Christina Collura: A Mother's Vision: From Personal Project to Worldwide Impact

Welcome to Why Not Me the World? Podcast hosted by
Tony Mantor, broadcasting from Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join
us as our guests tell us their stories. Some will
make you laugh, some will make you cry, Real life
people who will inspire and show that you are not
alone in this world. Hopefully you gain more awareness, acceptance,
and a better understanding for autism around the world. Hi,
I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Why Not Me the World? Today,
Christina Colora joins me to share her inspiring story. Christina
developed a customized name puzzle for her son, which enabled
him to learn writing and recognizing his name within four
weeks using a chalkboard base. She successfully integrated this innovative
tool into her kindergarten classroom, catering to students with diverse
learning needs and challenges, and witnessed its remarkable effectiveness. This
one of a kind resource is now making a global impact,
empowering children worldwide. So welcome to the show.
Good morning.
So I see I've caught you while you're still at school.
Definitely, I'm in my classroom, so.
I believe right now you wear several different hats, so
I'm a.
Full time teacher turned full time entrepreneur, turned autism advocate,
childbook writer soon to be retired teacher.
Wow, that's really impressive. You've got a lot going.
It's been a whirlwind of a ride from creating a
concept for my son with his autism diagnosis to launching
into major stores.
So that's pretty impressive. So you started this all because
your son was diagnosed autistic. Yeah, okay, that's great. We're
going to address that a little later on before we
do what age was he diagnosed autistic?
So Luca was diagnosed at the age of three. Being
an educator and being special and qualified, I decided to
take a different approach, and I knew the a diagnosis
was coming, so I decided to, you know, consider his
learning not as a barrier, but as a learning curve
for everybody that was going to come in contact with him.
Yeah, that's a great approach.
So I created a name puzzle for him, and if
you can picture the indebted spaces underneath the puzzle, under
the letters, I painted chalk to it. So he learned
to write with chalk and the indebted spaces in just
four weeks.
Wow, that's impressive. What were some of the things that
you noticed that he was doing that made you realize
that you needed to get a diagnosis.
So Luca was all about numbers, letters and shapes, but
could not put a sentence together. Expressive oral language was
very difficult for him. Find motor difficulties. He would line
up as toys in a specific way and you would
not dare to move those toys unless he was finished
with them. He used to rock on a couch and
it was just transitions were always a challenge for him.
The simple act of going to the grocery store, visiting
a friend was unless you prepared him, would cause him
a lot of stress. So working in education and knowing
those what we'd like to call symptoms or red flags,
I wouldn't even use it sort of put my mind
in a different direction. At the age of eighteen months,
he identified the number one hundred and fifty six and
I will never forget it. And I was like, oh, okay,
my mom was thinking genius, genius and I was a
red playing red flag. So those were some of the symptoms.
How old is he now?
He's going to be twelve, wow.
Twelve years old yep. So you've basically dealt with this
for approximately nine years. Yeap, how have you seen him evolve?
Of course you've had to learn and his ins and out,
his total idio secrecies, the things he likes, his dislikes,
just overall, how he's grown. What kind of change have
you seen from the early years.
So as soon as I was able to recognize what
it was that he needed help with, my whole mindset changed.
So occupational therapy kicked in, got him speech and language,
got him an official diagnosis through the school board, and
then I was able to look at the strengths that
he had and then be able to adapt to his
learning and work with the people in his life to
adapt to that learning. And that totally changed the game.
Being able to recognize the strengths and building on those
strengths allowed him to progress significantly. Even just identifying how
he was going to transition from one space to the
next and figuring out using a timer worked for him.
The progression came naturally. And I think we're so focused
on what they can't do, yeah, versus what they can,
and it makes a world of difference.
When he was ready to go to school, did you
have any issues with bullying or did he feel out
of place? In any way, what was his school years like?
So, I think the best way to describe it is
the Mama Bear kind of came out. I sort of
enlisted in my own teaching practices to let the teachers
know that if you're going to address your class as
from a place of kindness, you're going to see a
lot less of what you just described, the bullying. I'm
so lucky that from our school is K to six
and his teachers and even his friends are so inclusive
with him.
Nice.
