 Who are Daniela and Christina? If you haven’t read the full bio in our “About Us” page then here you will find the Coles notes of who we are and why we started Together We Are Better and a tim-bit or two you won’t find in our “About Us” page. We are 2 special needs moms that became the best of friends as we saw our boys grow together at a specialized therapy school in Toronto now also in Vaughan. In 2012, after struggling for a year and a bit paying for therapy out of pocket and knowing I (Daniela) would be on a very long waitlist for government funding, introduced the idea of fundraising to our school. That’s when Christina and I officially met. Christina was one of the first parents to get right in there and help and has been by my side ever since. Fun fact: For the first couple of fundraising years we would compete as to who could raise the most. Who is Daniela? As mentioned in my bio on the “About Us” page… Creative, caring, motivated and stubborn are some of the adjectives people have used to describe me. I personally would also include protective and determined especially when it comes to my family but specifically with my son. 22 months after my son was born my world changed and my life took a different direction. Going back to work full time and/or pursuing a career were pushed aside, instead I went in search of answers. In June of 2012, my son was given the diagnosis of Autism. That was my turning point and when I realized that being a mom and advocating for him would always be my number one priority. That started with Together We Are Better as a fundraising committee to now a nonprofit as well as me sharing my experiences with all of you. Three Fun Facts about Daniela:
Who is Christina? Being a busy mother to four boy’s, life is anything but boring or quiet. Dirty dishes, loads of laundry, constant trips to the grocery store and countless hours to hockey, soccer, swimming and other extracurricular are a constant. On top of all that there is therapy for my eldest Adriano as he has Down Syndrome and Autism. Adriano’s arrival was a little bit of a surprise, three weeks early and we didn’t learn of his diagnosis until three days after his birthday which again added confusion to our surprise. We were completely unprepared as to what to expect not only as first-time parents but also now as parents of a child with special needs. It took us a while to get back on our feet but like every other parent, we realized we had a child to raise and family to grow. Then again, we were thrown for a loop when at 7 years old, Adriano was diagnosed with autism. Our goal then and now will always be to help him meet his goals. To give him a life he deserves with independence. So, we face these challenges together, now with the addition of three younger brothers, our team, our fighters – and all of you. Three Fun Facts about Christina:
When we were introduced to the community of special needs parenting there really wasn’t a large presence of social media, Facebook group, forums, etc. and unfortunately years later not much has changed and families are still struggling with navigating the system. For that reason, we decided to tap into the blogging, influencer division of social media to help other parents understand that they are not alone and that there are many of us that “get it”. We hope that through our posts, our blogs and our experiences others may find a place that they can turn too and relate too. Parenting a child is hard, parenting a child with special needs is a different world altogether. It will be hard and there will be good days, bad days and really hard, exhausting and overwhelming moments but it’s through baby steps, small victories, words of encouragement, smiles, and our love for our children that makes us stronger. We just need to remember to celebrate all the victories big or small and that we need to see the world a bit differently. Your Turn: Post a fun fact about yourself |
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