Dad to Dad Podcast

Our guest this week is Don Raineri, president of Dads of Steele. Don is the father of four children,, including twins; one with Down Syndrome and the other who, sadly, died at childbirth. We’ll hear Don’s family story, about his faith and Dads of Steele, a charity dedicated to strengthening dads to be more present in their children’s lives. That’s all on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad pod...

Our guest this week is Tony Gayle, a US Army and US Marine veteran as well as father of a son with special needs. He has an amazing story to tell and we’re hearing it in two parts. Last week we heard how Tony grew up on a US military base in Panama, then moved to NYC with his Panamanian mom only to end up in foster care before being raised by an elderly Jewish couple. He served in both the US Mari...

Our guest this week on the Dad to Dad Podcast is Tony Gayle, an Army and Marine veteran whose son has special needs. He’s got an amazing story to tell and we’ll hear it in two parts. This week, we’ll hear how Tony almost lost his son when he was born, only to lose his wife from complications of that delivery. It’s an incredibly moving story from an incredibly powerful story teller. And it’s all in...

Our guest on this Dad to Dad Podcast is Rob Kenney of Seattle, WA, who is also known as 'The YouTube Dad' with over 3 million subscribers. Rob has created more than 60 'Dad How Do I?' videos that have taken off in popularity during the COVID pandemic. We’ll hear about Rob’s faith and how the pandemic has brought him a huge internet following. That’s all on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad P...

Our guest this week is James Mack of Columbia, SC. James has spent his career working with people who have Autism. He also has a step-son who is autistic. We’ll hear James’ unique story and many words of wisdom about raising a child with special needs. That’s all on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast. South Carolina Autism Society - www.scautism.org Brookland Baptist Church - https://...

Our guest this week is Rob Johnson who is a seven time Emmy award winning broadcast journalist and an outspoken advocate for those with disability. He has a brother, Edward (48) who has Down Syndrome. David Hirsch talked to Rob about his life experiences and lessons from growing up with a brother with special needs. Rob is also the author of Timothy Trainor: Head In The Game (2015), which is a chi...

Our guest on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Casey Parks of Mercer Island, WA., who is a deputy prosecuting attorney and father of two children, one of whom, Ford, was diagnosed with CTNNB1 Syndrome, a rare genetic deletion. We’ll hear the Parks family story and all about Casey’s wife Effie who created the Once Upon a Gene Podcast. That’s all on this Special Fathers Network Dad...

Our guest on this two-part Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Phil Irwin. Phil is the father of three girls including 1½ year old twins who were conjoined until August 2020, when surgeons successfully separated the twins at 14 months. In this second part we’ll hear about the recent successful surgery to separate the twins. The Million Dollar Day. It’s a fascinating story and it is all o...

Our guest on this special two-part Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Phil Irwin. Phil is the father of three girls including 1½ year old twins who were conjoined until jAugust, when surgeons successfully separated the two at 14 months. We’ll hear the first part in this episode in which Phil and his wife Alyson discover they’ll have twins that are conjoined. It’s a fascinating story and...

David Hirsch’s guest on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Michael Striegl. Michael is a teacher whose core mission is to help children. Michael himself has two kids who are both autistic. Hear his story of being adopted and later raising two kids with differing special needs. It’s a fascinating listen and all on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast.

Our guest this week is Evan Spotswood of San Clemente, CA. Evan works in facilities management at Chapman University and has two children; Fletcher and June, who are both autistic. He served 5 1/2 years in the Navy, which included two deployments. We'll hear his faith, his family and some of his challenges and triumphs, including overcoming alcoholism on this Special Fathers Network, Dad to Dad Po...

Our guest this week on The Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Dr. Bob Franks, who is a nationally recognized child psychologist, is the president and CEO of the Judge Baker Children’s Center, is on the clinical faculty at Harvard Medical School and author of Be A Better Parent: 10 Strategies For Being The Best You Can Be For Your Child. Bob is also the father of twin teenage boys adopte...

Our guest on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Blair Cornell. Blair is a financial advisor with UBS Financial Services and founder of JoyRide.org, a not for profit whose mission is to provide kids with special needs an opportunity to ride in incredibly special vehicles. Think Ferrari, or Bugatti. Blair and his wife Kat have four children, including 9 year old Carter, who has Dandy...

