Especially Organized: Sensible Solutions for Special Needs Moms

39 | Sibling Bonds: Growing Up With A Sister With Down Syndrome Join me as I have a wonderfully candid discussion with my own son, Casey's big brother, Dan! Looking back, the impact of my daughter's diagnosis on my son was one of the very first fears I realized after her birth. I worried that she would hold him back, that I would not have the time or energy to focus on both her extra needs...

38 | Embracing Neurodiversity in Home Organization Unlocking the secrets to a harmoniously organized home if your brain works a bit differently can be quite a challenge. Alyssa from Alyssa's Yellow House joins us to shed light on home organization for neurodivergent individuals, bringing in her personal experiences with ADHD and autism. She offers an intimate look at how routines, as opposed t...

37 | Preparing For Emergencies With A Special Needs Child Happy New Year! I hope you had a nice holiday season and are ready to start the New Year with a renewed sense of purpose and fresh eyes and ears. So, listen in as I kick off the new year with a focus on a topic that's crucial yet often overlooked—emergency preparedness, especially when caring for loved ones with special needs. Research...

36 | Happy New Year! Just letting you know that I will be taking a quick 2 week break to recover from the melee of the holiday season! It was a rough one! :) You will also notice that my audio is a little different. That is because I am in the middle of an office redo/upgrade: my desk is in transit and I can't access my microphone right now! All the more reason for a quick break. But Season 3...

35 | Storing and Protecting Your Important Documents When you're a parent of a special needs child, and a professional organizer to boot, you'd think your important documents would be in perfect order. But I found out that even I had let things slide. In this episode, I share how I have reorganized and secured my critical documents – a task that became even more pressing after my husband a...

34 | Storage Wars: A Professional Organizer's Own Struggle With Clutter And What You Can Learn From It Ready to declutter and find peace amidst the holiday season chaos? I'm exposing my own personal struggle with clutter, as a professional organizer who's held onto a storage unit for the past decade. Embarrassing, I know, but I'm sharing my journey to inspire and encourage you in y...

33 | Shaping Lives Through Sport: Advocating for Special Needs Athletes We are taking a break from pantry purging and closet cleaning to talk with the amazing Tony Vlahovic, a man who wears many hats - coach, rehab therapist, author - with an unwavering dedication to advocate for individuals with special needs. As a child, Tony quickly learned to see individuals for who they are, not their conditi...

32 | Breaking the Cycle of Dumping and Scattering: Tips for Frazzled Parents Ever felt like a human Roomba, cleaning up after your special needs child who seems to love scattering their toys and clothes all around? Prepare to regain control of your space as we navigate the chaos of the notorious dumper. Yes, you heard it right. If you're a parent of a special needs child who loves scattering t...

31 | Preparing for the Holidays with Special Needs Kids Join me this week as we explore how to navigate the holiday season with special needs children. Let's get prepared to create a calming and inviting environment, making sure your kids have a joyful and stress-free holiday, and that you can take care of yourself during this bustling time of the year. From setting up a guest room to managing...

30 | Make Way For Your Entry Way: How to Set it Up for Success As part of my Clutter Buster Series on these busy and special holiday weeks, I want to bring you content that is quick, applicable and easy to digest. So this short episode will hopefully give you some ideas to declutter, organize, and transform your entryway into the epitome of warm welcome and function! This episode is all about unde...

29 | Overcoming Challenges: An Insightful Approach to Special Needs Parenting with Kara Ryska Ever wonder how the lens through which we view time impacts our daily lives, decisions, and sense of self? We explore this intriguing subject with our guest, Kara Ryska, a special needs mom, professional coach, and podcast host who shares invaluable insights from her personal and professional experiences....

28 | Empowering Healthier Eating Strategies in our Kids Ever wondered just how you can help your kids make healthier food choices while fostering their independence? Our captivating guest, Shaelyn Christensen, a single mother and entrepreneur from Denver, has found a way. Shaelyn shares her enlightening journey of personal and parenting transformation, including her eye-opening encounter with Dian...

