Spectrum News 13

Watch Here: Nonprofit marks 25 years with new Longwood satellite campus

WINTER PARK, Fla. — A Winter Park educational nonprofit serving children and adults with neurological motor disabilities is opening its first satellite campus in Longwood as it marks 25 years of service.

The expansion of the Conductive Education Center of Orlando (CECO) is coming at a pivotal time, as the organization notes growing demand for services, according Executive Director Krisztina Weiszhaupt.

“We have families who were waiting two years in New York for the phone call to say, 'We're going to have a classroom open this fall',” Weiszhaupt said.

CECO uses a conductive education model that teaches physical, cognitive and social skills, focusing on the whole person.

“When you talk to a parent, usually the question is, 'What is my child is going to be able to do'?" Weiszhaupt said. “Sometimes we cry together because I don't know the answer. But when we reach a milestone, those are the happy tears.”

Maria Cruz said CECO has been a lifeline for her family for more than 18 years. Cruz moved from Puerto Rico to Orlando many years ago while searching for answers about the health condition of her daughter, Zorielis Rivera.

“I was looking for some answers on why she was getting sicker and she was deteriorating,” Cruz said. "This was a desperate move. ... I thought she was dying."

Cruz said she was told Zorielis might live only three years and that reaching adulthood would be a miracle. Zorielis is now 27. Her sister, Alex, is 24.

“My daughters, they're beautiful. Both of them have different personality, but both of them are nonverbal. They are in a wheelchair,” Cruz said.

The sisters have the same gene mutation, Cruz said. Yet, over the course of many years at CECO, she has seen her daughters make great strides, such as Zori being able to utilize a walker.

“They're very happy. They motivate them," Cruz said. "They make them do therapy and work hard without them even knowing because they're having fun.”

While the Longwood campus brings CECO services closer to Cruz’s home — cutting down on the woman's commute from 45 minutes to 25 minutes daily — the mere fact that her daughters are loved is the greatest gift of all.

“So it's a blessing. I mean, I can go to work having a peace of mind that they're safe, that they are loved, that they are cared for. And that nothing's gonna happen to them,” Cruz said.

CECO describes itself as the largest school day program in the United States caring for children and adults with neurological disorders.

Many families of children in the program use Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities. Adult participants may be able to use CDC-plus funding through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities Medicaid waiver for CECO services.

BY Julie Gargotta Orange County

PUBLISHED 11:48 AM ET Sep. 18, 2026