Beyond the Label Podcast

Over the past five years, we have watched Milo’s relationship with the family farm change, along with the relationship between Milo and his younger sister, June. This week, he reflects on those changes and what it’s been like to watch them grow. Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend Tom Evanchuck for the use of his song, "Su...

Join us for a chat about how things are going: how Milo is doing, how we're doing, and what's on our minds lately. Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend Tom Evanchuck for the use of his song, "Sunshine," as our theme music. Follow Tom on Spotify .  Thank you for being here!

Milo is 7, going on 8, and places like church, with their own expectations and social norms, are hard. We share what it takes to show up as a family, what we've learned to ask of strangers, and the grace we've received along the way. If you see us out? Just know we're trying.  Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend...

Milo has spent the last few years watching Ty and Nora leave together for soccer practices and games. He knows he can't go with them, and he's made up his own reason as to why not. In this episode, we're talking about the realities of team sports, especially recreational sports for young kids, and how Milo and his needs fit, or don't fit, into that mix.  Follow us on Instagram...

We talk a lot about an outing or an event being a "success" for Milo. But even small victories come at a cost. We're sharing another recent birthday party experience with a "behind the scenes" look at what it takes for us to attend as a family.  Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend Tom Evanchuck for the...

The last few weeks included Nora's 9th birthday celebrations at home, and an outdoor birthday party for several of the kids' friends at a local park - both challenging situations for us to navigate with Milo. We're talking about how both experiences went, unpacking how Milo's ability to tolerate other peoples' birthdays has grown, and hear from some surprise guests. Follow...

Milo needs more paper - always. Drawing has become his favorite activity over the last month or so, and his depictions of characters and scenes from Up, Despicable Me, Anastasia, and K-Pop Demon Hunters are scattered all over our house.  He will take one scene - like the house from Up, floating in the sky, being held up by hundreds of colorful balloons - and draw it over and over and over again. H...

A listener wrote in and asked how to help their family member whose young son was recently diagnosed with autism. Thinking through their question led us back to a moment in time several years ago, with Milo's diagnosis still recent and his physical behaviors still emerging. In this episode, we talk openly about what really would've helped us then, and what still helps us now. Follow us o...

Milo is eager to connect with his peers—kids he's just met on the playground, his sisters and cousins, his classmates. In therapy, he's working hard to practice peer-to-peer interactions and conversations. But even when he does everything "right," his efforts aren't always reciprocated. Sometimes kids don't understand him, or don't want to engage. He may be obliv...

We're back from our summer break with an update on Milo! Join us as we share how he's been doing, some of the specific skills he's been working on at therapy, and why the letters C, R, U, S, and H have us puzzled. Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend Tom Evanchuck for the use of his song, "Sunshine," as...

On the drive home from our family vacation, an unexpected song broke out in the back of the van. In this episode, we reflect on a small moment that meant a lot to us: hearing Milo join in with his sisters. We talk about the many ways Milo communicates—from singing and scripting to negotiating at the dinner table—and how his language continues to grow in ways we couldn't have imagined just a f...

In this episode, Ty shares a reflection on fatherhood. He references episode 45, "No Mom," where Lisa shares her perspective. You can listen to that here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2431776/episodes/18621023 Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend Tom Evanchuck for the use of his song, "Sunshine," as our theme m...

"Big water. Big hotel." For weeks, Milo has been eagerly counting down to our family's annual beach trip. In this episode, we're sharing how vacations have changed over the years and reflecting on the progress that's easy to miss until you look back. Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend Tom Evanchuck for...

A birthday party. A really hard moment. And questions we can't stop thinking about—but also can't answer. How do you balance your child's needs with the needs of those around them? What does inclusion look like when behaviors can be challenging and unpredictable? How do you keep showing up when there's no guarantee things will go smoothly? In this episode, we're reflecting...

We're sharing a fresh collection of glimmers—the small but meaningful moments that have brought us joy lately. These are the moments that remind us how much growth can happen over time. We're also reflecting on why we started this podcast in the first place: to give ourselves an outlet, to build community, and to be a source of comfort for other families walking a similar path. This epis...

There are moments when Milo feels relaxed, familiar, and fully himself. And then there are moments when the world feels much harder for him—and for us—to navigate. In this episode, we talk about how different environments affect Milo, why his hardest moments are often the most visible to strangers, and what it feels like trying to build community while always staying one step ahead. We also share...

Over the last few months, things with Milo have felt… good. Calm, even. But lately, old behaviors and triggers have started resurfacing, and we can feel our family entering another difficult cycle. In this episode, we share what it looks like when dysregulation returns to our home—the impact it has on all three kids, the impossible “space between” of parenting through it, and the uncertainty of ne...

In this episode, we talk about the complicated space between what Milo understands and what he doesn’t, and how difficult it can be to parent from that uncertainty. Follow us on Instagram @beyondthelabel440 . Email us at beyondthelabel24@gmail.com Thank you to our friend Tom Evanchuck for the use of his song, "Sunshine," as our theme music. Follow Tom on Spotify .  Thank you for being he...

We’re sharing our family’s experience with ABA — Applied Behavior Analysis — therapy over the last 3 years: what we knew about it going in, what surprised us about it, and how it has worked for Milo. If you’re looking for a formal overview of ABA and the research behind it, this isn’t it. But if you’re curious about one family’s real-life experience, we hope you’ll tune in. Topics discussed: ABA,...

Two kids. Two buses. Two very different days. In this episode, we share how Milo is beginning to understand that his sister goes to school—and he doesn’t—and what that’s looked like in one small, everyday moment that’s gotten a lot more complicated.  Episodes Referenced: E30: Before (School Update Part 1)   E31: After (School Update Part 2) Topics discussed: autism, communication, therapy, school...

In this episode, we talk about what progress really looks like in our life with Milo—and how it rarely looks the way we expected. From small but meaningful moments at the dinner table to the realities behind therapy goals and daily challenges, we share the tension of celebrating growth while still navigating how hard things can be. Because for us, progress isn’t a finish line; it’s something we’re...

In this episode, we share what it’s like to navigate the world with our son Milo, who is autistic. Through moments from a recent trip, we reflect on the contrast between the comfort of our home “bubble” and the unpredictability of public spaces. We talk about the unseen effort behind Milo’s behaviors, the challenges of being out in the world, and how brief interactions can shape understanding. We...

We're reflecting on the first moments we wondered if autism might be part of our son Milo’s story. We revisit memories of Milo as a baby—smiling, making eye contact, and seeming “typical”—and the relief we felt, alongside the quiet concerns we couldn’t fully explain. As time went on, we began noticing subtle differences, from speech delays to behaviors that didn’t quite add up. In this episod...

Building community has looked different for each of our kids. With Nora and June, connections with other families often happen naturally through school, activities, and everyday conversations. With Milo, it hasn’t always been that simple. We talk about how communication differences, special education settings, and the structure of school and therapy programs can sometimes make families like ours f...

A brief but meaningful interaction in a crowded Costco aisle left us thinking long after it ended. As Milo grows older, we sometimes find ourselves wondering how the world will respond to the ways he connects with others, especially when those interactions don’t always fit social expectations. We also share updates on Milo’s recent progress at therapy, including encouraging data from his annual IE...