Dara
Appearances
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
I gave birth to him. I knew, I said, I cannot leave him with someone that I don't know. I don't care if we're eating rice and beans, Sean, I told him. There was no going back.
The Ramsey Show
There’s Always a Way out of a Financial Spiral
I gave birth to him. I knew, I said, I cannot leave him with someone that I don't know. I don't care if we're eating rice and beans, Sean, I told him. There was no going back.
The Ramsey Show
The Road to Financial Freedom Begins With Hard Choices
When you guys called into the Ramsey show, it was like, I think that we should push them harder. Baby Jonathan being born is a wake-up call for us to finally change. I can't go on another month.
The Ramsey Show
The Road to Financial Freedom Begins With Hard Choices
You want to pay off your debt. You want to get your time back. You want to get your home. Nothing usurps those three.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
But actually, what's interesting is the way we managed to go through that.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
This is where we share, actually, how we go through all those challenges, like breaches, how we manage to make him, now he is able actually to walk on breaches all by himself. And for the airports, the way we were holding his hand, we were talking to him about how we will land. And all these little techniques that we have with the time, we share them there with my son.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
We are working on different techniques. Even lately, I've started, since I'm doing a master's in business engineering, and it's on implementation of AI in education. I've been working on different, creating different activities that would be aligned for people on the autistic spectrum because, you know, everyone is unique.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
So there is no unique fairytale or unique game that you could buy and it could be suitable for everyone. So I started generating ideas of how we could create stories or fairy tales that would be designed specifically on the interests of each child on the spectrum. I started creating stories for Rani, bedtime stories for him, that would be specifically on mouses, Lady Gaga and his favourite food.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
And it was a great success, actually. And afterwards, I also started creating games, again, using AI, based on his interests. A little bit like Monopoly, but with Mouthless and Lady Gaga. So it could be a good idea for parents out there who are searching for ways or just what types of games they could buy. It's an idea that they could actually generate games like this or stories that could be
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
suitable for the level of understanding of their child and the games and adventures it has.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Yeah, I'm still studying, but I'm doing my master's thesis right now. So I've been working on a lot of different projects that would be suitable for education and the implementation of AI on this.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
I could do that. I could work and do that. I think I will help my aunt with her researches and her projects based on autism because all those findings that I have, we work with her and we just develop different researches. And she even started to write all that in a book about all our journey.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Yes, we started from the beginning, from the beginning of our journey in Bulgaria. All the different countries that we've been to had different challenges and how we went through them. And then the second part will be some activities and research that we are right now doing on AI. This will be just ideas for parents out there who are searching for inspiration for how to interact with their kids.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Yes. So maybe over the past few years, he has become noticeably way more calmer and he's more open to exploring new activities. But again, they have to be aligned with his specific interests, which are Mickey Mouse and music. Actually, very interesting for you, Tony, is how the historical connection he has with music.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
It's been evident since when, even when he was very young, he used to take the TV remote and just listen to music channels for hours and hours every day. And when we were in Slovakia, he had to, before going to school, we had to listen to his favorite singer Lady Gaga at seven o'clock in the morning every day.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
It's always how connected he is to the music and how it immediately changes his mood when he listens to it.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
And so in Belgium, first there is, from my field of studies there, I think it's the higher quality of education here, firstly. And then again, I wanted to help my aunt and my cousin and I really have a strong connection with them. So I joined them here and I love spending time with them. So it's been a great experience last year being with them and helping them with whatever I can.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Different countries have different ways in incorporating maybe the children of the spectrum in school. Some of them use inclusive classrooms, others just tell them that they could be accepted in a center somewhere else, divided by the inclusive classrooms. So every country has been different. In Bulgaria, it was more the principle of inclusive classroom in the beginning.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Just all the kids would be together. But what we considered a little bit was a challenge that was that there wasn't teachers there were not prepared enough, they didn't have enough information to handle both autistic and non-autistic kids in the same classroom.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
So in the global level, there is a need for all teachers and all educators and parents to be aware that there could be autistic kids and also non-autistic kids that are together And just to prepare the kids also so they're not, so they don't interact with each other, you know, stuff like that could impact them for their whole life.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Maybe there is, there's need to more of communication with them and just better education for better, more projects for educators and teachers, or specifically for inclusive classrooms.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
I think, yes, in the beginning, he had in Bulgaria, he wasn't really well accepted. Children first, with other children, for first, for great, yes, because he was with other kids.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Thank you, honey. Thank you for inviting us.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Yeah. Less family there.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
Yeah, we have partially most of our families in Bulgaria, but we are here in Belgium. Mostly because so he could have the center and she could leave there and she could be happy. That's the whole idea. But of course, not all the family can move to share the bedroom and they're still good in Bulgaria. They're already, for example, his sister, she's married and she's happy there.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
So we actually moved here to be with him.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Tanya's Journey Across Europe for Autism Advocacy and Inclusive Education
There were people around us. They were angry because of this delay. So we couldn't move from our seats. He was so stressed. We tried to give him music to listen, of course, we gave him games, but we had to explain somehow, but he didn't understand. In some situations like that, when we have to wait, he doesn't understand why we have to wait. It's a big challenge.