The Lucky Few

Throwback: What Do You Wish You Knew When You Got Your Child's Down Syndrome Diagnosis? (Ep. 138) It's Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and we're heading back into the archives for a conversation that's just as relevant today as when we first recorded it. What do you wish you knew when you first received your child's Down syndrome diagnosis? In this throwback episode, Heather, Mi...

People with Down syndrome deserve belonging, opportunity, and dignity—without having to prove their worth through achievement. To kick off Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Heather and Micha ask what happens when advocacy becomes centered on accomplishments. They share honestly about comparison, parenting expectations, and telling a fuller story that makes room for the entire Down syndrome community....

“Presume competence” is a phrase we hear often in the disability community. But what does it mean when someone also needs significant support? This week, Heather and Micha talk through the tension between believing there may be more happening than we can see and honoring a person exactly as they are. They share stories about school routines, communication, reading, and friendship—and ask what chan...

“Inclusion says you’re allowed to be here. Belonging says this is your place.” In this episode, we’re exploring the difference between being included and being genuinely known, wanted, and valued. We share real-life examples from school, church, dance, friendships, and community spaces—and discuss why simply offering access or accommodations isn’t enough. True belonging means our kids don’t have t...

Disability policy can feel complicated and overwhelming—but these decisions directly affect the healthcare, education, services, and civil rights of people with disabilities. Today, Heather is joined by attorney, IEP expert, and longtime friend of the podcast Ashley Barlow. Together, they break down current changes and challenges surrounding Section 504, community living, Medicaid, and special edu...

What does it look like to truly honor the autonomy of adults with Down syndrome? Today we’re joined by our former producer, occupational therapist, sibling, and advocate V al Schlieder to talk about autonomy, infantilization, and the dignity of risk . We explore why protecting people with Down syndrome from every possible risk can actually limit their independence, the difference between risk and...

Back-to-school season brings more than new supplies and schedules—especially when you’re raising a child with Down syndrome. There are IEPs, appointments, transportation plans, medical information, therapies, emails, paperwork, and approximately 47 things nobody else in your house seems to remember. Today, Heather sits down with professional organizer, Enneagram coach, and fellow Down syndrome mom...

When ⁠Misty Coy Snyder ⁠ received a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis during the early days of the pandemic, fear and uncertainty shaped much of her pregnancy. But when her son Jed was born, the joy she experienced changed everything—and eventually inspired the community known as Happiness Is Down Syndrome. Misty returns to the podcast to talk about her new book, ⁠ Happiness Is Down Syndrome: Strat...

Back-to-school season can bring a lot more than new backpacks, school supplies, and first-day photos—especially when you’re raising a child with Down syndrome. In this episode, Heather, Micha, and Mercedes talk honestly about the complicated feelings that come with starting a new school year. From new teachers and IEP meetings to inclusion, friendships, behaviors, and the pressure to make sure our...

Episode 331: We’re Back! Catching Up on a Big Summer in the Down Syndrome Community We’re back! After a three-month summer break, we’re catching up on some of the biggest conversations, stories, and moments that happened across the Down syndrome community while we were away. We start with a difficult conversation surrounding YouTuber Jesse Ridgway and his wife Ashley, who publicly shared their pre...

In this final episode of our “What I Wish I Knew” series, we’re taking a step back to reflect on advocacy—what it’s looked like for us over the years, what’s changed, and what we wish we understood earlier. We talk honestly about the emotional weight of advocating for our kids with Down syndrome, the tension of speaking up in systems that don’t always listen, and the growth that comes from learnin...

In this episode of our “What I Wish I Knew” series, we’re talking about functional medicine—what it is, what’s helped us, and what we wish we understood earlier. We share real experiences navigating diet changes, supplements, specialists, and the cost of it all, while exploring a whole-body approach that looks beyond symptoms. We also talk about how to integrate functional and traditional medicine...

In this episode of The Lucky Few Podcast , we continue our “What I Wish I Knew” series with a real and honest conversation about AAC (Augmentative & Alternative Communication) - Supporting Communication Without Limiting It Micha shares her journey with her son Ace and how her understanding of AAC has evolved over time—from treating it like a therapy tool to recognizing it as a language and a w...

