Dana was Gayle Slate and Don’s adorable first born. When they were told by the doctor that Dana was suffering from cerebral palsy, they simply could not digest the fact. To add fuel to the fire, they were told that Dana’s life span was limited and all they had were a few precious years with their daughter.
Gayle and Don went through tremendous pain and agony and the limited therapy and support resources during their time did not help either. Their life took a turn when they decided to take control and listen to their intuitive wisdom. They decided to ignore the negatives and focus only on the positive. They decided upon giving their daughter the best last few years. They started living for the moment, enjoying their daughter’s beautiful personality rather than waste time brooding over the past and worrying about the future.
However strong and positive you are, death of a loved one does push you into despair. After Dana’s death at the age of 14, Gayle understandably did not want to have anything to do with disability. However, when opportunity knocked, Gayle decided to follow instinct and teach other suffering parents what Dana had taught them – to face life’s challenges with a smile.
After her speech in front of a group of parents with special needs children, she realized how important it is for parents to have someone who understood exactly what they were going through. As a mother of cerebral palsy, she realized how much she could reduce the suffering and agony of parents who were undergoing trauma. She decided to work with ULCA as a counsellor from whence started Dana’s Legacy.
Gayle, backed by her first hand experience with special needs children, became an expert in the field of counselling for families with disabled children. She has been giving inspirational and motivating speeches at various groups such as the United Cerebral Palsy, Parents of Tourette’s Syndrome and Down Syndrome Parent Group.
Gayle Slate started her private practice in Los Angeles and created the early intervention program for toddlers and infants with developmental disabilities at the Stephen S. Wise Temple. Apart from being a group facilitator for children with disabilities and their parents since the year 1979, Gayle is also a consultant at various regional centres in California. She is a well known advocate for parents at the fair hearings.
Dana’s ultimate Legacy was the founding in 1997 of her pilot project KIT or Kids Included Together. Her recent published book Dana’s Legacy – From Heartbreak to Healing is her unique autobiography inspired by the life and death of her daughter Dana.
The book was a finalist in the Non Fiction category of National Indie Excellence Award and was also a finalist of the Biography category of San Diego Book Award Association. This inspirational book is a great solace and support for numerous families with special needs children suffering from the trauma and agony associated with it.
Newswire.net a subsidiary of Extensions, Inc. (Symbol:EXTI) www.ext.com makes use of a patent-pending technology to harness the power of independent bloggers, writers and journalists and the extent of the internet to create a forum for all news stories, not simply the few that interest the main media outlets. Newswire seeks to be for the news world and for independent journalists what the Sundance film festival has become for cinematography and independent filmmakers. The technology used by Newswire will allow news stories with even the smallest niche audiences to find those readers, and give truly talented but underappreciated independent writers, bloggers and journalists an opportunity to make a real impact and to be part of a credible news organization.
To learn more on how to become a Newswire independent journalist visit https://newswire.net/about.php
To become a fan of Newswire on Facebook please visit www.facebook.com/pages/Newswire/99718418652