“The doctors said I couldn’t even have kids and here I am,” Savana said. “With a wonderful boy who doesn’t let anything stop him.”

Savana’s joy from becoming a mother when the odds were against her turned to anxiety around her son Milo’s first birthday. He was missing milestones, had not said any words and was avoiding eye contact. A teacher as well as a mother, Savana knew something needed to be done. “I always knew something was different, he never moved in the womb,” she says. “As a mom and a teacher, I knew something was off developmentally.”

Milo had very low muscle tone, altering his mobility due to not having the same amount of resistance to movement. At seven months old, his head was still “floppy,” as Savana describes it. Infants often gain the ability to support the weight of their own head around 3-4 months of age. After ten months, he still wasn’t eating solid foods. He would sit for hours spinning objects, opening and closing doors, never interacting with anyone.

Then she got Milo’s diagnosis, Autism and a rare genetic variation that affects the white matter in his brain. “I am a woman of faith, I believe everything has a reason but it still came with heartbreak,” Savana said. “It was absolutely terrifying, I was just typing into Google ‘What do I do?’ I had no idea what was before me.”

With clarity on Milo’s condition, Savana knew she had to get help. That’s when she found United Way Ready Children Impact Partner Brighton Center, which has been able to meet Milo’s specific needs in their classrooms. “Without this support, I’d still be lost in translation, googling what to do as a mom.”

With the support of trained therapists, not only did Milo have the assistance he needed in his early learning but Savana learned invaluable skills to help with his early development at home. They educated Savana on techniques that would make a difference at home. They even built a system of communication for her son. “He picked up the ‘eat’ card, put it in my hand and said ‘eat’. The minute he said ‘eat,’ I cried because it meant he had a voice,” she confessed.

Milo, now almost 3 years old, is on track to enter a general classroom and receive special education services. Savana now understands his behavior, how it is triggered and how she can respond with compassion. More than anything, her family now has a path forward.

“Every week they came to my house. We would sit, reflect on what I learned, and they’d give me new strategies,” she says. “It was coaching and partnership, not just therapy. This support gave us a path, not just a diagnosis.”

United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County’s Ready Children Impact Partners offer programs that make a difference in the lives of young children and their families. These resources ensure that young children are ready for kindergarten, enter the world healthy in mind, body and spirit as they progress in their early learning. This support also provides respite and relief to parents desperate for answers like Savana was before receiving this life-changing assistance.

“If you want to know where your donation goes, just know this: It gave my son a voice and gave me hope,” Savana says.

Make a difference for young children in our community. Please consider donating today.

Watch Savana’s story on our YouTube channel.