Empowering Ability Podcast

Ted Kuntz shares his journey of personal transformation as he realized the who he wanted to be in the world with his son Joshua and with others. Ted Kuntz is a gifted psychotherapist and the author of the best-selling books,  Peace Begins With Me  and  8 Weeks to A Better Relationship . Ted has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and more than 25 years experience as a clinician and a consul...

Learn how people with disabilities have lived, how they are living, and what we have learned from renowned consultant Michael Kendrick.   [4-minute read, 65-minute listen]            It is my pleasure to bring to you episode #047 with well-known international consultant in Human Services, Michael Kendrick PhD. Michael is involved in consulting, education and evaluative work with many governments,...

Brian shares his story of multiple health challenges and family adversities, and his insights about how we can re-write our story and take control of our lives.   In this episode, I have an engaging conversation with life coach,  Brian Raymond King . Throughout Brian’s life he’s been a student of adversity as he experienced multiple health diagnosis including; cancer, ADHD and MS – as well as goin...

Guest Lynne Seagle shares how her organizaton was oppressing people with disabilities, and what they did about it.   This week’s guest is Lynne Seagle, CEO of  Hope House Foundation , a not-for-profit organization started in 1964 by family members whom had sons and daughters with developmental disabilities in Virginia, USA. These families wanted something other than an institutional living for the...

Guest Joscelyn Duffy shares her strategies of resiliency through her recovery from a life threatening illness, & we discuss how to be a compassionate supporter. Joscelyn Duff y is a communication and contribution strategist who travels the world serving leaders in the development of their messages, model and methodologies. At the young age of 26, Joscelyn went from high potential employee in the f...

Guest Nick Maisey, founder of Befriend, shares his insights on building relationships and creating more inclusive cultures. Nick is an Occupational Therapist, social entrepreneur and community builder from Perth, Australia. With the support of the  Westpac Bicentennial Foundation , Nick completed a Social Change Fellowship to undertake an international information exchange, to enhance his learning...

Welcome to Episode #042 of the Empowering Ability Podcast/ Blog. Today’s episode is about ‘Understanding the Sibling Experience, with Helen Ries.’ Before we get into the content of this episode, first some housekeeping because it has been awhile since you have heard from me.   Almost 4 months in fact.   In December 2017, I shared with you that the podcast would be taking a break for a couple of mo...

Al Condeluci provides us with a 4-stage framework to build social capital (meaningful relationships) for people with disabilities. Keenan Wellar also joins us to share the experience of putting the framework into action with his team at LiveWorkPlay . This podcast was created from a segment in Episode 006 , so it might be the second listen for you long time listeners, but it is so good that it is...

Dr. Jen created the The Umbrella Project which embodies the idea of using challenges life throws at us as an opportunity to learn new skills and cope.   In this week’s episode of the Empowering Ability podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with good friend, Dr. Jennifer Forristal (aka Dr. Jen). Dr. Jen helps us to understand the approach a Naturopathic Doctor (N.D) takes with a patient, educates...

Don is one of the world’s leading experts on siblings, and has supported siblings for the last 35 years. Don Meyer, Director of the  Sibling Support Project .  The  Sibling Support Project  is a national program in the United States, with international presence, dedicated to the millions of brothers and sisters of people with developmental disabilities. The program is supported by Washington state...

In this week’s episode on the Empowering Ability Podcast we welcome guest Dr. Annick Janson, whom resides in NZ. Dr. Annick Janson is a clinical phycologist, and a mother of 3 children. Her youngest child, Yaniv, is on the spectrum, and life changed quite a bit when he came into their lives. Annick carries the deep personal experiences of being both a family member and a service professional.   As...

In 1995, Patti looked to redesign the disability support organization, moving away from the norm, and she co-founded  Neighbours Inc. ; an organization that supports people in an individualized way to live a full life in a community in the of their choosing.   What led Patti to do things differently?   Paraphrasing from the podcast, Patti Shares:   It was the inequities that I saw.  In the group h...

