DEEP DIVE: Olivia Martinez-Hauge on Special Needs Parenting

DEEP DIVE: Olivia Martinez-Hauge on Special Needs Parenting

From What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

May 4, 2026 · 35 min

About this episode

Olivia Martinez-Hauge discusses the challenges and support needed in special needs parenting.

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes about the joys and the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities. Olivia Martinez-Hauge is a marriage and family therapist specializing in the treatment of families, couples, and individuals who are caregiving for children or adults with neurodiversity. She is also a licensed occupational therapist with over two decades of experience helping children and their families. She is also a mother of three children, two with neurodiversity. In this "Fresh Take" interview, Olivia explains the grief and isolation that might come with special needs parenting her own journey moving past those emotions by parenting "from a place of present" the team of support that a parent of a special needs child needs how we can change our friend groups, schools, and societies to be more supportive of families with children who have special needs Whether you're a parent of a special needs or neurodiverse child, or just want to be a better friend to someone who is, you'll learn so much from this interview. Find out more about Olivia and her work at The Center for Connection and Neurodiversity here…

People in this episode

Hosts: Amy Wilson, Margaret Ables

Guest: Olivia Martinez-Hauge

Topics covered

  • special needs parenting
  • neurodiversity
  • support systems
  • grief and isolation
  • parenting challenges
  • community support

Keywords

  • special needs
  • neurodiversity
  • parenting
  • support
  • grief
  • isolation
  • community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Center for Connection and Neurodiversity

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