tutors are trained to build each student's confidence, mentor them through all aspects of life's cycles and nurture the whole child. To learn more about all that TutorVille can offer you and your family, please visit tutorvilletutors.com.
Foundations Pediatric Therapy
At Foundations Pediatric Therapy, building strong and trusting relationships with the child and their family is a fundamental principle, whether through Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, or Feeding Therapy services.
Therapists at Foundations Pediatric Therapy understand that progress is not a linear path but rather a complex interplay of various factors. Thus they utilize the Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-Based (DIR®)/Floortime™ Model with every child that comes through the door, no matter their diagnosis or presenting problem. They take the time to understand what a child loves and what excites them, which enables therapy to become a more meaningful and motivating experience. Every child attending Foundations Pediatric Therapy wants to be there and has fun while doing "the work" to improve functioning at home, school, and in social environments.
Therapy plans are tailored to the specific needs of each child and family as Foundations Pediatric Therapy integrates a wide variety of evidence-based therapy techniques. Their in-depth knowledge of sensory processing, gross and fine motor skills, expressive and receptive communication, social-emotional skills, and more enables them to help determine where holes lie in each child's development. Rather than placing a bandaid on problem areas or challenging behavior, they determine the underlying deficits and address them directly, leading to lasting and generalizing progress for your child. Foundations Pediatric Therapy also heavily emphasizes parent education and collaboration with teachers, caregivers, and other professionals on a child's team.
Foundations Pediatric Therapy provides Occupational Therapy (OT), Speech Therapy (ST), and Feeding Therapy services for ages 0 to 18 and accepts older individuals on a case-by-case basis. foundationspediatrictherapy.com
"Building strong therapeutic relationships can cultivate lasting and meaningful change in our children's emotional, social, physical, and mental development."
Dyslexia School of Houston
Dyslexia affects 1 in 5 people who will be diagnosed with the neurobiological disorder. At the Dyslexia School of Houston (DSH), children receive the proper treatment needed to read and write. Since opening in 2020, DSH has served hundreds of families in the community lacking the customized support to ensure their children succeed beyond the classroom.
For founder and CEO Tammy Spencer, turning children with learning disabilities into spellers with superpowers, like confidence and character, results from her passion-filled efforts.
Spencer has joined forces with Scottish Rite for Children to provide the Take Flight, A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia curriculum in Houston and the surrounding areas. Scottish Rite is one of the nation's leading pediatric orthopedic centers. A wide range of orthopedic conditions are treated, as well as certain arthritic, neurological, and learning disorders, such as dyslexia.
When Spencer founded DSH, she desired to bring quality curriculum, treatment, and learning to all children with dyslexia, regardless of their family's ability to afford private therapy. As a public school educator for 27 years, she saw firsthand how students with learning disabilities statistically become entrepreneurs or incarcerated. The most significant catalyst in preventing the latter is the therapy and support DSH provides. "I want to be the solution," Spencer says.
Thus, the 501c3 organization, The Code Academy, was founded in direct alliance with DSH to improve literacy by providing scholarships to children with dyslexia.
The Code Academy will benefit from the upcoming September 9th gala, Cirque Dy Slexia, hosted by DSH at The Health Museum and sponsored by Scottish Rite, among many other literacy and local supporters.
As DSH expands its scope across Houston in collaboration with Scottish Rite, they look forward to serving the Memorial community together. Development for DSH's Certified Academic Language Therapist training center and lab school for children began earlier this year. Dyslexiahouston.org
"At Dyslexia School of Houston, we recognize dyslexia as both a challenge and an opportunity. We're here to help students tap into their talent and build confidence in their reading ability."
Apara Autism Centers
Apara was founded by parents of children on the autism spectrum, and their goal is to help children living with autism live to their fullest potential while giving parents and caregivers the help and information they need to make the right decisions for their child's future.
Apara uses Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy (ABA), an evidence-based treatment for individuals diagnosed with autism and related disorders. ABA therapy and its principles are derived from years of scientific research and have been endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control since 1999. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and the National Institute of Mental Health have also listed BA as the Standard of Care for individuals with autism.
ABA therapy is based on the principles of learning. When implemented at an individualized level, the treatment can decrease problem behaviors while increasing appropriate and wanted behaviors, such as communication and daily living skills. Apara's Board Certified Behavior Analysts create individualized ABA treatment plans for each client based on initial and ongoing assessments.
With locations throughout the greater Houston area, Apara Autism Centers offers ABA therapy for children ages 18 months and up. Apara provides social skills, life skills, feeding programs, and parent training. Their team collaborates with the client's speech and occupational therapy providers to ensure the best possible outcome. Apara Autism Centers accepts most insurance plans. aparaautism.com
"At Aprara Autism Centers, we uncover a happy and empowering future for your child."
Inspiration Ranch
Located on 40 sprawling acres in Magnolia, Inspiration Ranch uses equine-assisted therapy to help children, youth, and adults overcome physical, emotional, and social disabilities. The therapeutic riding program provides hope and encouragement while strengthening core muscles and improving mobility and communication skills.
Inspiration Ranch differs from similar programs because of its highly trained and skilled horses and experienced, compassionate staff. The keenly trained horses instinctively react to nonverbal cues, with a natural gift of analyzing a situation to encourage safe and healthy interaction no matter the obstacles to overcome. Inspiration Ranch team members are breaking barriers and shattering stigmas, allowing clients to reach their goals through equine therapy in a loving, inclusive Christian environment.
Since its opening in 2010, Inspiration Ranch has grown from 20 clients a week to serving over 115 therapeutic riding clients weekly and over 50 mental health clients annually. Committed to never turning away anyone due to financial reasons, Inspiration Ranch offers scholarships thanks to their partnering supporters. The volunteers at Inspiration Ranch play a vital role in making equine therapy programs available to the community; from side-walking during therapeutic sessions to committee members and ranch chores–every volunteer plays a valuable part in the mission of Inspiration Ranch. With an average of at least 175 volunteers each week serving at Inspiration Ranch, the volunteers often say they are the ones who are blessed to be there.
Safety is taken very seriously at Inspiration Ranch, with no compromise as a Premier Accredited Center through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. Inspiration Ranch strives to create a joyful, peaceful environment while maintaining harmony with the land, horses, and one another, honoring God in every encounter and action. inspirationranch.org
"Inspiration Ranch team members are breaking barriers and shattering stigmas, allowing clients to reach their goals through equine therapy in a loving, inclusive Christian environment."