Katherine Murphy, CEO of NAMI Palm Beach County, share how the alliance is helping people with mental health challenges in South Florida and throughout the nation. NAMI Palm Beach County is an affiliate of NAMI - THE national Alliance on Mental Illness. From their website: “NAMI PBC is an organization dedicated to providing support, education and advocacy with the goal to empower persons with mental illness and their families. Support groups, information on community resources, advocacy, educational programs (such as Peer-to-Peer and Family-to-Family) and one-on-one peer mentoring are just som ..read more

Canine Assisted Therapy’s Courtney Trzcinski, Laura Rogers, and Gracie share what therapy animals do, and how they positively impact those with social and health challenges. Canine Assisted Therapy, Inc. is a pet therapy organization located in Broward County, Florida. Their mission is to improve the health and well-being of people in need through the healing power of the human-animal bond. From their website: “Utilizing our certified handlers and their therapy dogs, we are dedicated to providing pet therapy to children and adults who have developmental, emotional, or physical challenges, as w ..read more

University of Miami’s Shelly Baer & Jairo Arana discuss their Self-Advocate Leadership Training (SALT) program. Shelly Baer is a licensed clinical social worker, disability self-advocate, and the director of leadership training initiatives at the University of Miami School of Medicine’s Mailman Center for Child Development. Jairo Arana is a clinical program coordinator at the University of Miami School of Medicine’s Mailman Center for Child Development. Shelly is coordinator and Jairo a graduate of and trainer in the Center’s Self-Advocate Leadership Training program (SALT). Project SALT a ..read more

Self-advocate & EMT Ali Idriss discusses how his ADHD traits help him navigate his work in emergency rooms, and offers advice for dealing with a trip to the ER. Ali Idriss is a Different Brains team member and ADHD self-advocate. He aspires to share his journey and help others with the tools that have allowed him to overcome many of the challenges along the way, as he co-hosts the webisode series ADHD Power Tools. Ali has also completed his bachelor’s in Biological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University and is currently completing his second bachelor’s in Neuroscience and Behavior as he i ..read more

Dr. Jennie Trocchio shares how developmental therapy can help autistic individuals, and how it differs from behavioral methods. Dr. Jennie Trocchio is an autism educator, speaker, Developmental Therapist, and Vice President of Clinical Operations at Positive Development. Positive Development’s mission is to “…help people with autism and other developmental differences build connections and shape their futures.” Positive Development follows the Developmental Relationship-Based Intervention (DRBI) model. Jennie is a Maryland native located in sunny South Florida. With a Bachelor’s from Universit ..read more

In the second part of our review of 2023, we hear from some of the neurodiversity change-makers that have appeared on the show. Featured are: DR. MICHAEL ALESSANDRI - full interview: https://differentbrains.org/working-together-for-the-autism-community-with-dr-michael-alessandri-edb-290/ | learn more about their work here: https://people.miami.edu/profile/fb8af2465e6219dc0d6be35a692a7472 CHRISTINA SULLIVAN - full interview: https://differentbrains.org/individualized-learning-for-the-neurodivergent-with-christina-sullivan-edb-311/ | learn more about their work here: https://www.evolvelearningco ..read more

In the first part of our review of 2023, we hear from the neurodivergent self-advocates that have appeared on the show. Featured are: JR HARDING - full interview: https://differentbrains.org/pioneering-workplace-inclusion-with-dr-jr-harding-edb-297/ | learn more about their work at: https://jrharding.com/ HAYLEY & MATTHEW LEACH - full interview: https://differentbrains.org/autism-advocacy-siblings-with-hayley-and-matthew-leach-edb-306/ | learn more about their work at: https://linktr.ee/hayleyleach KAYLAH TAYLOR / AUTISM THEATER PROJECT - full interview: https://differentbrains.org/the-aut ..read more

Cynthia Hammer, self-advocate & founder of the Inattentive ADHD Coalition, shares her experiences with the disorder, and how it can differ from other types of ADHD. Cynthia Hammer is the Founder and Executive Director of the Inattentive ADHD Coalition, and author of the book She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1972. For many years she was a stay-at-home mom raising three sons while her husband spent long days at work as a general surgeon. She started a non-profit organization in 1993 to help adults with ADHD, and she recently started a different non-profit, the Inattentive ADH ..read more

Evolve Learning Community’s Christina Sullivan discusses how the micro-school gives unique support to students that have struggled in traditional classrooms. Christina Sullivan is Co-Founder and Clinical Director of Evolve Learning Community (ELC), and provides individual therapy, coaching, training, and consultation in the community. From ELC’s website: “ELC is a progressive and inclusive homeschool drop-off program that supports cognitively average to above average middle and high school students who are neurodivergent, gifted, have anxiety or mild learning differences. We also provide in-pe ..read more

Mental Health counselor Gabriela Guardarrama shares her personal experiences dealing with bipolar disorder. Gaby is an an Outpatient Mental Health Therapist in the South Florida area. She was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Type 1 at age 19, and is dedicated to helping others deal with their mental health challenges. She is also a poet who uses her writing as a mental wellness tool, and to help others. Follow Different Brains on social media: https://twitter.com/diffbrains https://www.facebook.com/different.brains/ https://www.instagram.com/diffbrains/ Check out more episodes of Exploring Diff ..read more