Hope on the Hard Road Special Needs Podcast

Family Series: “Creativity in Marriage & Parenting” with Angela and Mike O’Brien     You are going to love this episode! We have Angela O’Brien of the Especially Organized Podcast back on and she’s joined by her husband Mike. This is going to be another fun and heartfelt episode in our marriage and family series that you won’t want to miss!   Angela and Mike have been married for 26 years and...

Family Series: 'Building a Healthy Marriage' with Garett and Becky Wall   We are continuing on in our family series with an episode on marriage and parenting with Garett and Becky Wall. These 2 are an amazing couple and team! Becky and Garett live in Louisville, Kentucky and have two children, Lily (14) and Isaac (12), who is diagnosed with Down Syndrome and Autism. Garett serves as the Connection...

Family Series: “Teammates in Marriage” Intro: With our Date Night coming up on Feb 15th, on this episode we’re sharing last year’s Date Night presentation. As caregiving couples it is often hard to find quality time to connect. That is what our Date Night is all about. We hope you’ll be inspired and encouraged by this message of hope on how even under the hardest of circumstances we can still thri...

Show Notes: Camille Block Family Series: “Hope for Secondhand Suffering”   Intro: We begin our Family Series with an episode dedicated to all of the amazing siblings out there. If you are a sibling of someone with special needs we want you to know that we see you and we celebrate you. Siblings often miss out on allot in life and yet siblings also often become some of the most empathetic and caring...

🎉 2025 Happy New Year Preview! 🎉 Welcome to a brand-new year with Hope on the Hard Road! In this special episode, we reflect on the challenges and victories of the past year and share an exciting look at what’s ahead in 2025. Get a sneak peek of upcoming episodes featuring topics like navigating family dynamics, self-care strategies for caregivers, and inspiring guest stories of resilience and h...

2024 Year End Review As the year comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on some of the most powerful and inspiring moments from our fall season. In this special year-end review episode, we revisit stories of resilience, the power of community, and the joy of celebrating milestones — big and small. Join us as we highlight these memorable clips and the incredible voices that remind us we...

Series: Medical   “Advocacy and Fundraising for Medical Families” with Abby Zachritz   Today is our final episode in our medical family series, and it’s a good one. Abby Zachritz is an advocate, corporate consultant, speaker, and a mother of five including a son with disability. Known as 'Advocacy Abby,' she provides essential support and resources to families facing life-altering situations. As C...

Series: Medical  “Medical Caregiving and Community” with Andy and Laura Gibson Intro: We are talking today with Andy and Laura Gibson, co founders of Certain Hope Community, a nonprofit bringing hope and support to families located in Michigan, and we love that ofcourse.  Andy and Laura have 4 children and their youngest daughter Briella was born with a rare chromosome disorder that came with a lo...

Series: Medical “Finding Hope in the Midst of Medical Complexity” with Andrea Bourne Foster Welcome to the podcast. This episode is full of heart and hope. Today we begin our Medical series with author, speaker, educator and advocate Andrea Bourne Foster. Andrea is the mom of 2 beautiful daughters diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis and epilepsy. She is no stranger to hospital stays and ongoing proc...

Series: Future Planning "Supplemental Security Income (SSI) & Employment" with Aleyada Toruno We continue on in our Future Planning Series today with a topic that many of us have allot of questions about. Can an individual receive both Supplemental Security Income or SSI and be employed earning an income. This can be a complicated subject and we are incredibly blessed to have expert Aleyda Tor...

Series: Future Panning "Future Planning" with Wendy Smith Welcome back to the podcast. Today we begin our Future Planning Series with Wendy Smith of Home of Guiding Hands.  Wendy is an incredible resource. She is not only a parent of a 31 year old son with a disability, but has also been working with and advocating for people with developmental disabilities for more than thirty-five years. Wendy h...

Series: Kicking off the School Year “Transition IEPs” with Crystal Sanford Hey guys, as we continue on in our School Year Kick Off Series, today’s episode is going to be a huge help to those of us facing IEP Transition Planning. If your child has an IEP, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA requires that students have an Individual Transition Plan or ITP in their IEP by the time...

Series: Kicking off the School Year “Everything No One Tells You About” with Kelly Coleman Welcome to today’s episode. As a parent of a child with special needs there is so much to know and do! There are school IEPs to advocate at for educational needs, there are insurance companies to haggle with for medical needs, and there are government programs to apply for and renew annually for resource nee...

