InvisiYouth Chat Sessions

Hiatus no longer! After eight long months of no new video podcast episodes, we are FINALLY back with a new InvisiYouth Chat Sessions, and host Dominique is so hyped up to be back! We don’t need yet another reminder of the chaos from this COVID19 pandemic, so we are not gonna bring any more stress into your lives and chat about that on our podcast. Instead, we are going to do what we do best at Inv...

Sometimes you make fast friends with people. That’s exactly what happened when founder Dominique was first introduced (via Twitter, obviously) to our very special guest on this episode, British chronic illness and lifestyle blogger, founder of Spoonie Survival Kits, author and freelance writer, Pippa Stacey. It’s no exaggeration when we say Pippa is a fan favorite among the chronic illness communi...

Nothing feels better during the start of the January winter than daydreaming about those ideal vacation getaways we want to plan. All those warm, tropical destinations we’d love to escape to during these winter months. But let’s be real…planning a vacation or trip when you have a chronic illness or disability can be quite complicated. We want to make holidays fun and spontaneous again, so we enlis...

Challenge the exclusion so many with chronic illness/disability face and reshape everyone’s perception (including your own person mindset). That’s what has driven the ultimate female founder warrior, Tiffany Yu. After a car accident as a child resulted in her personal experience living with brachial plexus palsy (nerve damage in her right arm), Tiffany had to grow up within the framework of others...

Reunited and it is truly video podcast ear candy! We are bringing back one of our favorite guests from Season One, and a dear friend of Dominique’s to the Chat Sessions and they have upped their game to make this a highlight episode yet again! We are talking about philanthropist, award-winning children’s book author, executive producer and cystic fibrosis activist Travis Flores! 2019 has been a ye...

#RelationshipGoals! We see that hashtag on social media and we get to see those love-fest posts about all that bonds two people together. But as someone in the chronic illness/disability community, these happy posts can bring about a lot of different questions. Even more so, when it’s a partnership between a chronically ill/disabled person and a ‘healthy/able-bodied’ person. Mainly…how does this k...

Long-term goals can become one of the most stressful parts of young adult life. People want to know about your plans for university or work, if you want to get married, whether you want to travel or settle down, and if a family and kids are in the cards. And these questions can be pretty intense without the added layer of figuring out your future with a chronic illness/disability. Health issues ca...

When loungewear clothing brand Aerie dropped their #AerieReal campaign, the world got a severe case of inclusive diversity. There were models with insulin pumps, canes and ostomy bags but one model in particular got top news coverage: 21-year-old Georgia native, Abby Sams, who rocked her wheelchair in her shots.  Seeing a young woman in a well-recognized campaign that was being celebrated in their...

To be an influencer, or not to be an influencer? That is the question! In today’s world, the idea of making a career with your social media savvy and your Instagram account is super appealing. Add in the fact that it is a predominately virtual-led career path and it seems overtly-tantalizing for the chronic illness and disability community. Hell, even our programming is virtually-focused and relie...

Mental Health Awareness Month may have ended, but we’re keeping this conversation going since mental health is an all-year thing!  There are still so many misconceptions, stigmas and social norms that make the “mental health chatter” seem challenging. To say that first sentence, to yourself or a loved one, sometimes we really don’t know how to begin, or how to help ourselves. So what better way to...

When we see ourselves in films, in the characters on the silver screen, you not only feel represented, but you can widen our dreamscape. And it’s no wonder that when we talk self-confidence, when we talk dating, when we talk relationships, we never so rarely have a movie or TV show to relate to. Today’s guest is bringing the knowledge on the worlds of dating and films with chronic illness/disabili...

One of the biggest questions we get in “how do I handle my relationships while living with a chronic illness or disability?”  And there are all types of relationships—romantic, familial, parents, siblings, caregivers, friends, doctors—that we experience every day. There’s so many complexities in how our relationships can thrive, so throughout Season Two, our podcast will bring you guest experts th...

