In this episode, I welcome back Dana Waters. Dana has come on the show as a professor and psychologist and today, she’s here to talk about her new book, Bite-Sized Autism. She gives us a behind-the-scenes peek where we learn why she wrote the book and what she hopes for it. Whether it’s in book form or human form, Dana inevitably brings insight. Whether you are questioning your own autism diagnosis, seeking to understand yourself or someone else better, or just neurocurious, watch the interview to find out if Bite-Sized Autism is for you.

Check out her book here. 

In this episode, I interview Nancy Kneebruggie, Executive Director of The Campbell Center in Glendale, CA. Nancy helps us get to know The Campbell Center and how they help disabled adults live, work, and play their way. Our interview also clarifies the Community Integration and Employment Support services that are funded through the California Regional Center. A big thanks to Nancy for spending time with me and raising awareness of this community resource!

The Campbell Center - (818) 242-2434 

In this episode, I welcome back Dr. Laura Flores Shaw, Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University, to clarify what Executive Functioning truly is. By the end of this interview, my hope is that you have a more complete and wholistic understanding of executive functioning and that this leads to fewer misinterpretations of intentions and more empathy for people’s neurology and lived experiences.

In this episode, I interview Sonni Charness, Founder of The Guidelight Group, about the Self-Determination Program that is being offered to regional center clients in the state of California. By the end of this interview, I hope that you have a better understanding of what the Self-Determination Program is, how to get it, who’s it’s good for, and how Independent Facilitators can be invaluable in this process.

If you are interested in getting in touch with Sonni or to find out more about The Guidelight Group, click here.

In this episode, I interview Dani Ryckman, a Head of School of a Private school, but more importantly, a mother to a brave and wonderful kiddo with OCD and anxiety. The intention of our interview is to create an affirming, compassionate, and safe space to talk about mental health, the imperfections of parenting, and to remove the shame and guilt that often follows these topics. Our hope is to destigmatize, humanize, and empower you to stay self-aware, curious, and hopeful as a parent who faces the additional challenges that neurodiversity can bring to parenting. A big thank you to Dani and her daughter for sharing their personal stories, modeling vulnerability, and being empowered voices in this space. Much love! ❤️

In this episode, I welcome back Melody Valenzuela, my favorite Educational Therapist! We've been chatting a lot (offline) about stress responses in learning and thought it would be a great podcast episode. Many know the fight/flight/freeze responses, but did you know about fib and fawn? We see fibbing often as a stress response/protective mechanism and want to bring more awareness to this. By understanding when a stress response is triggered, we can do better with creating safe, empowered, and collaborative learning environments for our neurodivergent clients.

In this episode, I interview Christine L. Ferriter, non-attorney advocate, about the need to understand bureaucracy or how to play in organized systems (IEPs, IPPs) in order to acquire/navigate/coordinate necessary services. Christine has a lovely, friendly, and fun way to conceptualize the bureaucratic systems that most disabled individuals must navigate, offering practical tips/advice for you to feel successful, empowered, and sane!

Interested in reaching out to Christine? Email her at [email protected]

 In this episode, Dr. Laura Flores Shaw, Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, helps us understand the Montessori Education Paradigm and how it can inform agency-driven and empowered transition plans and programs for neurodiverse and disabled teens and young adults.

Dr. Laura Flores Shaw and The Montessori White Papers

In this episode, I ask Dr. Deborah Budding to come on the show and talk about Pathological Demand Avoidance, a label that we have been asked about and hearing about with more frequency. We discuss how we believe this label can be harmful and encourage others to stop viewing others through pathology and rather through compassion and understanding.

In this episode, I have an important conversation with Dr. Dana Johnson, Founder of Interplay Therapy Center and Invictus Academy Tampa Bay, a non-profit school dedicated to appropriately educating students with motor challenges. Dana is trained in childhood and adolescent mental health and is a licensed Occupational Therapist in Florida. She helps us understand what apraxia (also known as dyspraxia) is and how taxing purposeful motor skills are for anyone who has sensory-motor challenges. Dana strongly encourages us to make a paradigm shift and shares how life-changing presuming competence is for all parties involved.

Interplay Therapy Center and Invictus Academy