I had another enlightening conversation about race and discrimination with Special Education teacher and IEP coach, Jamilah Bashir. I came away with the importance of talking to our kids about the racism that we see today, because it affects us all. Our children will see it, hear it, witness it—they may succumb to it, they may be victims of it, they may benefit from it. Racism is a thread so tightly woven into the tapestry of this country, it is difficult to find the beginning, or separate...

I had another enlightening conversation about race with Special Education teacher and IEP coach, Jamilah Bashir. I came away with the importance of talking to our kids about the racism that we see today because it affects us all. Our children will see it, hear it, witness it—they may succumb to it, they may be victims of it, they may benefit from it. Racism is a thread so tightly woven into the tapestry of this country, it is difficult to find the beginning, or separate it from the...

I am very excited to bring you a special episode with Ido Kedhar, a 24-year old author with non-speaking Autism. Yep! My first ever guest to use a voice app for the interview! My questions were pre-written and then sent to Ido so he had the opportunity to type out his answers – this was at his request in an effort to save time. I then had the opportunity to speak with his mother for a bit to hear her perspective on the amazing things that Ido has done. Oh, I mentioned he is an author yeah?...

I had a conversation long overdue with Jamilah Bashir about racism in special education. I’ll be honest and say that this is not something that I have even thought about until very recently, and yes that is my privilege showing. Hopefully, the old adage of better late than never applies here as well, and I am asking you all to join me in going deeper into understanding how the systemic racism of our culture permeates even the arena of special education, not just so that we have a broader...

I hope that everyone is staying safe and staying kind. I’ll leave you with some words I recently read in a book by Alice Walker called “We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness”. In the book Alice writes, “The world is as beautiful as it ever was. It is changing, but then it always has been. This is a good time to change, and remain beautiful, with it.”

I got to speak with my friend Emily Felt about resiliency and gratitude and a variety of topics we veered off onto. There are some gems in this conversation about how to be more resilient, what it looks like, how we can help our kids develop this skill, the importance of sharing our stories as moms to kids with special needs and how the simple joys in life can be everything. And with that, here is a conversation with a dear woman, friend and ally on this path of raising a daughter with PWS as...

Back in Ep 48, I had a lovely conversation with Jessie, mom to 17-year-old Griffin with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Today, I get to offer you an interview with Griffin himself. Griffin is a great kid, living a beautiful life full of motivation and a desire to be helpful. He is an inspiring example of the hope and expanded expectations of what we can have for our children – but he has help, and he makes that clear. Part of his success is the assistance he receives in life, the support of his...

I know most of you all are still sheltering in place and I hope you have found a rhythm to your lives that is sustainable for this moment, that you have laughter and peace throughout your day, two things that are perhaps harder to come by. May is PWS Awareness Month. The last few years, during this month, I have dedicated the podcast episodes to Prader-Willi Awareness. This May will be the same, though it may look a bit different. As you can imagine, like most things, plans have had to...

An early morning, off-the-cuff, (brief) meander through these times we are in. Then an interview with Jessica Temple of the podcast, "Thriving in the Midst of Chaos". She shares with us her story, along with how her family is coping in the time of Covid-19. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, and sane.

I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, social distancing, washing hands, eating healthy and being kind to one another. I know that many of you are afraid – afraid for your child who may be medically fragile and of the more vulnerable population, struggling with children who just can’t understand why they can’t see their friends or their grandparents, worried about bills and jobs and food and what now…and I would love to come on here with words of comfort and assurances that this will...

Laura Hernandez, founder of Mama Systems, has created a large family. She and her husband have 10 children – 7 biological and 3 adopted. Laura speaks about her family, part of her journey with the three adopted children with intellectual delays and she manages it all. She then talks about Mama Systems, and how she helps other mamas with organizing their homes and navigating the world of services for kids with special needs. If you find that you are someone struggling to keep everything...

Maja Watkins founded the non-profit Zip Zap Zop Enrichment. She is a Social/Emotional Learning Specialist, using improv to help teach social skills and communication in inclusive settings. She has recently published a book entitled “The Brain’s Playground: Using Improv Games To Teach Social and Emotional Learning”. In our conversation, she spoke about the work that she does, some of the games she uses, and shares some of the successes as well. Maja has a brother with Autism and speaks about...

