Brave Together Podcast: Support and Community for Caregiving Parents

Hello Brave Friends! In this story episode, #172, we enter the world of a parent living on unstable ground. An emotional state riddled with fault lines, shifting plates and the possibility that even a fun outing could cause an earthquake of a seizure in her child’s body. Erin Rusling’s daughter was born with Dravet Syndrome, a rare and severe form of Epilepsy that causes prolonged seizures. Almost...

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, #171, we are responding to the question, what do I do when my kid is being bullied? It’s so heart wrenching to imagine our vulnerable kiddos being bullied but kids can be mean and it does happen. On this episode we discuss methods of de...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to practical episode #170, in which we are discussing the importance and responsibility of adopting older children who have experienced trauma. We cover what you need to think about before adopting, ways to prepare for adopting, the systemic problems that need changing and how enormous the need is.  Our guest is Jenell Jones, mother of six, who adopted a seventh child,...

Hello Brave Friends! This is story episode, #169, in which we talk about the underrated difficulty level of being a parent to a child with extreme allergies. When we bring home a newborn, all we want to do is feed them, nourish them and help them to grow. But what if everything we’re feeding them seems to make them irritable, gassy, rashy and miserable; and then we’re miserable. Susanna Peace Love...

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, #168, we are tackling the HIGHLY relatable question, what do we do when our spouse is not very involved in our disability caregiving? This is such a common question, especially in our community. Relationships are ALREADY full of murky d...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to practical episode #167, a TWO PARTER, in which we are diving into the nitty gritty around accessing mental health benefits and services. In Part 1 we focus on what services are available and how to find them and ways to approach starting the process. In Part 2 we focus on how the process works once you’re on the road to receiving services and the important things to...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to practical episode #167, a TWO PARTER, in which we are diving into the nitty gritty around accessing mental health benefits and services. In Part 1 we focus on what services are available and how to find them and ways to approach starting the process. In Part 2 we focus on how the process works once you’re on the road to receiving services and the important things to...

Hello Brave Friends! On this story episode, #166, we are stepping into the shoes of a brand new care-giving parent, who, like so many of us, left the hospital and was immediately faced with piles of paperwork, prescriptions to administer, insurance issues, medical supplies to order and the endless phone calls, transfers and holds that become our JOB to navigate. Kelley Coleman had a new baby with...

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, #165, we are discussing how to get the most out of connection circles and in general, support groups, without taking on other attendee’s pain.  In this community we are ALREADY dealing with our own tough feelings when we step into a gro...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to our first Practical Episode of Season 6. This is episode 164 and we could not be more thrilled and honored and in awe of our guest today, Kevin McGuire. Talk about the triumph of the human spirit, Kevin, personifies this. He was hit by a drunk driver at the age of seven and has used a wheelchair ever since.   He is now the CEO and founder of McGuire Associates, the...

Hello Brave Friends! On this story episode, #163, we are exploring one mom’s experience, when not one but TWO of her seemingly thriving, healthy children were diagnosed, right in the middle of high school, with a rare genetic disorder.  Megan Loden was blindsided, not only by her twin daughter’s diagnosis, but by the slow fade of her typical community into the background, as she stepped into her o...

Hello Brave Friends! 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!  In this episode, #162, we’re discussing how to handle the PRESSURE we feel after the holidays (while caregiving) to make resolutions and change our whole lives at the start of the year. Are we ready for this? How do we approach this thoughtfully? T...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to Season 6! We are so excited to roll out another vibrant season of Story episodes, Practical episodes and Ask Us Anything episodes for YOU the caregiving mom.  In this trailer your host, Jessica Patay, reminds you what we offer as a podcast and non-profit organization, introduces Dr. Zoe Shaw (the newest co-host of the Ask Us Anything show) and even gives you a sneak...

Hello Brave Friends! On this, our final episode of Season 5, we have such a great guest for you. Debbie Reber, who you guys probably know already, is a parenting activist, bestselling author, speaker and the CEO and founder of Tilt Parenting, a resource, top performing podcast, consultancy, and community with a focus on shifting the paradigm for parents raising and embracing neurodivergent childre...

Hello Brave Friends! On this story episode we are exploring the sibling experience. As caregiving parents, it’s hard to give each child the same amount of attention. The neurotypical child’s experiences growing up are often overshadowed by their sibling’s complex needs. So it’s cathartic when we get the opportunity to put a big ol’ spotlight on their experience and talk about them on our podcast....

Hello Brave Friends! 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 comparing. Whether it’s our stories, our parenting styles or our child’s outcomes, comparing, it seems, is just human nature. It’s a tool we use to identify and connect with others who are like us but can also tu...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's practical episode with April Rehrig. She's going to talk about strengths-based IEPs. Have you even heard of that? I don't think I'd ever heard of it until recently. It's an IEP that looks at abilities as well as weaknesses. It looks at what students CAN do, what the team wants them to do next, and how strengths might be used to set g...

Hello Brave Friends! On this story episode we are exploring the vital yet (especially in our community) illusive act of taking a break.  Our storyteller is Krysten Leighty whose daughter Lana, was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome, and found early on that the “go go go” mentality of the medical world was counterintuitive to her instincts, as a mother, to just stop and be present with her child....

Hello Brave Friends! 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 how we handle it when family, friends (or people in the grocery store) say judgmental or insensitive things about our non-typical kids or how we’re raising them? Do we take the time to educate them? Is that our job?  Whether...

Hello Brave Friends! One thing I wish I could free all moms from is MOM GUILT. I know you've heard me talk about this before, and it is just in the way of us thriving for sure. It's like a boulder that we carry around and I wish I could just take the boulder off of everybody's shoulders. Well, I think our guest today is going to help us with this.  Joanne Crone is a parenting educat...

Hello Brave Friends! On this story episode we’re talking about being a neurodiverse mama and dealing with blameless guilt. What is blameless guilt? It’s guilt we feel when the unthinkable happens and we have no one to blame for it; like passing down genetics to our children. This guilt is tricky. It hangs around us, invisible, easily dismissed by our nearest and dearest but always finding its way...

Hello Brave Friends! 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 raising a child who is aggressive or has bouts of violence towards others. We speak from experience about how it can feel, what it brings up for us as caregivers and how we deal with it. Most of all, this episode...

Hello Brave Friends! Having girlfriends that get you is sacred and mandatory around here and our guest today, Laura Tremaine, could not agree more! She is an author and podcaster who shares how making, keeping and even releasing friendships can be easier than we think.  Laura has so much to share in this interview including her own personal experience with loneliness. She offers a fresh perspectiv...

Hello Brave Friends! On this episode we are exploring what pregnancy and early motherhood can look like when there is rare disease and a limb difference involved. Our storyteller is Hannah Parsons who, herself, was born on the bathroom floor of a trailer. She always knew she wanted to experience pregnancy and whatever adventurous birth came along with that but was not prepared for the bumpy path h...

Hello Brave Friends! 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 it okay to take a vacation with the typical members of the family while leaving my child with complex needs behind and if so, how do I deal with the guilt I feel about planning that trip and how do I tell my...