I See Glass Children

What happens to a child when severe mental illness consumes their family—but no one notices the healthy child is disappearing too? In this deeply moving international episode of the I See Glass Children podcast, Alicia speaks with Rebekah, a 39-year-old adult glass child from Ireland who grew up alongside an older sister who experienced a severe psychotic break in her early teens and never fully r...

What if the very emotions you’ve spent your life trying to escape… are actually trying to help you? In this powerful and surprisingly freeing conversation, Alicia sits down with confidence coach Ada Undis—a woman who boldly says something most people have never heard before: “I love guilt and shame.” Ada UnDis Ada Undis is a certified Mastery Method Coach as well as a certified nutrition coach wit...

In today’s episode, you are going to hear from Abby, a 26-year-old adult glass child from the United States who has chosen to remain anonymous so she can share her story honestly and without restriction. And this conversation is different. It is DIFFICULT. We are taking an unflinching look at special needs sibling domestic violence. This is a topic most choose to avoid. We are presenting Abby’s st...

In today’s episode, we travel to Santiago, Chile to meet  Constanza Varas Kahler , a 24-year-old adult glass child who is not only living this reality, but also  researching  it for her university thesis. Children’s mental health is the focal point of Constanza’s story. Constanza grew up as the youngest of three, with a middle sister who has Down syndrome and later developed epileps...

How does Self-Compassion impact mental health? Especially in Glass Children? Today I am interviewing Dr. Cynthia Phelps, one of the world’s leading experts in self-compassion.  Dr. Phelps is a Stanford Ambassador of Compassion, International Speaker, Certified Mindfulness Instructor, and Founder of InnerAlly, a trauma-Informed company building tools, courses, and mobile apps to improve mental...

What happens to creators when they decide to dive into the dark and tell the hard stories about childhood trauma and mental health? In today’s episode, Alicia shares the deeply personal impact of creating this podcast and the ramifications it has had on her emotional well being, relationships, and mindset. She reveals the surprising feedback she has received, both positive and controversial,...

In this episode, we do something different and very important. This conversation is for parents. Three adult glass children come together in-studio to read and reflect on a list of do’s and don’ts for parents of children with special needs and disabilities. Their answers and reactions are not theories. These are lived experiences from adults who grew up alongside siblings with serious...

Our interview with Emily Wyler, a 30-something adult glass child from the United States marks a turning point in Season 1. Emily gets raw and real about the cost of being the “good one.” At 4 years old her teachers turned against her instead of understanding the trauma or nearly losing her baby sister to multiple surgeries and how her parents punished her. As a teen you’ll hear how she finally fou...

Part 2: In today’s episode, we welcome back  Megan Rodriguez, MS, LPC, NCC  — Licensed Professional Counselor and owner of  Path to Joy Counseling  in Corpus Christi, Texas — to go one level deeper. In Part 1 , Megan helped us understand  emotional invalidation  and how it can lead to  Complex PTSD . In this episode, we talk about what happens  next : how those early experiences shape the way we a...

Part 1 – Today’s episode is all about the glass child’s mental health; understanding how and why the glass child experience is so deeply impactful.  We sit down with  Megan Rodriguez, MS, LPC, NCC , a Licensed Professional Counselor and owner of  Path to Joy Counseling  in Corpus Christi, Texas. Megan specializes in helping children, adults, and families heal from trauma...

Meet Abigail Williams, a 43-year-old woman who grew up as the younger sibling to a brother with Down syndrome. From a young age, Abigail learned to make herself small. To not be a problem. To take care of everyone around her (especially her brother). To be perfect. She learned to tamp down her emotions. But what her family didn’t see…what no one saw, was that beneath the surface of the...

In today’s episode, you are going to hear the young voice of a 20-year old twin named Mae. ( NOTE: She requested anonymity. Her name and her voice have been changed to protect her privacy .) Mae grew up in the Philippines and her story is one of emotional erosion—how her older sister’s illness and the way she was raised slowly chipped away at her sense of self, her safety, and her ability to cope....

In today’s episode, we meet someone who’s become a quiet force in the movement to recognize and support glass children. She goes by the name Nope—not her real name, but the one she uses online to protect her privacy. And under that name, she created something remarkable. Nope is an adult glass child—and she’s the founder of the Glass Children SubReddit, the largest online community in the wor...

“They call us glass children. We look fine on the outside. We perform, we excel, we behave. We look like we have no problems, but inside we’re cracking. We’re carrying trauma that no one ever thought to measure.” – Alicia Meneses Maples, Glass Child Advocate & Host Welcome to the I See Glass Children Podcast, where we illuminate the invisible siblings who grew up in hig...

The I See Glass Children podcast illuminates the glass child experience so the world will see them, understand their story, and give them the life-changing help they need. Meet the Glass Children Founder and I See Glass Children Podcast Host Alicia Meneses Maples – Glass Child Advocate, Speaker, and Educator Alicia is an adult glass child who grew up in a high-needs family. Her TEDx talk set...