Entdecke was die Danielssons, über Melina sagen: 

„This was our first experience welcoming a care professional into our home and we were not quite sure what to expect.  We have a very busy household with both parents working full-time and three amazing children, Jonny, Abby and Andrew (ages 7, 5 and 2).  Jonny was diagnosed with autism at age 3 and then had a significant atypical regression at age 5.  My husband took a 2-year leave of absence to care for him during this difficult time.  We planned to welcome an au pair into our home for his transition back to work, which was likely to be a very challenging time in our family.  We were very worried about how this change was going to affect our children.  

From the moment we met Melina my typically shy daughter Abby was amazed by her.  Abby would typically take weeks to warm up to anyone and would never want to meet anyone by zoom.  During our interviews she usually hid in the corner, but with Melina she came up to me and whispered in my ear “Mom I really want to talk to her!”  She talked on zoom for the first time ever and could not wait for her arrival. When Melina arrived all the kids were so excited and Abby said to me “Mom I love you so much, but I just have to play with Melina!”  She fit into our family right away and was eager to help us with all of the challenges and complex schedule of our family.  My husband tends to be the parent who does most of the discipline with the children while I tend to be way too lenient and fun, but Melina was able to combine the two with such ease.  She became an important part of our family immediately.  

Jonny is minimally verbal and his struggles with communication lead to some behaviors due to frustration.  It is very difficult entrusting a new caregiver with a child with special needs who cannot communicate how the caregiver is treating them when you are not around.  Melina was the first person who has cared for him outside of our family and the moment I met her I knew I could trust her completely.  She is compassionate, sweet, smart, fun and responsible.  Jonny has a very busy schedule with school, speech therapy, occupational therapy and ABA therapy.  Melina took him to all of his therapies and helped him progress with his goals.  She became close with our home ABA team and learned how to help Jonny when he is upset and soothe him when he is frustrated.  When Jonny was learning about animals and the zoo she recommended an outing to the zoo with Jonny and went on her day off with his ABA team.  I was amazed by her commitment to his progress.  We started with an assistive communication device to help Jonny express himself and Melina learned it quickly and encouraged Jonny to use it appropriately.  She has made such a positive impact on his life and I am so grateful.  

We have learned so much about German culture and Melina has started new and fun traditions for our family.  One night I came home to see Melina and our ABA therapist involving Jonny in cooking pizza. I almost cried I was so happy.  Jonny often had trouble waiting for dinner and involving him in cooking was a great way to show him that waiting was important.  They also incorporated goals such as paying attention, engaging with others, counting and following directions.  The kids love pizza night!