I think we've avoided the bullying because we've approached it
from a place of kindness and understanding that every child
learns in a different way. And I'm super grateful that
he's in a position where everyone is on board and
they understand. We have students that are cheering for him
when he goes up and does a little presentation in
front of the class.
Oh that's so good.
It's above and beyond what I ever expected. But we
never really had to deal with that good. So it's
been really helpful. My nervousness is coming when he changes schools.
Yeah I get that, but.
Again, like i'm his advocate, I do this on the daily,
and I'm going to be the one that's going to
stand behind him and educate people that are around.
So that's great. Education is really where it's at. Everyone
or just about everyone that I speak with will tell
me that autism is their superpower. What is his superpower?
Luca is the kindest kid. He literally will light up
a room when he walks in. And the funny part
is is we were battling a lot of social dysregulation
at the beginning, where our focus shifted to how he's
going to interact with other kids and how he's going
to understand emotions. And now all of a sudden, we're
in a position where he understands it so much that
he doesn't want to make you sad or mad. So
like if you can picture, hey, Luca, let's go get
ready for bed. Mom, Are you mad at me? Don't
be mad, I'm going upstairs now. Like it's it's a
total total shift and in his in his understanding. So
his superpower literally is his kindness. Like he he is
so kind to other kids, Like it's almost like he's
beginning to recognize their abilities and their needs, which is
something that I never expected. And I I kind of,
you know, congratulate the people that are in his life,
like even his speech and language therapist, his EA, like
they're all they all understand him. So I feel like
it's rubbed off on him. And now suddenly he's the
kid that is having conversations and are you feeling okay today?
Don't be mad? Like it's just it's very hard to explain,
but I feel like I get the idea.
Yeah, that's great. I mean, that's a great superpower. Kindness
is always good as kids grow, lots of times he'll
get stressed and then unfortunately we have the meltdowns. So
has he had meltdowns where you say, wow, this is
not him or has he been pretty consistent throughout his life?
He's developed significantly. And my older son who's who's fifteen
now used his iced to say it. I say to him, now,
let's not poke the bear. So we know what his
triggers are. And if Luca will now say I need
a break or I need some time, like he'll go
off on his own he has a sensory swing, or
he'll he'll sit and watch his favorite video. But we've
taught him how to self regulate himself nice. So again,
if he knows he's going to he's having a moment.
That's the way I like to describe it.
He will take it upon himself to take his space,
and I think it's really important to be able to
teach children that way, whether it's physically showing them what
to do or in Luca's case, being verbal in saying, mom,
I need a break.
Yeah yeah sure. Now you mentioned you have a fifteen
year old, so I'm assuming that he's not autistic, right,
So what's the dynamic between the two of them.
He's his best friend.
Oh, that's good.
Joseph, my older son is a very athletic oriented child.
He's got significant goals. And the other day we're just chatting.
I'm like, I go Joe, I said, Luca is looking
at you because you have a football game next week
and Luca's doing cross country the day before. So all
of a sudden it became Luca was like, hey, Joseph,
I have cross country and you have football. Like he's
such a huge role model for him.
Wow, that's great, And it was a.
Position that he never thought that I think he would
ever be in. But he's an amazing role model for
his brother, and the dynamic is the cutest. Not to
say that Joseph doesn't bug the hackeut of Luca every
once in a while. But sure we have that communication
where I'm like, dude, like, let's not poke the bear today, Like,
just build on the positive.
So yeah, that's great. So earlier on you mentioned about
your mother. Yeah, how has the family dynamic been since
he was diagnosed as autistic, Because, as you're well known,
a lot of people out there do not understand autism,
how it affects people, and ultimately how it affects the families.
So in the beginning, I'll be honest, it was more
of a there's nothing wrong with him, and I'm like, no,
you're right, there is nothing wrong with him. There's nothing
wrong with any child that's diagnosed. But it's more of
realizing that we just are adapting to a new way
of learning.
Absolutely, I don't look and even.
Teaching for twenty years, I don't look at every child
in my classroom the same. Sure, diagnosis or not, every
child learns in a different way. So for our family,
it was more of, yeah, you know what, he's got
some little quirks that we have to work on, but
we are treating him the same way we would any
other child.
