Overcoming Fears of Saying Yes to Autism (w/Candace Smouse) Ep. 295

Overcoming Fears of Saying Yes to Autism (w/Candace Smouse) Ep. 295

From The Forgotten Podcast by The Forgotten Initiative

June 8, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

Candace Smouse shares her journey of fostering and adopting a child with autism, discussing the challenges and insights gained along the way.

In this episode of The Forgotten Podcast, Jami sits down with Candace Smouse, a TFI advocate from Spokane, Washington, who is a foster, adoptive, and birth mom to six kids. Fostering as a family for five years, Candace shares her journey of opening her home to children with special needs and navigating the unique joys and demands of raising her now-adopted son who has autism. She explores the common fears foster parents face when considering a special needs placement and offers insight on moving forward through the unknown with faith and expectation. Candace candidly details the realities of bringing her son home just before his fourth birthday as his fourth placement in a short span of time. She describes the initial challenges of caring for a child who was completely nonverbal, not potty trained, and struggling with behavior and severe dietary restrictions. Through her family's story, she highlights the exhausting early months, the complex dynamics and feelings of parental guilt that can surface with biological siblings, and the turning point of finding the right in-home therapeutic support. The conversation also breaks down the different levels of autism to help listeners…

People in this episode

Host: Jami

Guest: Candace Smouse

Topics covered

  • autism
  • foster care
  • special needs
  • parenting
  • advocacy

Keywords

  • autism
  • foster parenting
  • special needs
  • advocacy
  • IEPs

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Spokane, Washington

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