27 | Managing Healthcare for Adults with Down Syndrome: A Special Interview with Dr. Tara Goodwin Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month! To finish out this awesome month, I am delighted to share this enlightening interview with you! Imagine a world where every health issue faced by an individual with Down syndrome is not simply attributed to their condition. Meet Dr. Tara Goodwin, a medical professi...

25 | Banishing Burnout In Special Needs Moms Life can sometimes feel like a never-ending tightrope walk, especially for mothers with special needs children. Stress, exhaustion, and anger have an uncanny way of creeping up when we least expect it. If you ever find yourself numbing out, doom-scrolling on social media, or staying up too late binge-watching the latest season of Yellowstone, you might...

24 | How Past Trauma Affects Our Organizing Habits Now -- with Tonya Schrougham Join us for this enlightening story of how one woman's experience in a religious cult and being raised by a mother with a hoarding disorder affected the way she looks at organizing today. As a wife and mother of 2 young girls with ADHD, Tonya has had to come to terms with her past by acknowledging the beliefs that...

23 | Spotlight on Down Syndrome: Celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month with Casey Jane O'Brien October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month and I couldn't start this month out without acknowledging the person that changed my life in the most profound way. My daughter, Casey Jane, is the light and the glue of our entire family. I could not imagine my life without her in it. She is the one t...

22 | The Benefits of Sensory Play with Jennifer Stalley of Meemzy Magic Do you struggle to find ways to engage your special needs child? When they are young and eager and their brains are malleable and ready for all those neural connection opportunities that we can provide them, it can still be hard to engage with our kiddos. Maybe you are exhausted after work, maybe they have other siblings that...

21 | Getting Our Kids to Sleep with Allison Egidi, Pediatric Sleep Cloach Unlock the knowledge of how sleep impacts your child's emotional well-being, learning, and overall growth in this enlightening conversation with pediatric sleep coach, Allison Egidi. Sleep is one of the most important activities you can do to help you stay healthy and that goes even double for our kids. Getting enough sl...

20 | Getting Creative About Art with Suzanne Finan Let's explore how we can help our kids get more creative, express their feelings and enjoy the process of making art, without losing the functionality of your home to a glitter bomb and paint everywhere. In this episode, beloved art teacher, Suzanne Finan helps us think about how we can encourage our kids to use everyday items and activities t...

19 | Transition Survival Series Part 5: Legacy Planning with Kate Hufnagel, The Digital Wrangler We wrap up our transition series with a very special guest, my new friend, Kate. Kate Hufnagel is a professional legacy organizer, speaker and coach who helps individuals and families do the important work that nobody likes to talk about. She’s on a mission to normalize conversations about planning for...

18 | Transition Survival Skills Part 4: Moving with Paige Strawn Moving your home when you have a child with special needs is not for the faint of heart. Transitions like moving can be especially stressful for our kiddos since it is already stressful for parents. In fact, moving has been rated as one of the most stressful situations we go through as adults, right up there with the birth of a child...

17 | Transition Survival Series Part 3: Living Independently, A Chat With Molly Denny, Ph. D. If you have a loved one with a disability and have wondered if they are ever going to be able to live independently and have their own life separate from their parents, this episode is for you. I sit down with Molly Denny, Ph. D., the Director of Community Life at Daymark Living in Waxahachie, TX. We talk...

16 | Transition Survival Series Part 2: Job Skills and Adulting with Mere Pace Do you have a teen/young adult with a learning or intellectual disability? Are you starting to think about what their life will be like after they complete school? The transition between school and adulthood/job life can be one of the more challenging in our parenting journey. To help us navigate and prepare for the roa...

15 | Transition Survival Series Part 1: Back-To-School with Courtney Howard Do you remember your first day of kindergarten? What about middle school or even high school?  You’re still a little tired from waking up early for the first time in 10 weeks and you’ve got that mix of nervousness and excitement whirling around perhaps in your head or even your stomach making it too hard for you to eat. Ho...

14 | Going to Summer Camp: How to Prepare Your Special Needs Child (and Yourself!) Do you have a kiddo headed to camp this summer? Is it the first time? Then I am here to help! Fortunately, there are so many opportunities for our special needs kiddos (and adults) to attend summer camp now! It's really awesome! But, it can be a bit daunting to send your special needs kiddo (or adult) off to sle...