Yeah, that's awesome, and we're.
Adapting to his strengths and how he needs to learn
and be in a different environment.
Yeah, that's right. So now the different environment is when
he goes to the next step of school.
Yeah.
Do you think that he will have a lot of
the same classmates and friends or is this going to
be a completely differentdyna where it will be a little
more of a challenge for him.
It's a catch twenty two because I do know of
some students that are his friends right now that are
transitioning to that same school. I also know that there
is an EA that he had from kindergarten to grade
five that's also going to be there, So I'm so
happy about that. But I think because I've developed helped
him develop his social skills, I really don't feel like
it's going to be a tough transition. We've been preparing
him now. I've already got a meeting schedule for the
open house for next month to prepare him for next year.
And it's all about being ahead of the game. And
I think it's and taking the negative away from the
connotation of autism, like it's we have to steer away
from that in order to bring the positive out.
Yeah, I think that's a great perspective. It's just a
very nice way to work with your son to help
him through his life. When I first started this podcast,
I didn't know anything about autism at all. Now that
I've been in it for almost two years, I'm learning
steadily growing on what it takes in differences in autistic
people and their families and how they integrate. That leads
me to my next question. You said that you are
getting ready to retire as a teacher, So I believe
that you have a charity or a business that you're
going to be working and is that going to be
your main focus to bring more knowledge around the world.
That's the idea. Creative Beginning is the name of the
company and the brand, and it's taken me to a
place and never imagine, but also in a place of
advocacy as well. So I've been lucky enough to work
with connect with a lot of people that are passionate
about autism as well, and to be able to use
my brand to be to advocate for children of special
needs is something that I'm super proud of. But I
feel like teaching will never disappear. That's great because I'm
literally teaching people on a daily basis about it. So
I supply teaching, but I will I will never be
done with teaching.
Yeah that's great. So I scroll through your website and
I see in the news that you're all over the place. Yeah,
so number one, how does it feel that you get
to be an advocate for autistic people other than just
your son? And how do you see that working and
expanding for you to be that voice.
I try not to get emotional when I get involved
with the media and the news, but sometimes it's really
hard because not only have I seen the success that
Luca has been having with the advocacy, but also the
amount of people that it touches in the process. So,
for example, after that, you probably saw on the website
the Breakfast television segment where I had an influx of
people that messaged me and I was like overwhelmed and
excited at the same time. But to be able to
be someone else's voice and share in my knowledge is
very liberating, I would say, even as a female entrepreneur,
it's there's just so many pieces to the puzzle. No
pun intended that I'm super super proud of.
Yeah, yeah, you should be. So let's dig in a
little bit more about the puzzle, because that's the main
focus of what your charity is. So how does it
actually work and how are you marketing it so that
it can get out there and help other people.
So we have our story on the back of each puzzle,
so it's got Lucaspace on it, tells us how it started,
and really dive into the truk board based concept and
the idea of building on fine motor skills in children.
We've got our puzzle and with the indented space as
a child building their fine motor skills, not being able
to go out of the lines, and really sharing in
that concept, but also making sure we recognize that it's
not just for a child that's on the spectrum. With
that we are building and bridging the gap between children
of special needs and mainstream So and turned into this
piece that was started with one trial with autism, but
as now is reaching so many kids of so many
different needs and abilities, and with that touching on different
developmental skills, numbers, letters, shapes, colors, and just really adding
another piece to the puzzle itself.
Okay, so you're based in Canada, what part of Canada
are you reaching or are you reaching all of Canada?
And I've noticed that you do have the US market
there as well, and you've mentioned worldwide, So what are
the steps you're taking.
So again, it started in Toronto, Ontario, a little town
in Stouville, which is just north of the city, and
then slowly branched off. Actually we branched off quicker in
the US right away with major educational spaces taking them on.
And we're into Australia as well. We've got Creative beginning Australia.
Plus we are launching into the UK. They're presenting into
the New Nursery Show in the UK, which is pretty exciting,
and we have mass distribution with Everest Toys. We just
continue just to reach. Like it's every time I talk
to someone and branch off into someone onto LinkedIn either
send them a product or tell our story. Everyone is
just so interested and it's I do believe it's the
inclusive factor that comes with the brand itself.