Discussing bio medical (non-medical) approaches to well-being for people with disabilities. This week’s podcast/ blog is a rebroadcast from  Episode #026  with  Janet Klees . Janet Klees has been involved in the lives of people with disabilities, their families, and allies in community for over 30 years. Until recently, she has been coordinator with the family-governed  Deohaeko Support Network  f...

This week’s guest on the podcast/ blog is David Hasbury. David shares the history of disability, and disability services to help us understand how we got to where were are today. David also shares how we can think differently about disability to create a world where people with disabilities are included as citizens. For more than 30 years, David has been committed to empowering people with disabil...

Learn what intentional community is, and the building blocks to build your own intentional community. This week, I am re-sharing an important conversation from  Episode #022  on Intentional Community, with  Janet Klees  and Linda Dawe.  Janet Klees has been involved in the lives of people with disabilities, their families, and allies in community for over 30 years. Until recently, she has been coo...

Learn how the OPZ family care system works, and hear Toni Smit's foster family experience. Also, hear the benefits and drawbacks of being a foster family.   Geel Belgium and OPZ Family Care:  The family care system in Geel Belgium evolved in the 1300's from the local legend for St. Dymphna. It was thought that St. Dymphna could cure any illness, and many people traveled to Geel to be cured, and en...

Siblings supporting their brother's and sister's on friendships, dating, and dreaming big, with Melissa Janson   Today, we are kicking off our second mini-series on the podcast, and over the next few months we are going to focusing in on siblings. Siblings are often forgotten about in the family equation when there is a disability in the family, yet they can play such an important role. In this mi...

Jessica and I discuss her approach to helping families create a home, lessons learned from the Be At Home Creative Housing Supports project , innovative housing solutions, overcoming barriers to housing, as well as some great resources.    This week’s guest on the  Empowering Ability  Podcast/ Blog is  Jessica Cave , Creative Housing Supports Coordinator at  Bridges to Belonging  in Kitchener, Ont...

In this podcast, we discuss the most common question Brendon is asked by families, which is: 'How do I secure the future for my loved one with a disability?'  This week’s guest on the Empowering Ability podcast / blog is Brendon Pooran, Principal lawyer at Pooran Law in Toronto, Ontario. Brendon always had an interest in disability law, which stems from his life experience as he grew up with sibli...

Bill Hiltz shares his story of how he was mistreated and caged in an institution as a toddler, freed by loving people, and how he has grown into a leader advocating for positive change for people with disabilities.   In this podcast episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing ‘Team Bill’, including; Bill Hiltz, and his supporters Joyce Balaz and Arn Row. Bill is a disability advocate that is promo...

Parenting author, Ann Douglas, discusses parenting a child with a mental illness /disability, and practicing self-care so we are available as care-givers.   This week on the podcast/ blog I welcome Ann Douglas, author of numerous books on parenting with over half a million copies sold. Ann and I discuss her newest book titled “ Parenting Through the Storm ”, which is a guide to parenting a child w...

In this week’s podcast/ blog our featured guest is Jeff Dobbin, Executive Director of  Partners for Planning  (P4P) in Toronto Ontario. Jeff and I discuss the idea of creating a culture of possibility for people with disabilities, why planning and intentionality is so important, the three most important building blocks to think about when getting started with planning, and the resources that P4P p...

We welcome Janet Klees back to the podcast/ blog this week discuss building natural relationships, bio medical approaches to well-being, and the different approach her organization,  Durham Association for Family Respite Services,  takes to supporting families. Janet has been involved in the lives of people with disabilities, their families, and allies in community for over 30 years. She is the au...

This week’s guest on Empowering Ability Podcast and Blog is  Chris Woodhead , Group Director of Housing and Business Development for  Dimensions UK .  We talk about housing in the UK, and the approach Dimensions UK has for supporting people with learning disabilities and  autism spectrum disorder (ASD)  to find and create a home in Part 5/6 of the mini-series on housing for people with a disabilit...

In my conversations with people with disabilities, their families, and supporters one of the biggest dreams they have is social acceptance. This blog and podcast gives steps we can take to start creating a more inclusive world for people with disabilities. We are talking stigma in part 2 of our interview with Jackie Goldstein. Jackie is an observer, educator, author and speaker on community care s...