Our guest on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is New York Times best selling author, Bill Danko. Sadly, Bill's dad, Milton, a WWII veteran, died at 38 from MS and his older brother, Tony, was also diagnosed at 21 with MS and died in 2015 at age 68. Through faith, with gratuity, and an incredibly upbeat attitude, Bill keeps keeping on. Bill also discusses his bestselling book The Mil...

Our guest this week on the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast is Lon Haldeman, one of the world’s most well respected long distance, endurance bike riders of all time. He’s also and a mentor, of sorts, to our host David Hirsch. Lon and his wife Susan, herself a champion bike rider, have two children, Rebecca and Ericka, who sadly passed away just shy of her first birthday of Infantile ALS. It’s an incredibly...

David Hirsch’s guest on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Alex Lyebelsky. Alex and his family came to the U.S. from Russia when he was a boy. He now lives in Wheaton, Illinois and works in corporate recruiting. He and his wife Tonie have two children, one of whom, Amanda, has Autism ADHD and cognitive challenges. We’ll hear about Alex's journey to the U.S.and how he and Tonie have...

Our guest this this week is Stephen "Doc" Hunsley . Doc is a father of three children, one of whom, Mark, sadly passed away at age five due to complications from Dravet Syndrome and Autism. Doc is the founder of SOAR (Special Opportunities Abilities & Relationships) Special Needs, focusing on Abilities/the positive not Disabilities/the negative. We’ll hear Doc’s life story, including his time in t...

Bruce Hearey is our guest this week on the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast. Bruce is an attorney who has 7 children, including 36-year-old Jill who is a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, unable to walk or talk. Bruce talks authentically about his divorce from Jill's mom and the hardest decision of his life, moving Jill to the Hattie Larlham Home, to ensure Jill will be well cared for and get the be...

Our guest on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Mark Arnold. Mark and his wife Clare live in Bournemouth, South England and are parents to Phoebe and James, who is autistic, has epilepsy and is mostly non verbal. Mark is the director of the Urban Saints Additional Needs Ministry, hosts the Additional Needs Blogfather blog, and started an advocacy group called Dad’s File Circle. We’...

On this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast, host David Hirsch talks with special father Al Feria. Al has four children, including John, who is autistic and non-verbal. Al works for One Collective a christian not for profit helping integrate communities across the globe. We’ll hear his intriguing story on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad podcast. To find out about One Collective go t...

Our guest on this Dad to Dad Podcast is Dwayne Wiseman. Dwayne was born with Dwarfism and is short statured. He and his wife Sandy, who is also short statured, have four children; two with different forms of Dwarfism, another with Dwarfism who sadly passed away at age one, and the fourth of average height. It’s a fascinating story and we’ll hear it on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcas...

On this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast, host David Hirsch talks with Chris LaFriniere. Chris is the founder of the Bunch of Dads Facebook group that currently has over 120,000 members. Chris also has a son Zachary who is autistic. We’ll hear Chris’ story on this Dad to Dad Podcast. Show Links: A Bunch Of Dads Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/abunchofdads Contact Chris La...

On this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad podcast It's the conclusion of host David Hirsch's conversation with multi media producer, director and marketer, Daniel DeFabio. Daniel and his wife Tina lost their oldest son Lucas (11) just months ago to Menkes Disease, a very rare genetic disorder. Daniel along with fellow SFN Mentor Father Bo Bigelow (SFN D2D #51) are co-founders of DISORDER: The Rar...

On this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad podcast host David Hirsch talks with multi media producer, director and marketer, Daniel DeFabio. Daniel and his wife Tina lost their oldest son Lucas (11) just months ago to Menkes Disease, a very rare genetic disorder. Daniel along with fellow SFN Mentor Father Bo Bigelow (SFN D2D #51) are co-founders of DISORDER: The Rare Disease Film Festival. It’s an...

On this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast, we hear from Nathan Woerner, a missionary with SEND international and a father of two children including Ada. (2), who has Angelman Syndrome. Nathan tells of his family's travels to Japan and the differences between American and Japanese healthcare. That’s all on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast Show Links: SEND International – htt...