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 food sensitivities and allergies are on the rise; the gut-brain connection; the difference between a nutritionist and a registered dietician, how to make a nutrition expert a

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 to find, and sometimes they are expensive and not necessarily covered by insurance. Join us as we share our stories about sleep (or lack thereof!) and

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 programming and fundraising efforts. To learn more about Face Autism from their programming to volunteering, please visit their website at https://face-autism.org/. You can follow

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 trained travel professional with a mission to empower families to live adventurously. TravelAble is a premier travel agency for accessible travel. Her mission

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 disappear, but some things went better than expected, and they also learned a lot. As promised, you can see Talya’s son Asa in this video

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, doing in-home therapy, and in Early Intervention. She recently started her own practice, Starting Point Physical Therapy, in August of 2020, and she plans to hire a few PTs in the

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 very difficult to buy for. We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Please feel free to comment on the Holidays for the Special Needs Family page for this episode. Visit

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 from all around the US. Dena Goldberg, MS, CGC is a genetic counselor living in Los Angeles, with a dream of

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 becoming the first TV genetic counselor. She previously served as the Gordon and Betty Moore Endowed Counselor of Hereditary GI Cancer Prevention at

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, Talya and Joanna discuss the challenges they have faced in figuring out what self-care means to them, especially as parents of children with special needs,