In this episode, we talk with licensed registered dietician Jaimie Cole of Think Nutrition about the very important concept of NUTRITION and especially how it can help our children with disabilities and special needs (more about Jaimie’s education and experience below). We talk about what constitutes a balanced diet; probiotics vs. prebiotics; why …

In this episode, Talya and Joanna share their experiences with a familiar struggle for parents of children with special needs and disabilities: SLEEP! Not only are sleep disturbances and disorders common among this population, but they are also often harder to handle due to other complications such as intellectual disability. Solutions can be hard …

In our first episode of the Our Hidden Stories – Nonprofit Spotlight, a part of the Our Hidden Stories project, your host Joanna Kent speaks with Colleen Buccieri from the Sarasota, Florida-based nonprofit, Face Autism. Colleen tells us about the past, present and, future of Face Autism and how current events have changed but not stopped their prog…

Even though we’ve put the brakes on many types of travel, with vaccines being distributed, a return to normalcy is on the horizon. But for families with members who have medical, mobility, and developmental challenges, even in normal times travel can be quite a challenge. Today our guest is Sarah Marshall, founder of TravelAble Vacations and a trai…

In the last episode of Season 1, recorded before Thanksgiving, Joanna and Talya discussed the challenges that “the Holidays” can pose to families with children living with special needs and disabilities. In today’s episode, they reflect on how each of their holiday seasons went: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The difficulties certainly didn’t dis…

Our guest today is pediatric physical therapist Cyndi Stedman. Cyndi is a knowledgeable and experienced therapist who thoroughly loves her work. Cyndi received her Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2009. Since then, she has worked exclusively in pediatrics. She has experience working in the schools, …

The holidays–which can already be stressful–pose extra challenges for families with children who have special needs and disabilities. In this episode, Talya and Joanna speak frankly about important issues such as *where* to spend the holidays, handling difficult emotions, and–perhaps most importantly–the challenge of *GIFTS* for children who can be…

In this second episode with genetic counselor Dena Goldberg (a.k.a. Dena DNA), Dena takes us on a deeper dive into the science of genetics, with a focus on how and why pediatric genetic-based disorders occur. We then have a question and answer session, in which Dena replies to questions that have been submitted to us from parents and caregivers fro…

In this exciting episode, Talya and Joanna talk with genetic counselor Dena Goldberg about why genetic testing is so important for people with special needs and disabilities, and how a genetic counselor can help. Dena Goldberg, MS, CGC is a genetic counselor living in Los Angeles, with a dream of bringing genetic counseling to mainstream media and …

Parents and caregivers of children and adults with disabilities and special needs are frequently advised that, to avoid burnout, they should make sure to engage in “self-care.” But what is self-care? It is often elusive, or boiled down to a caricature. Figuring out what is self-care to yourself, personally, is extremely important. In this episode, …