Xavier was diagnosed with Autism in August of 2005. He was first in mainstream classes through the 3rd
grade. He was a struggling student, barely meeting grades. What should have only been 15 minutes of
homework was 4 hours anxiety each evening. He was then transferred to Special Education classes, where
accommodations for his learning style could be made.

After years of being placed in classrooms with
students far more impaired than him, Xavier told his godmother that he felt stupid and wanted to attend
general education classes again. At this point, it was Xavier's determination to succeed that resulted in him,
excelling in regular classes, completing homework on his own, and staying on honor roll.

Since Xavier has worked so hard and is an honor roll student, he has the opportunity to attend the Congress
of Mentors STEM (Science, Thechnology, Engineering, Math) conference this summer, in Boston. While this conference is totally optional, Xavier is
very proud of his achievements and has expressed his desire to attend. I feel that attending the conference will benefit him in many ways. Unfortunately, I already had a non-refundable trip planned when I learned of this opportunity, and money is tight. This GoFundMe is so hard for me to write because I'm used to helping others and have never had to ask for help, but hey, we do what we must for our children!! The money raised will be used to pay for attend the conference, his travel and room. Fee to attend has to be paid at the beginning of March.

Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you all for your consideration.