Embracing Holland

Christmas is over, and so is Hanukkah. And we may have missed the official date for Festivus, December 23rd, but is there ever really a bad time to air grievances? Of course not. And we have plenty of them. Join us as we share all the things that grind our gears in the special needs world. This is not an episode of solutions, but rather a space to recognize all the things that drive us batty and a...

Join us as we explore all of the things giving us life and the things that could make great gifts for the people in your orbit, or yourself! Emphasis on yourself. We cover everything from tools and audiobooks to amazing water bottles, skincare for aging and acne-prone skin, items for dads, items only an autism parent would understand, and some of the people on the internet who do content we love!...

After a three year hiatus, Angie and Meg are back, and this time, Angie is in the hot seat. After completing her doctorate, Angie is here to share with us how and why she did it, and what it all means. You'll find out about her research which was dedicated to learning about caregivers who started businesses with and for their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities to provide a p...

We are still here, and we have both missed you all.  

Christina Adams, journalist, writer, disability advocate, and camel milk investigator, shares with us her powerful early intervention story of her son with autism and how she was able to help him through diet and camels. She outlines what she calls her "crazy camel journey" and how her research and travels to Isreal took her to a place of healing. She shares her website with us as a resource that...

Join us as we talk to Hannah Lowe, founder of the L-CMD Foundation and mother to Austin, who has LMNA-related congenital muscular dystrophy. Like many rare disease families we've talked to, her son's condition was caused by a random genetic mutation. There is no treatment or cure, and given how rare it is, they are unsure about his prognosis or life expectancy, making the mission even more urgent....

If you've ever worried about what adulthood might look like after high school or you've ever been inspired to create a meaningful space for your child to spend adulthood, tune in to our interview with critically acclaimed author, Cammie McGovern.    Cammie McGovern was awarded a creative writing fellowship at Stanford University, and has received numerous prizes for her short fiction. Her stories...

This week we chat with Leylani Cardoso, warrior parent, and mother of Sophia, her daughter with Down Syndrome. Leylani and her family helped Sophia bring her passion for food and entertaining to life by creating the YouTube Channel Cheeky Sassy Me

For this episode, we share with you another Maryland parent and fellow autism mom, Lia McCabe, who started AutismWish.org which seeks to fulfill the wish lists of families across the country without all of the red tape of government programs. She and her husband also host a podcast called Embracing Autism, which is child focus and helps parents to understand and embrace their neurodiverse children...

This episode is all about taking care of the caregiver. Rory Lawrence, mother of a child with complex medical needs and staff member with David's Refuge, talks with us about the organization she works for that pours into parents turned caregivers, and how she and her husband have found meaningful respite. We also talk about practical ways to weave in self-care that don't require a sitter but can a...

Despite ending the year on a turbulent note for our families, we are ending season two of the podcast with our awesome finds that brought us joy this year! We share with you gift ideas, sanity savers and problem solvers that we hope will bring a little joy and make your life a tad easier.  Best wishes for a healthy, uneventful holiday season free from meltdowns and a bright new year sans trips to...

Have you ever seen the meme about a special needs parent who fell in a hole? Well, that's where Meg and I find ourselves. When we started this podcast journey our mission was to highlight families with disabilities doing innovative things but to also share the reality of the ups and downs of raising children with disabilities, so this episode is a life update and a peek into where we are in the me...

We continued our chat about smearing with our guest, Jennifer Sheppard, who created an adaptive clothing line out of a dire need for an alternative to wet suits for her own son who struggles with the behavior. We also shared a bit more of our chat with Genevieve, and our own lessons learned from dealing with poo.    We talk about:   How we've become desensitized What we've found to be helpful in t...

Fecal smearing and ingesting are taboo topics that often elicit a considerable amount of shame for families. We felt like it was time to give this topic some attention to those who are struggling in the dark and aren't comfortable reaching out for suggestions in the online support groups. In response to very little information openly available to families struggling with smearing and consuming fec...

This week we chat with Joya Van Der Laan, a functional medicine family nurse practitioner whose curiosity and her own daughter's autism diagnosis lead her down the biomedical path. We learn how she has used her personal and professional experience to create videos to teach parents how to create their own autism game plan, focused on helping parents address common symptoms and challenges associated...

For this episode we speak with Megan Martin, personal trainer, health coach and purveyor of holistic wellness who used lessons learned from her own health journey to help her son with autism. She shares with us what the biomedical approach means and how she used it to address her son's symptoms, including how she did an at home fecal transplant.  We talk about: Personal illness and disease that le...

Does the thought of traveling with your children and family members with disabilities and complex medical needs intimidate you and make you shy away from leaving the house? This is the episode for you! Join our friend of the show and fellow complex medical needs mom Kristy Kargel, as we chat about how to navigate airports, long trips, and making it from point A to point B without excessive stress....

Andrea Faris Roberts, renaissance woman, innkeeper, two-time non-profit starter, and mother of two children, including a son with Down syndrome. She graciously invited us to her flagship inn called the Terrace Guest House to tell us the story of its inception and discuss the importance of getting away. Join us as we discover how she created a beautiful way for parents and caregivers to experience...

Shelley Kramm went from designer to special needs mom, to advocate then to non profit organization founder, then blogger, and she shares with us how she made her way through each of those roles as she focused on inclusive play and empowering women.  We talk about: Finding out her daughter has cerebral palsy Her transformation from mom to special needs mom Discovering the need for inclusive play sp...

Jackie Buzek, rare disease mom, doctorate level BCBA, and executive director of the Rise School Of Denver wrote a piece for the Mighty about her follow up on Welcome to Holland, where she shares what life has been like for her in this new, foreign land, so we knew that we just had to have her on the podcast! Join us as we find out how reframing our perspective can help us enjoy Holland!  We talk a...

Bekah Bowman, mother, and author with a heart for ministry shares with us what it looks like to do the hard work of stepping into the church community to show them how to love kids with disabilities and to see the incredible gifts God has given them. Bekah continually points to joy in the middle of suffering and discusses how they are often roommates.  We talk about: How her world was rocked upon...

This week we chat with Kalani Brown, mother of a son with Down syndrome and chair of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, among many other roles. She shares with us the importance of inclusion and raising expectations for people with developmental disabilities. We talk about: Receiving a down syndrome diagnosis and discovering support Navigating public school to find the balance of sup...

This week we chat with Dee Sapp, Executive Director of Accessibility Bridge Corporation, mother of three including an olympic swimmer with an intellectual disability. Dee shares with us how her passion for community inclusion lead to great things for her son and to the birth of an organization that serves to encourage people with all disabilities to integrate into the larger society and connect th...

During this episode, we chat with April Green, author, special educator, minister, and collaborator about raising three children on the autism spectrum and what has risen out of her family's challenges. She shares the importance of storytelling and how we can tell our own stories. We talk about: Parenting multiple children with autism that vary in presentation Reckoning with the perception of auti...

In celebration of International SCN2A Awareness Day on February 24th, we explore how SCN2A, a rare genetic disease, impacts each child. You'll hear from four moms with four very different children. They will show us what life has looked like for them since their diagnosis and what they are doing as a result of knowing the genetic cause for their children's medical conditions.  A BIG thank you to t...