That's a great story. Where do you see this going
in the next few years. You've really developed it, You're
seeing it grow, It's expanding across the world so much interest.
What do you see coming for you in a.
Perfect world million dollar company. We haven't hit the million
dollar mark, but we're pretty close, so hopefully that'll just continue.
But also I want to make sure that the advocacy
piece sticks with it. Right without it created beginning is
just another puzzle realistically, and as long as we advocate
for and push for the understanding that it is a
chalkboard based puzzle and how successful this concept has been,
the sky is the limit at this point.
So do you put on any functions or do you
work with charities? What your outreach look like? Especially now
that you have this, you have something that is very visible,
something that everybody can see what you're doing, and your
outreach of the network that you're developing can be just
so huge because unfortunately some people they just have their
single voice. But now you're creating this network that could
be global and you can affect so many people and
help so many people. How do you see this working?
I am always looking for people to connect with and
build a relationship with. So case in point, there's a company,
a brand, a nonprofit called four Little Monkeys. Is a
mom of two boys who has both have autism, and
she started a nonprofit where she's getting sponsors to build
sensory rooms, and I was so excited to partner with
her because I have a product that can fit in
her sensory rooms. So that was one of the example
of where we connected with another nonprofit. But also even
on the lines of public speaking, I was doing a
Starbucks event where it was all about special needs and
we had our showcase our products there, but I also
did a public speaking opportunity to speak with a bunch
of parents that were there. So again it's about like,
I'm not a quiet person. I don't mind speaking up
and speaking out and just really reaching out to people
to make those connections that are not just business based,
but you know, advocacy and speaking up about autism and
not being leanear.
Yeah, that's just so good. This question I think fits
you because you're expanding with your business. You've been in
the teaching most of your life. So from the beginnings
of autism that came in your life, how do you
see that it's changed and do you see it getting
better for the autistic community as we move forward. I
just did an interview and that question was asked of me,
So I think that I would be very interested to
see what you think from your perspective.
You know what, I think the main positive that has
happened so far is the ability of the diagnosis to
come out. Gone are the days where we're I wish
I wouldn't say it's fully gone, but people are so
worried to hear my child is autistic, you know what
I mean? Like there was a fear of that label,
where now I feel like we're getting a shift in
more of understanding because the reality is that not every
child learns the same way. Whether a child has a
special need or not, there are still different learning styles.
So I do feel like I wouldn't I don't like
to say it's going to get better, Like I feel
like we're not autistic. People are not people need to
be fixed.
Yeah, one percent I agree with that. There are those
people out there that think they're raising money to help
f autistic people when in reality, they don't need to
be fixed at all. It's just a difference in the
way their brain works and they move forward.
Yeah, it's a shift in how we approach children with
special needs autism, but also the way that we teach them.
Right, Yeah, exactly. I believe that education is getting out there,
understanding is getting out there. It might be slower than
what we'd like at times, but more people are starting
to adapt and learn. Yeah, there are theme parks now
that have quiet rooms. I believe Dubai has a airport
now this autism friendly. So I was just interested to
see and get your perspective on what you think about this.
Yeah, and I do feel like it's an adaptation to
not only children on the spectrum or adults in the spectrum,
but an adaptation to the way people react to different environment.
Yeah, period, exactly.
You know. So, and we talk about those rooms that
you were just mentioning, is the Are those rooms just
for people on the spectrum or is it for anyone
that needs it?
Good point, right, I mean there's times when I get
frustrated and stress and need a little quiet myself.
Yeah, I need a mint it and the words of Luca,
I need a break.
Yeah. And I'm glad that you use the word understanding
because when I first got into doing this podcast, I
didn't know anything about it. They told me that April
is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, but I thought they
missed one word. So my slogan for my podcast is
Autism Awareness, Acceptance and Understanding.
Love that.
I think it's a very important word because a lot
of people around that do not understand autism have this
concept of what it is and they really don't have
a glue.
Yep.
Perfect example of that is so many people that do
not understand autism, they really do not know the difference
between a meltdown and someone that's just having a tantrum.
Yes.
Yeah, So if you was out there and you saw
someone that didn't understand autism and they were witnessing a meltdown,
they don't understand what's going on, how would you as
a parent handle that?
