Hello. I'm Tonia Teasley. I've been a lawyer, a leader, an executive in higher education and even a floral designer. But by far the most challenging role I've had was being the mother of twin boys, both of whom have special needs. They are 18 years old now. I'll tell you more about their story in another post, but for now, I am pleased to say that they are healthy and happy.
I started this site because, throughout their lives, we have tried to get for our children the services they needed to help them lead healthy and successful lives. To say that has been a challenge would be an understatement. The systems, regulations, agencies, the boatload of acronyms, and the mountains of paperwork are overwhelming, to say the least. And I'm someone who is lucky enough to be highly educated and have English as my first language. I cannot imagine what trying to navigate through this system would be like if I didn't have the privilege of going to college or if English were not my native language.
I want to simplify access to services that people with disabilities so desperately need. But I can't actually make any of those changes myself. So the purpose of this blog is to help those people who CAN simplify the system to understand the challenges that people face when trying to navigate through the system. You'll see real stories about real people, including my two children. Some of the stories will be funny because all you can do is laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Some of them will be frustrating tales of complicated processes with wasted time and effort. Some of them will be sad stories where someone who needed help was unable to figure out how to get it. And some will be inspiring stories of those magnificent people who help us figure it all out.
I hope the end result will be that we find a way to Untangle the Knot and simplify access to services for people with disabilities.