There is nothing greater than bringing down stereotypes and improving other
people’s lives.
I believe no one around me is doing it better than Eliana Tardío. This lady
is an inspiration and my motivation to go out and try to make my community a
better place.
Eliana is a native Bolivian who arrived to this country pregnant and fully
aware that her first to be born would come into this world with Down syndrome.
She welcomed her son with the joy, and love every mother does. What was
lacking, was perhaps, the same larger than life dreams we all have for our
children.
Here is where stereotypes come into play.
Eliana, like me, accepted that having a child with Down syndrome was the end
of the world, a total disgrace to any family because these children would not
live, thrive, or learn like the rest. To make things even bleaker, the biggest
fear: the child will end up in some type of institution where they “belonged”.
This purely out of ignorance, like you might agree, most stereotypes begin.
As Emir, her beautiful son, started going to school, he was in special needs
classes with other kids like him. Eliana observed that the result of this
segregation was that of a now introverted, shy and introspective Emir who was
not only afraid of other children, he was unable to fit into their world.
Fortunately this mom had an epiphany and realized that this was really not
only alienating her son, it was offering him a surreal world.
The restrictiveness of her way of thinking was at the helm of what was
limiting her son. Eliana realized that as parents, we want to make sure our
children are safe and far from any harm that could come their way.
Nevertheless, that protection hindered Emir as it did not help him develop to
his fullest potential. Consequently, she
started looking for a way to expose her child to a “normal” life.
Via her blog, this brilliant and educated lady chronicles the life of her
children. In doing so, she is touching people and making waves of change. Emir
and her sister (who also is a Down syndrome child) are the stars of her life
and the real tools with which Eliana has been able to search for help and reach
out to others. Sharing with us her everyday family life, she achieves greatness:
she is enlightening us while offering the possibilities the world has to offer
to her children.
What a beautiful way of teaching us, showing us, and involving us in making
changes for the bettering of others' lives.
Today both kids Emir, 8 and Ayelén, 5 go to public school in Southwest Florida, and do not attend special need
classes.
We all can truly make a difference. If you read Eliana (either her blogs or books)
your heart swells through the tender love of a mother while you take with you
tips and ideas that can apply to any family.
I also take away, the inspiration to bring her to the forefront in my small
way and contribute to her cause. She also makes me want to go out and educate
others while tearing down false barriers, to bring us all closer together, to
make us a strong, vibrant place where all of our children can thrive for
generations to come.
This is why I am nominating Eliana Tardio to the Yahoo!Shine “Women Who Shine” program, one designed to celebrate the women out there who are blazing new trails,
touching lives or are just being amazing every single day, and give these women the recognition they deserve. Come out and vote for our nominee here
Thank you Eliana!
Come and vote for Eliana here
http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/activist-1344925328-slideshow/eliana-tard%C3%ADo-photo-1349202717.html#
I was compensated for this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms blogging program.
The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.”