I think it's it's again going back to that understanding factor, right.
I always use it as a description of sensory overload,
like something's disregulated. For someone who's not on the spectrum,
it might be easier for them to just kind of
curl in and take a moment, but for someone who
doesn't know how to, we need to be able to
be understanding of that. And I use the example of
Luca when he would have it at the beginning, I
would say, for example, to Joseph, I'd say, hey, buddy,
he's having a moment. Let's give him a second, right,
and then turn my focus to how we can help
Luca to figure out how to regulate himself back and
I had an episode where Luca was about three years
old and I had a parent come up to me
and he was having a moment in a pumpkin patch
where everything was so loud, there was so much around,
and he just had a breakdown. And I took upon
myself to do what I needed to do for him,
and a parent came up to me and said, that's
how you that's how you parent your child. So I
took a step back and I looked at him and
I gave him a few choice words about understanding and
realizing that this is what was going on, and took
a second to teach him that this is what was happening.
And in the end, his wife was standing beside him,
and he came back and apologized because he didn't realize
that this was This was okay, and it was different
than probably what you have seen before. But this is
not a way to address a parent.
Yeah, absolutely, And unfortunately we're in a world now that's
a little more aggressive and outspoken, and because they don't understand,
the filters sometimes aren't there. But at least what you
did was given opportunity to educate someone that didn't understand
and helped the understanding part of that. I think that's
the best way to handle it, in my opinion.
And I get asked all the time why do I
tell people that Luca has autism? And I say why not?
Why not?
Exactly? That's how more information gets out there, That's how
people talk, that's how people get to understand better. Plus
I remember talking with different people and they said that
in the old days, of course, if they had a
son or daughter that was diagnosed autistic, yeah, that they
looked at it as a death sentence, and it's really not. No,
So you've gotten past a lot of things because of
the way that you've raised your son. What's your biggest
fear now for him?
I think the biggest fear for me right now is
when he gets into high school, because now it seems
like there's a big divide between the IEPs and the
modification that happen elementary school to what is happening in
high school. Lucas in grade in sixth grade, grade six
this year, but I'm already chatting with grade nine schools
that are like they have a modification on an IP
they are not going into mainstream courses. And I'm sitting
here thinking, we do all this work with our children
on the spectrum in elementary school to get them to
a place of confidence and independence, and then you're telling
me that when they get to grade nine, if they're modified,
they can't be in mainstream courses. So you're essentially limiting
them to build on those strengths. And you're basically it's
a one size fit all approach, and we are so
far past that that there has to be some change
in order to allow children to be successful in their
own way, even in high school.
Exactly, that's so true. So how do people get in
touch with you?
Creative Beginning? Dot CA is probably the easiest way, and
there's a direct chat link there that will email me.
But I always encourage people please reach out, like if
you have any questions or any and if you need
any advice. I mean, I'm a no expert, but I
do work in the field in many different avenues, whether
it be education or business wise, and you know, so
it's important to just keep the communication lines open if
they do need even just for support.
Absolutely, sometimes just someone to talk to can make all
the difference. So what's one last thing that you'd like
to put out there.
Just a basic statement of be your own child's best advocate.
There are a lot of things that happen in schools
outside of schools that need your voice. You know your
child best, and I think the biggest recommendation I ever
gave a parent was, when your child starts school, write
their teacher a dear teacher letter from the perspective of
the child, to let the teacher know exactly how they work,
how their mind works, and you might just see a
lot of positivity come out of that. I know as
a teacher perspective, I would love it.
Yeah. Absolutely, That's the one thing I think that's common
with everybody that I talk with is definitely be your
child's advocate because you know them better than just about
anyone else Aroundette, and.
Your child will thank you for it, that's for sure.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I really appreciate you coming on. It's
been great.
Oh I love it. I love chatting about it. Hopefully
you can use some of it.
Oh. Absolutely, it's been a great conversation.
Oh yeah, it's all about the conversation. Absolutely awesome. Thank you.
Oh it's been my pleasure. Thanks again, thanks for taking
the time out of your busy schedule to listen to
our show today. We hope that you enjoyed it as
much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. If you
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