Series: Kicking off the School Year “Kicking off the School Year Organized”  with Angela O'Brien Welcome to Season 4 of the Podcast! We hope you all enjoyed your summer. We know how crazy the summer can be with being off schedule.  We hope you had a chance to enjoy time with family and friends. You are going to love this episode. Angela Obrien from the Especially Organized Podcast is back to kick...

"Season 3 Sign Off" with Eric and Christen Freund Today we look back at season 3 of the Podcast and reflect on all the fantastic stories and insights from our guests.  We look at some o fothe high lights of the year so you can go back and catch some these episodes if you missed them or just wanted to hear them again.  Eric and Christen Freund are co-founders of Hope on the Hard Road Inc., a nonpro...

David Robbins: Dads Series "Ministering to Dads Part 2" with David Robbins Today we are continuing our conversation with David Robbins as we wrap up our Dads series.  David is the dad of 4 children. His oldest son Ford has cystic fibrosis, so he understands the challenges of raising a kid with special needs.   David is married to his wife Meg and together they lead FamilyLife where David is the CE...

David Robbins: Dads Series "Ministering to Dads Part 1" with David Robbins I’m so excited to have David Robbins on the podcast today.   David joins us as we are continuing in our Dads Series. David is the dad of 4 children. His oldest son Ford has cystic fibrosis, so he understands the challenges of raising a kid with special needs.   David is married to his wife Meg and together they lead FamilyL...

Steve Chatman: Dad Series                      “Rising Above as a Dad Part 2” with Steve Chatman We are so excited to have Steve Chatman back on to the podcast today.  Steve is the Vice President at Rising Above Ministries, a nonprofit in Tennessee that is dedicated to lifting up the special needs community.  As both a ministry leader and a dad with special needs children, Steve brings a wealth of...

Steve Chatman: Dad Series                      “Rising Above as a Dad Part 1” with Steve Chatman We are so excited to have Steve Chatman on to the podcast today.  Steve is the Vice President at Rising Above Ministries, a nonprofit in Tennessee that is dedicated to lifting up the special needs community.  As both a ministry leader and a dad with special needs children, Steve brings a wealth of insi...

Garett Wall: Dad Series “Shining as a Dad” with Garett Wall I’m so excited to have Garett Wall back with us today on the podcast.   Garett joins us as we are in our Dads Series today. Garett is the Dad of a son with Down Syndrome and Autism so he really understands the journey.  He serves as the Connections Minister with Shine Disabilities Ministry at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kent...

Intro Angela O’Brien Mom Series: “Reclaiming Hope” Welcome back to our mom series. We’re excited to introduce you to Angel Obrien of the “Especially Organized Podcast”. Angela lives in Texas and is professional organizer who, as a mom of a daughter diagnosed with Down Syndrome, loves working with parents of children with special needs to create a calm and peaceful environment for themselves and th...

Moms Series: “Moms Retreat Panel” with our panel of speakers: Stacy Shradar, Andreina Carillo, Cheri Monis, Sandi Anderson , and Teri Stashak (pictured left to right) We’re so excited you joined us today. We are beginning our series for moms. With our Moms Day Out Retreat coming up in May, we wanted to share with you a little bit of last year‘s event. So sit back with your favorite drink in hand o...

Family Series "Stories from Siblings"with Joey and Stephanie Alarcon and Lynette Fuson We’re excited that you are joining us today. We are continuing on in our family series with “Stories from Siblings”. Siblings each have their own journeys and their own stories to share. When special needs enters into the picture for a family each member of the family is effected. Siblings face a lifelong journe...

Marriage Series "Marriage in the Midst Part 2" with Eric and Christen Freund Welcome back to part 2 of 2 episodes on Marriage in our Family Series. Today we are talking about investing in your marriage. These episodes come from a recording of our “Marriage in the Midst” presentation at last year’s Date Night. For more on this presentation, head over to our store at Hopeonthehardroad.org where you...

Marriage Series "Marriage in the Midst Part 1" with Eric and Christen Freund Welcome to part 1 of 2 episodes on Marriage in our Family Series. Today we are talking about Taking Care of Yourself. These episodes come from a recording of our “Marriage in the Midst” presentation at last year’s Date Night. For more on this presentation, head over to our store at Hopeonthehardroad.org where you can purc...