Brave Together Podcast: Support and Community for Caregiving Parents

Hello Brave Friends! I'm so excited for our very first Thriving Disabled Adults episode, #187. This is a new episode that we are doing for Season 7 of Brave Together Parenting Podcast, and our first guest is a radiant soul. I could feel his energy and his vibrance, just reading about him. So I cannot wait for you to hear this conversation with Cam Coelken. Cam Coelken is from New Zealand and...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's BONUS episode. Our guest is care advocate and author, Elissa Strauss, who has a fantastic new book called When You Care, The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others . This conversation was about such an important topic that I invited author, activist and fellow caregiving mom, Kelley Coleman to co-host with me. And together we explore the powerful role ca...

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!  Welcome to the first episode of Season 7! In this Ask Us Anything ep, #186, we are responding to the question, What Do I Do Right After My Kid's Diagnosis? Many of us on this altered motherhood journey, especially those of us acting as mentors to n...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to Season 7 of Brave Together Parenting, an empowering and truly helpful podcast for the parents of children, all ages, with all types of disabilities or unique needs.  Our mission is to provide you, the caregiving parent, with resources to help answer your questions. Stories from other caregiving parents to help you feel less alone and starting the season, something N...

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 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, #174, we are responding to...

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 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, #171, we are responding to...

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 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, #168, we are tackling the...

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 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, #165, we are discussing ho...

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 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 co...

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 rai...

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...

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 quest...

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...

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,...

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)....

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 N...

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...

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...

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...

Hello Brave Friends! This is story episode #178. 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...

Hello Brave Friends! This is story episode #177. And it features one of the many powerful stories we feature 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 out as of today! So go get yourself a copy!!! The lin...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's practical episode, #176. Our guest today is Jayme Betts, and she founded the Changing Spaces Advocacy Campaign in Massachusetts after experiencing, along with her daughter, Sophia, the challenges that traditional public restrooms present for disabled individuals who require assistance with their daily care.  With rare exceptions, the only options that c...

Hello Brave Friends! This is story episode #175. When our child gets diagnosed it can feel like the snow globe of our life gets shaken really hard, and that everything is suddenly up in the air. But as the flakes slowly settle, we get the chance to reevaluate our relationships with everything, including ourselves.  When Margaret Webb’s son was diagnosed with Autism she became a warrior for him, fi...

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, #174, we are responding to the question, How do I Support my Neuro-Divergent Kid as They Blossom into a Teen? It’s a bittersweet transition from childhood to young adulthood that we all experience in different ways. And with neuro-diver...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to practical episode #173. Our guest is a fellow caregiving mama and creator of CapeAble Weighted Products, Marna Pacheco.  Marna created CapeAble, originally for her daughter Millie, who needed help regulating her nervous system. CapeAble is unique from all other weighted blanket manufacturers, because its patented SmartWeight technology provides an even weight distri...