Daniela's new venture

Hi, I'm Tina Goldstone, Daniela's mom.

I am going to be writing with Daniela on this blog. Since one of Daniela's challenges is in the area of writing (she is a very fluent speaker and reader!), I will be filling in a little more information to her posts for now. I'm hoping as she gains confidence in her skills, I'll be able to add less and she will become the primary writer.

Daniela has come so far since her adoption in 1991. The first years were rough as she struggled to triumph over the challenges of her earlier life. The things in her favor, even back then, were her strong survivor skills and her love of life. Still, I would never have dreamed back then that she would be doing all the things she is doing today. If you can't already tell, we are very proud of her (and her older sister, whose web-site www.galomyoak.com is featured in our links).

We've been talking about Daniela doing a blog for some time. We recently were motivated to finally take the plunge. The director of a post-secondary program (which Daniela hopes to attend in the coming year) suggested that, while she is waiting for a spot to open in the program, Daniela should keep a record of all she is doing to help herself become more independent. The director also suggested adding photos to supplement that record. Daniela was enthusiastic about the idea and we both thought a blog would be a great way to tell the story of her journey to becoming independent. We are hoping that all of these efforts will give her a better chance of succeeding when she does enter the program.

Besides helping the director see Daniela's progress, we are hoping this journal might also help other students who are striving for the same goals, along with their families.  It will, hopefully, also be useful to others who are interested in post-secondary education for individuals with intellectual or learning disabilities.

Please feel free to share this blog with others. Perhaps other families may also want to document their own journeys in this new frontier for students with disabilities. We will be glad to put a blog link on our blog. We have also added other web links which we have found very helpful. One site that's been essential has been Think College. It really opened our eyes to all the new possibilities for Daniela's future.

Daniela is REALLY looking forward to hearing other people's comments on the blog so be sure to drop a comment whenever you can.

Like Daniela, I hope you enjoy the blog!

All the best,

Tina