Our History

A group of concerned parents of children with autism get together to start the non-profit organization Niños con Autismo de San Miguel de Allende, A.C. as a small school as traditional schools would not accept their children with special needs. Niños con Autismo (NCA) is established to serve children and adolescents on the autism spectrum in San Miguel and its surrounding rural areas.

• NCA’s board of directors is created.
• NCA hires its first therapist, Magda Godínez Herrera.
• Professional Director, Sabrina de Jesus Vergara Calderon, is hired, a neurolinguistic therapist trained in a broad variety of evaluations and treatment methods tailored to each autistic child.

• Lidia Arzola Ortega joins the staff as a therapist.
• The number of children NCA serves doubles.
• NCA begins an ongoing professional development for the Director and therapists. Each works on an additional diplomado, awarded on completion of their respective studies.

• NCA moves to its current Residencial La Luz location including a sensory and physical therapy treatment room and additional space for other therapies (language and conduct, practical living skills, etc.)
• Monthly parent sessions are created to share information about autism therapies and additional work that can be done in the home to advance mental and emotional capacity.

• NCA registers 50 children and young adults, following a free evaluation program (representing ~10% of children potentially on the autism spectrum in SMA and surrounding communities.
• On-site evaluations are initiated one week per month.
• NCA expands ongoing fundraising events to highlight the Center’s work and pay for patient evaluations. (Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving dinner for 40+ people, jazz concert, and annual Walk for Autism during Autism Awareness month).

• NCA creates a long-distance therapy program for children from rural areas who are unable to come to the Center, providing parents with materials tailored to their child's needs and access to therapists.
• Parents come together at the Center once per month to trade ideas and thoughts.
• Equine therapy is added to an already comprehensive program of autism treatment therapies.
• NCA earns the top three NGO designations -- Donataría Autorizada, CLUNI, and CLIE — enabling the Center to request financial assistance on both the State and Federal levels and to provide Mexican U.S. citizens and corporate donors with tax receipts.

• NCA focuses on expanding our donor base and attracting corporate sponsors to pay for our staff, learning materials, additional facilities, scholarship program, as well as the critical need to fund a new and larger Center to accommodate the growing number of children and adolescents served.

• The goal is set to double the number of children served by the end of 2024.