Hello Brave Friends! This is a Summer ReRun of one of our favorite Ask Us Anything episodes from Seasons 5 and 6. Call in to our SpeakPipe to ask YOUR questions and tune in next season, starting in September 2024, for many more.  This is another Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  Today we’re discussing the topic of raising a child who is aggressive or has bouts of violence towards others. We speak from experience about how it can feel, what it brings up for us as caregivers and how we deal with it. Most ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! This is a Summer ReRun of one of our favorite Ask Us Anything episodes from Seasons 5 and 6. Call in to our SpeakPipe to ask YOUR questions and tune in next season, starting in September 2024, for many more.  This is another Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  Today we’re discussing the question, is it okay to take a vacation with the typical members of the family while leaving my child with complex needs behind and if so, how do I deal with the guilt I feel about planning that trip ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! This is a Summer Re-Run of one of our favorite Ask Us Anything episodes from Seasons 5 and 6. Call in to our SpeakPipe to ask YOUR questions and tune in next season, starting in September 2024, for many more.  This is our inaugural Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  Today we’re discussing the question, “Is it strange to feel frustrated when I see friends and family support and volunteer with programs that support people with disabilities and yet, do not volunteer to help my child or ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! This is an Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  In this episode, #185, we are responding to the question, Can Caregiving Dads be Accepted into Mom Groups? Another amazing question to close out Season 6! First off, thank you to this Dad for calling in and posing this vulnerable question. I know a lot of parents are going to benefit from this conversation.  It seems that because mom’s historically outnumber dad’s in the role of primary caregiver and are socialized to be more open to suppo ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's practical episode, #184. Our guest today is a dad!  Ryan Sheedy is a dad, a rare disease caregiver and a founder. He lives in Bentonville, Arkansas with his wife and three sons. In 2018, after 15 plus years in business development and fundraising, he paused his career to become a stay-at-home dad caregiver for his twin sons.  One of his sons, Reynolds, was diagnosed with Costello syndrome in 2018. Since birth, Ryan has been Reynolds’ primary caregiver. 100 plus days in the NICU, countless surgeries, and managing a 25 plus person care team. He a ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's practical episode, #183. Our guest is Anjillene O’Connor. She came to my family well over a decade ago. She was working in our school district, as an interventionist, and wanted a little work on the side. She loved my kids, understood them, would cook for them and was just the best. Everybody in my family loved Miss Jill, (we still call her Miss Jill).   Today she has been working in education for 20 years, continuing on to the completion of her special education mod severe credential with a master's degree and has been teaching in special education ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! This is story episode #182, about what can happen when parents presume competence in their non-verbal, autistic son.  Today we hear from Jason Hague about his experience accepting his autistic son Jack’s presumed intellectual disability, making peace with it, and then seeing a documentary that changed everything. Welcome to today's story episode: How Spelling Revealed a Non-Verbal Teen’s Brilliance. Jason Hague has been telling his story of faith, fatherhood, and autism on his blog for years and years now. He also has a fabulous book called “Aching Joy: Following God ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! This is an Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  In this episode, #181, we are responding to the question, How do I Access Playfulness When My Life is So Serious?  This is such a great question, and as you will hear, all three of your hosts grapple, themselves, with how to find “the fun” in the midst of chronic hardship. It’s not everyone’s natural gift to make light of the dark stuff or to find humor in the struggle. Juggling all the roles we have to inhabit for our children with unique ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's practical episode, #180. Our guest today is Dr. Jaclyn Zeccola, the clinical director of Cheerful Helpers, which is a well established therapeutic school and early intervention program dedicated to supporting children who are experiencing developmental challenges.  As you will hear in the episode, what makes their programs successful and unique to them is their collaboration with parents, their use of narration to help investigate the reasons behind behaviors and their welcoming attitude toward BIG EMOTIONS.  Dr. Jaclyn Zeccola is a psychologis ..read more

Hello Brave Friends! This is story episode #179. And it features one of the many powerful stories we showcase in our first ever Brave Together book! It’s an anthology of stories shared courageously by our community of moms and it’s called Becoming Brave Together: heroic, extraordinary caregiving stories from mothers hidden in plain sight. It is available now and the link to find it is in the show notes, so go get yourself a copy! Today we hear a story from Lora DeMello about her experience parenting a neurodivergent daughter. Sometimes called “invisible disabilities” neurodivergence can be pa ..read more