Achievement Center of Texas offers Life Skills lessons, Arts Exploration, ISS (formerly Day Habilitation) services and more.
Needs
Achievement Center of Texas is a special needs center located in Garland, TX.
We service a number of disabilities, both intellectual and physical. All of our students come to us pre-diagnosed. We accommodate nearly all special needs, with the exception of LON 9 (Level of Need 9) and people with dual diagnoses with mental disorders.
We understand that not all special needs are the same. Even if your child or ward has the same diagnosis as another student, we will still consider both of their individual needs before applying “umbrella” services.
At ACT, we have a number of special events during the year to celebrate the artistic achievements of our students.
Our blog offers arts and crafts How-Tos, stress relieving tips for students and parents, news in the special needs community and more.
Making a difference, one student at a time.
Life is full of surprises – but that not all those surprises are bad. Beverly realized this when her daughter, Shannon, gained the confidence and the ability to read out loud. For parents like you, like Beverly and many others, Achievement Center of Texas is definitely a good surprise.
Make Monthly, Quarterly or Annual Donations
Sign up to donate an amount of your choosing to repeat monthly, every three months or once a year. Your donations help our students be all that they can be by providing us with the supplies needed to discover their unique, individual talents.
Our History
1977
October 12th, Garland Association of Retarded Children opens its doors as a home-based day care center and after-school and summer program for children with special needs. The Reverend Michael Haynes, father of a child with disabilities, offered this group the use of the Sunday School building of the St. Paul United Methodist Church.
1987
Marilynne Serie became the Executive Director on January 19th.
1990
The program at the center moved from part-time to full-time services
1992
The center was named “Best of Texas” by the Corporate Child Development Fund in Austin.
1993
The Mayor of the City of Garland, Bob Smith, offered the Achievement Center space at Granger Recreation Center where the center held classes for nine years. Due to the very different disabilities of the students and the fact that not all the students were children, the Executive Director, Marilynne Serie, changed the name of the center to The Achievement Center of Texas.
1994
The ACT student enrollment doubles.
2003
Achievement Center of Texas moved into its new location (our home until mid 2022) at 2950 North Shiloh Road in Garland on February 3rd.
2012
The Therapy Room was transformed into another classroom to accommodate our growing population, and the Sensory Motor Training Lab was designed and built in its place.
2014
Milo, a two-foot tall robot that assists people with Autism, made the center his home.
2016
The center altered its name another time, dropping the “The” in its title and becoming simply Achievement Center of Texas (ACT).
2017
Executive Director Marilynne Serie passed the baton over to Andrew Mlcak, who now serves as Executive Director. ACT celebrated its 40th anniversary on October 12th.
2022
In May, 2022 devastated by the after effects of the COVID pandemic, we sold the Shiloh facility and began a search for a new home.
2023
We reopened at our new home in August 2023 to returning and new students.