In this episode, we’re talking about travel and accessibility—what’s actually available, what we’ve learned the hard way (and the helpful way), and the questions that come with it. Fresh off an international trip, Heather shares real-life stories of navigating airports, museums, and public spaces with accessibility services—and realizing oh… this changes everything. Also, turns out you might not n...

Friends, we’re bringing back one of our favorite conversations — our interview with Noah Matthews Matofsky, who starred as Slightly in Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy . When this film premiered, Noah became the first actor with Down syndrome to have a speaking role in a live-action Disney feature film. And we had the joy of sitting down with him not long after the movie was released. In this episod...

This week we’re revisiting Episode 3 of The Lucky Few Podcast—originally recorded in April 2018 . In one of our very first conversations, Heather, Mercedes, and Micah sit down with Liz Plachta , founder of Ruby’s Rainbow , to talk about what’s possible for individuals with Down syndrome after high school. At the time, this conversation felt hopeful. Now, it also feels proven. What started as one m...

In this episode, we continue our What I Wish I’d Known series in honor of World Down Syndrome Day (3/21) and this year’s theme: Together Against Loneliness . When we first became parents of children with Down syndrome, no one talked to us about loneliness. Not the loneliness that can come in high school. Not when siblings leave. Not when friends start driving. Not when graduation comes — and the p...

Show Notes In this episode of were talking about infantilizing — what it is, how it shows up, and why it matters. To infantilize someone is to treat them as younger or less capable than they are. For people with disabilities, this often shows up in subtle but harmful ways: baby talk, lowered expectations, behavior plans for age-appropriate teen behavior, speaking about someone as if they aren’t in...

In this episode of The Lucky Few Podcast , we continue our What I Wish I’d Known series by talking about inclusion — and being honest about how it actually feels. When we hear the word inclusion , we don’t immediately feel hopeful. We feel heaviness. Process. Fight. Sometimes discouragement. We talk about why inclusion so often becomes a disability service instead of a true community responsibilit...

IEPs can feel overwhelming, emotional, and complicated—and that’s because they are. In this episode of The Lucky Few Podcast , we kick off our new season, What I Wish I’d Known About… , by talking about IEPs—what we wish we understood from the very beginning, and what we’ve learned the hard way. Fresh off a multi-hour meeting, we share honestly about the exhaustion, the tension, and the “us vs. th...

We’re bringing back one of our favorite conversations in honor of an extraordinary athlete, mom, and advocate who continues to redefine what’s possible. Elana Meyers Taylor is a five-time Olympian and one of the most decorated athletes in winter sports history. She has earned one gold, three silver, and two bronze Olympic medals for Team USA, and is a four-time World Champion , with two gold medal...

January felt heavy. So instead of pretending we had it all figured out, we talked honestly about what we wish we’d known earlier. In this kickoff episode of What We Wish We’d Known , Heather, Micah, and Mercedes reflect on lessons that only come with time, experience, and a lot of unlearning. In this episode, we talk about: Letting go of milestone pressure, assuming competence, and unlearning able...

Today we’re diving deep into the way our children communicate! We’re asking some difficult but important questions about how we support their speech and language. How do our kids feel when people cannot understand their speech? How do they feel when we, as their parents, cannot understand their speech? How are we supposed to implement all the speech therapy tools? When is it time to just focus on...

Jennifer Gray is a certified speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of experience working with the Down syndrome community. Today we’re asking her all the questions we’ve forgotten to ask our children’s own speech therapists. When should speech therapy start for individuals with Down syndrome? (Hint: Jennifer says research shows it can be helpful before age 1) What makes speech more challe...

Last week we sat down for an interview with trauma expert Dr. Karyn Harvey and today the three of us are unpacking all of our feelings about it. We’re asking ourselves some pretty heavy questions about trauma and intellectual disability. Do our kids really encounter trauma every time they step out the front door? Are we holding our children to unrealistic standards and expectations for behavior? D...