Cynthia grew up with an older brother, Carlos, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome. She did not learn of his actual diagnosis until their mother passed away and she became his guardian. These past few years she has really stepped into her role as caretaker, researching and learning about this disorder and how she can best help her brother. He has lost 200 lbs, attends an adult day center where he plays sports and has a friend who shares his diagnosis and is still a companion to Cynthia. As she...

I had the pleasure of interviewing Eleanor Griffith, a genetics counselor and the founder of Grey Genetics. We talked about the kind of work that she does, differences between a geneticist and a genetics counselor. We discussed the reasons people see a genetics counselors, what they get out of their time, how money and life experience can affect the why and how of seeing a genetics counselor, and more. I found it to be a very interesting conversation and I hope you all do too. If you’d like...

Gwen and her 12-year-old Rylan have put out a book called “If I Squeeze Your Head I’m Sorry”. Rylan has Autism and Tourettes, what he calls his “specialabilities”, and this book is a glimpse of what it’s like to be in his brain. There are many things I love about this interview. Rylan is the youngest guest I’ve had on the podcast and it was great to hear from him in his own words. I really enjoyed speaking with his mom, Gwen. I don’t need to give it all away because you can listen to the...

I wish you all a very wonderful holiday season, however, you celebrate. Take care everyone, we’ll be back here in January! Blessings to you and yours, and thanks for being here.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is a short episode, I just wanted to come in here and share a poem with you all. It is a poem that will be published in the writing journal and was inspired by a quote written by Etty Hillesum. For those of you who don’t know, Etty was a young woman whose letters and diary entries have been published for the benefit of the rest of us. These writings describe her inspiring religious awakening, along with the growing persecutions of the Jews in Amsterdam....

Most of us have heard of the Montessori method of education. But what do you know of the woman who created this method? Maria Montessori began her foray into childhood education while working with children with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities. It is this time, working with these children, that laid the foundation for the internationally known and respected Montessori approach to education. Welcome to the first of what I am hoping will be an exciting addition to the Walking...

Now as many of you know Freya has Prader-Willi Syndrome. I recently spoke with a new friend from Vermont, Jessie, who is also raising a child with PWS. Her son Griffin is 17 years old and I am inspired and intrigued by his story. From very early on, Jessie says, they learned to treat the Griffin Syndrome, rather than dive into all of the possibilities and potentials of PWS. They looked at the child himself and managed what came up for him personally. Today Griffin is a motivated and confident...

Have you ever questioned your knowledge of how to navigate special education? Have you left an IEP meeting feeling confused, angry, or sad? Have you been in a situation where you knew that if you were better informed, you could be a better advocate for your child? Well, first off, you are not alone. At some point along this journey, we all feel lost, confused, overwhelmed, unequipped, and sometimes like failures. Well, you are not that either. And for the rest of it, we are fortunate to...

I first met Tera about a year ago. We occasionally meet for lunch and talk about our lives as moms to kids with special needs - the struggles, the logistics, the grief, the positive intentions for now and the future. I have said it before...there is healing in telling our stories. I was so happy to get a text recently from Tera saying, “I’m ready to record my story,” and also honored that she was willing to share the story with this podcast.  Tera’s son, Rowan, has Pura Syndrome. He was born...

I first met Tera about a year ago. We occasionally meet for lunch and talk about our lives as moms to kids with special needs - the struggles, the logistics, the grief, the positive intentions for now and the future. I have said it before...there is healing in telling our stories. I was so happy to get a text recently from Tera saying, “I’m ready to record my story,” and also honored that she was willing to share the story with this podcast. Tera’s son, Rowan, has Pura Syndrome. He was born...

Ok, so sometimes I fail, and probably a little more than sometimes. But this past weekend, while camping with my youngest daughter’s first-grade class, I was smacked in the face a few times, once literally, with the level of denial I have apparently been in. And maybe it’s not so much denial of where Freya is with the way her syndrome manifests, but more in denial of how much support I need to provide her in these kinds of settings. I wanted to be a typical parent this weekend; to relax and...

I am back after a much-needed break. Now that school has started again I am questioning the how's and why's of playdates - how to ensure my daughter's safety without deterring parents or children from asking for playdates. How do you approach playdates and help support your child in having positive and healthy interactions with their peers?

I follow up ep42 on Behavior Management with an anecdote of my most recent use of those techniques. Also, a call for tips and advice on facing the challenges of summer.