Another Great Program and 2 Super Resources

From Tina - still really busy here - (Daniela's room is now freshly painted and carpeted and awaiting it's new furniture coming on Friday. She can't wait to post some photos of it here.)

Today I found another great post-secondary program at the Think College site. It's far from here - in Wisconsin, but sounds like it will serve students like Daniela very well and prepare them for all aspects of life. It's called Shepherd's College and it seems unique from many of the other programs. First, it is a faith-based program. It offers academic and independent living classes, but also offers specialized vocational training in both culinary arts and horticulture. They are building new housing as I write. It is a 3 year program. They have applied for eligibility for the new federal program which will allow students to receive the same financial aid as other college students. I'll include the program in the blog's web-links, but I'll also include it here: www.shepherdscollege.org

On their web-site and twitter page, they led me to two interesting resources:

1. Logan Magazine (www.loganmagazine.com) - This is a magazine for young people with disabilities, started by a young woman who received a brain injury at age 16. It looks wonderful and I will subscribe to it for Daniela, who I know will love it.

2. Apostrophe Magazine (http://apostrophemagazine.com) -This is a quarterly magazine for people overcoming disabilities. Another great find that we will be subscribing to.

I hope others reading the blog will check out these sites!

All the best,

Tina

Busy summer

 From Tina - Sorry to all of you checking in for new posts only to find we haven't written any! Daniela and and I have good intentions every day, but time just seems to get away from us. We have lots of project this summer around the house that are taking priority right now. Hopefully things will calm down enough soon so Daniela and I can sit down to write and also add some new photos from recent summer adventures. She is doing well, still loving her time at the animal shelter. She is excited that we are totally revamping her room, with new carpets, furniture and bedding (one of our many projects that will hopefully make it easier for her to stay organized).

Until we next sit down to write, enjoy your summers and stay cool in this monstrous heat!

Tina

Two Wonderful Women and a newsletter

Last week I was invited to go (with my mom) to the retirement dinner for the teachers  and staff of Gloucester County schools. I was invited by Linda Burrell who I wrote about earlier on my blog. She was my wonderful teacher in elementary school for 5 years. I am really going to miss seeing her, but hopefully we will still see her around town and we can also visit each other.






















Her teaching assistant, Ruby Gray, also retired this year. She is also very special to me. She helped me a lot through the bad years and good years. Mrs. Burrell and Mrs. Gray never gave up on me.



Also, I want to share a newsletter about my brother Daniel and the other young people he lives with in their foster home in Romania. They were all brought together as a family about 10 years ago from the orphanage that I also had lived in when I was a baby. None of them were ever adopted for a very sad reason. They got infected with HIV from dirty needles and blood transfusions at the orphanage. I was very lucky that I was not infected. They had a hard life in the orphanage, but have a wonderful life now in the Home of Hope, which was founded by a group of people in England, who still support the home.  Some of the young people get very sick, but luckily my brother is very healthy. I really want to meet him and my mom says it will happen in the next couple of years. Here is the newsletter. (click on page to make bigger).

love,

Daniela

Widening Circle

From Tina,

I just added a wonderful new blog to our blog list for everyone to follow. The author, Nan, is following Daniela's Journey and commented today here on the blog about her daughter Jessie's story which she writes about on her own blog, Widening Circle.

Jessie is a twenty year old amazing young woman, who shares Daniela's love of Miley Cyrus, singing, and reaching for an independent life. She and her family live in Ottawa, Ontario (where there seems to be a great deal of support for persons living with disabilities). Jessie is also a talented dancer.

As I wrote in my comments on their blog, Widening Circle is just the type of blog we want to share and learn from. I hope all of you who are interested in  promoting independent lives for young adults like Jessie and Daniela will read their blog and share it with others!Read it here:

Widening Circle

All the best.....

Blog has been added to Hopeful Parents web-site

From Tina,

As of today, Daniela's blog has been added to the list of blogs on the Hopeful Parents web-site! This means many more people will have access to her story. You can access Hopeful Parents by clicking on the web-site link on the lower right side of this page. The site features blogs for many different types of disabilities. I have found it a great resource. There weren't many web-sites featuring young adults so I think Daniela's blog will hopefully add some new insights ( and hope) for families.

Daniela hasn't had much time to post the past week. She has been busy finishing up her last days ever at Gloucester High School. She'll have more time now that school is over. I took her and 2 friends out to dinner last night to celebrate. It seems so strange after 23 years not to have a child in the school system!

Daniela will write in the next few days. Until then, let me wish all of you a wonderful summer!

Think College Voice Threads

http://thinkcollege.net/for-students/students-speak/voicethreads


From Tina

This morning I found something new on the Think College web-site. There is now a place for the students in college programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities to add video clips about their college experiences. For those of you who might want to see how these students are faring, please check out these videos. You will see confident students who are working hard and being successful in their endeavors. Very encouraging! I hope that Daniela will be one of those students adding her voice in the coming year!

Jobs and Twins

Last week, we met with a woman named Sandy at the library. She is from The Choice Group. They help people with disabilities find jobs and they also help as job coaches on the jobs.  I was nervous when I first met her but then I felt more comfortable after we talked for a while. I told her I was most interested in a job working with animals but I would be interested in other types of jobs too. I have to call her or email her once a week to check in with her.

The other thing I want to write is that I cooked dinner for some friends of ours who just had twin boys. I cooked the whole meal (and my mom helped just a little by peeling some slippery apples and handling the raw chicken ( yuck!)). I made a salad, corn on the cob, cornbread, a chicken casserole, and apple crisp. It turned out really well. When we took them the food, we got to see the twins. They were very, very cute. I got to hold one of them. (He liked me.) My favorite part of the day was seeing the twins. I helped our friend Michelle, who is the grandmother, with their baby shower 2 months ago, so it was exciting to finally see them.

I am almost finished with school and with volunteering at Bethel Elementary. I will miss everybody at both schools!



Love, Daniela


www.TheChoiceGroup.com