We’ve all seen these Instagram-worthy photos of mouthwatering meals, and oftentimes wonder if we could ever cook something that looks  that  delicious. And when you have a chronic illness or disability, entering the kitchen can feel more like a survivor challenge with lots of rules instead of a fun and freeing time to cook. But one woman has not only brought the fun, humor and tastiness to cooking...

Not every day you get to start off a video podcast asking your guest where they keep their four Paralympic medals, and how they named their memoir! But that got to be some of the many topics we chatted about with our special guest on this episode! Even better, this guest has been our Celebrity Ambassador for three years, and we are so thrilled to finally bring you this collaboration with the incre...

What better way to start off Season Two of InvisiYouth Chat Sessions: A Video Podcast series than getting to chat away with a stellar and successful YouTuber who’s made a name for herself before she even turned 16! With new segments, a new visual set, and new episode format, the video podcast series is stepping it up a notch to make each episode jam-packed with lifestyle tricks, empowerment skills...

"One September 2nd 2018, the world experienced the great loss of one of its most brilliant, generous and loving voices, Cystic Fibrosis activist, YouTuber, motivational speaker and founder of Claire’s Place Foundation, Claire Wineland. Over the years I launched InvisiYouth Charity, Claire and I got to know one another and begin building a friendship while working together. Claire even became...

All over the media, we see actors and musicians talking about body confidence and clothing campaigns pushing body positivity…but what does that really mean if you don’t know how to become more body confident? Add onto that all the complications of being a young person with chronic illness and disability and life can get complicated. We are completely fangirling over our British guest on this Invis...

Let’s face it, people tend to get into those awkward moments the second they notice you have a chronic illness or disability. Truly, it’s the metaphorical elephant in the room, and it feels taboo for most people without connections to illness/disability to talk about. This third themed-group of episodes is called “So We’re Gonna Get Talking About Taboo Topics” so we can tackle head-on all the majo...

The truth of the matter is that finding a job when you have a chronic illness or disability can feel like it’s going to be a bit more challenging than for others. And let’s face it, we all have to pay the bills, so getting a job with a steady paycheck is a goal…but how do we find jobs that can adapt to our health struggles, work with colleagues that are healthy/able-bodied, and still rock our acti...

When our nonprofit gets asked about what kinds of career paths they’d like to take, a major goal we hear is about turning those Instagram accounts and blogs into a financial income. Yes, we’re talking about professional Instgramers, YouTubers and Bloggers, the new dream career for many 21st century young adults. For those with illness/disability, blogging is a refuge and creative release to connec...

After a bit of a hiatus while the InvisiYouth team wraps up building another NEW VIRTUAL PROGRAM, we got Dominique back in the studio for another episode in our career-finding guidebook theme. We know the drama arts is an interest for the illness/disability community, and many of the InvisiYouth family live with physical difference, so we wanted a guest expert that knows a thing or two about body...

With our second episode in the career-finding guidebook of this themed-group, the focus goes right to entrepreneurship, and all of you young adults that want to build your own businesses. Because really…who could make a better understanding supervisor about balancing work and health struggles than you as the boss? And this episode gets to be fun for two reasons: our special guest is in-studio, AND...

We get asked all the time what are the best careers, the how to’s on choosing a university, picking a major, or choosing a job, because living with an illness/disability makes that selection unique to others. This second themed-group of episodes is called “So You Got that Diagnosis…Now What” and for the next six episodes, we’ll feature special guests that have built exceptional careers all while l...

We close out our invisible illness and mental health-themed shows with a real showstopper, and that takes us back to our friends across the pond in the United Kingdom with The Mix, a leading nonprofit that provides support to young adults with all the factors that can challenge life. Plus, not one, but two of their staff join Dominique on the episode, Director of Brand and Innovation, Zoë Bailie a...

Five episodes into our six-episode arc of invisible illness and mental health-themed shows, and we’re putting the focus on levels of activism and advocacy in daily life with invisible illnesses. And the guest expert had to be rare disease healthcare activist, and founder of the international nonprofit, Sick Chicks, Shira Strongin. Her work has not only assisted in legislation advocacy, and empower...