Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

Today we are talking all about Neurodivergent Homeschooling!! Given that kids with disabilities in the United States are bullied 2-3 TIMES MORE than neurotypical kids, I'm not shocked that so many neurodivergent parents choose to homeschool their own neurodivergent children! And honestly, given those numbers... no one has ANY place to tell you that you shouldn't homeschool your neurodivergent child. That's on all of the people who choose to either bully or turn a blind eye to bullying in scho...

Today's episode is all about Advocacy: The Road Less Traveled! There is nothing that will protect you more in life than learning self-advocacy skills. Unfortunately, we often sabotage children in developing self-advocacy by insisting on compliance training because compliance is the anti-thesis of self-advocacy! It is often taking the road less traveled that makes all the difference in outcomes for ourselves and our children! And we should not be afraid step out from conventional wisdom....

Today's episode is all about Executive Functioning! Executive functioning skills are tools we use every day to get things done, but for a lot of neurodivergent people, some of these skills are lacking. Personally, out of 12 executive functioning skills, I have about 3 that work really well (and that's on a good day). The rest have varied levels of deficiency. Given that I am now in my 40s, I seriously doubt that I will be gaining any new strengths in executive functioning, but that does...

Welcome back to Season 5 of Special Needs Kids Are People Too, and our first episode: Neurodivergent Love and Marriage! In this season we are going to be talking about Neurodivergent Adulthood! Parents often ask me about Neurodivergent Adulthood, whether it is because they want to know why kind of life they are preparing their child for or because they are only just now grappling with their own neurodivergence! I decided the best place to start was with what I consider to be the most impactfu...

In today's episode, I am joined by Raj Khedun, as we talk about how important it is to just breathe! All of us have lived through some tough times over the last 5 years. Even if everything else went perfectly in your life, you still lived through a worldwide pandemic. Stressors can cause not only anxiety but also Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. You can also experience medically induced PTSD from difficult experiences with getting medical care for yourself or someone close to you. Whe...

In today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Erin Attaway, and we are talking all about the chemistry of your life: your blood! Dr. Erin Attaway is a doctor of Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and so she has a different way of looking at our traditional blood test results! I, personally, find her approach to be anxiety reducing and empowering! Join us today to hear about a different way of looking at your labs! Check out the Show Notes for link a link to Dr. Erin Attaway's website, Five Points Hea...

Autism, Vaccines, and Diets are words that have caused much controversy over the years. Everyone has an opinion, and people often feel threatened when people have different opinions from them. I hope that this episode will be a breath of fresh air that allows us to consider some possibilities that might not always be considered. But mostly, I hope this episode encourages you to see each child as an individual and to let that guide you! Check out the Show Notes for links to more re...

You've got the power! In this week's episode, we talk with Geralyn Spiesz about Epigenetics, Neuroplasticity, Down Syndrome, Autism, and more! Geralyn Spiesz is an Occupational Therapist, author of Redefining the Reality of Down Syndrome: The Power of an Integrative Mindset, and founder of The Down Syndrome Action Plan Community. What I hope you take away from this conversation is that thanks to epigenetics and neuroplasticity, you've got the power! No matter what genes you might have been ...

This week's episode is all about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome! If you have read Fourth Wing, this is what Violet has, and it also happens to be what I and my children have! We are joined today by Dr. Kaydee Zimmern, a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor health and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I bet you didn't know those two things were so closely related! This is a great time to have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome as there are now so many resources available that we didn't have before. And we are ...

In No Patient Left Behind, our second episode of Season 4: Neurodivergent Healthcare, I am joined by Angela Gehrt. Angela is an Occupational Therapist working on her capstone project for her doctoral work, and the focus of her research is on improving Neurodivergent Healthcare! She had some very interesting statistics to share with us such as: - Autistic life expectancy is reduced by 16-30 years, and Autistics are more likely to die in every disease category than their non-Autistic counterpar...

In this episode I am excited to share with you all that I wrote a book! It is called Special Needs Kids Are People Too! Seeing the Possibilities Through a Neurodiverse Lens. In the week since its official release on Amazon, my book has been #1 New Releases in both Parenting Hyperactive Children and Teaching Students with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (ahead of Temple Grandin's new release)! Special Needs Kids Are People Too! Seeing the Possibilities Through a Neurodiverse Lens...

In this episode we talk about Kids and Electronics: Yes or No? This is probably one of the biggest topics in parenting circles today whether you homeschool or not, whether your kids have a disability or not. And it is not an easy topic to navigate because it is one that most parents haven't experienced, at least not in the same way that their kids are experiencing technology now! What does the research really say? And what can we do to help our children remain safe and healthy? Join m...