Living the Sky Life - Our Autism Journey

Kate Swenson, founder of Finding Cooper's Voice and the nonprofit, The More Than Project, is a mother to four kids, a wife, and a proud Minnesotan. She writes and creates videos about her life as a mother and an autism advocate for Facebook, Instagram, and her website,  Finding Cooper's Voice . Kate became a published author in 2022 with her book, Forever Boy, A Mother's Memoir of Autism and Findi...

Corey and Andrea Landreth are the parents of 4 grown children, and their 3rd born son, Trent is 25 years old and on the autism spectrum. They moved to El Dorado, Kansas to begin Real Life Christian Church in 2006 where Corey is the lead pastor. Andrea is a school psychologist in the public school system. They began the Drawings by Trent business in 2015 for their son with the goals of encouraging...

At long last... my husband Josh sits down with me for a discussion about parenting and keeping the foundation of our marriage strong even through the most stressful and challenging times.

Malinda Dalton-Cook resides in the San Diego area with her husband Chad and their 21-year-old daughter Paige, who is on the autism spectrum.   Malinda is the CEO/Founder of Paige's Pantry, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is also the host of the Autism Mastermind Podcast.   You can connect with Melinda on IG/FB: @autismmastermind

Pam founded Partners4Housing to provide a better way for families of people with IDD to find roommates and set up shared housing solutions. Her career has spanned 30 years in special needs housing, and she is an acknowledged expert in her field and a Friends of Housing Award Honoree. As housing coordinator in Seattle, she assisted 450 people with IDD with their move into housing over a 5-year peri...

Molly is the mom to adult quadruplet men (they turned 21 this year). Her son, Benjamin is impacted greatly by Autism and Epilepsy and her son, Issaac is also impacted by Autism but it presents differently than with his brother Ben. The 'typical' boys, Max & Caleb, have been incredible siblings and role models.  Molly started her small business, 'No Label Knits' a few years ago with the hopes of in...

Betsy Hicks-Russ is a leading expert with over 25 years of experience in holistic health as the former CEO of Green Health Wellness as well author of Picky Eating Solutions (2010) that evolved into an online course.  Betsy is also the Director of Autism Odyssey and creator of the Be Kind Vest. Betsy has delivered lectures around the world about meal planning, special diets, and holistic health for...

Karen South has worked in healthcare her entire life, starting with her first job in the kitchen of a nursing home at age 15 to being a dental tech while she was serving in the Navy, to being an EMT, nursing assistant and a radiation therapist. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, she worked many years with teenagers that were in state's custody living in a residential facility.  Sh...

I will be taking a summer break from the podcast to enjoy the few months I'll have with my daughter before she heads off to college. When I return for Season 5, I'd like to discuss a few key topics that come up often and would love for you to be a part of those discussions!! I'm looking for guests to talk about: *Challenge of maintaining relationships when parenting a neurodiverse child - marital...

Lauren Emmett is a proud mom of two adorable kids, her son Wilson and daughter Charlie. Her oldest, Wilson, was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old.  After those first few years of motherhood, especially the long, isolating road to a diagnosis, she was determined to try and help others who were beginning a similar journey. She knew the more understanding and acceptance of differences...

Adrian H. Wood, PhD, is a rural Eastern NC mother of four, one with extra special needs. Past preschool teacher, nanny, children's ski instructor, early interventionist, college professor, early childhood researcher, wife and full-time mama. In writing after a 20-year hiatus, she offers personal glimpses where satire meets truth, faith meets irony, despair meets joy and this educated debutante esc...

Sally and Mark Lyons live in Hutto, TX with their 25-year-old son, Samuel who is on the autism spectrum. Sally and Mark are both retired teachers.  Worried about the uncertain future for their son, due to limited employment opportunities and minimal options for adult level programming for those with autism, Mark & Sally started the company Sammy Socks. Their hope is for the business to continue we...

J.B. Handley  is the best-selling author of How to End the Autism Epidemic and the co-author of Underestimated: An Autism Miracle which he wrote with his now 21-year-old autistic son, Jaime. Their book, Underestimated inspired the new full length documentary, SPELLERS, which challenges the conventional wisdom of 'experts' that non-speakers with autism are cognitively disabled.  The film blends bea...

Heather Grimaldi , MS is the Founder of Proof Positive ABA Therapies. As a behavior analyst and Clinical Director, Heather's focus was on supporting families and team members tasked with implementing behavior-analytic interventions. In late 2016, the long-running Autism Learning Partners created one of the largest Autism therapy platforms in the U.S. with its acquisition of Proof Positive. Heather...

Christine De Gregorio is a mom to two wonderful boys Gianni (1.5 years old), and Abryn (13 years old). Abryn, who is on the autism spectrum, came into her life when he was 8 months old when she met her now husband and she feels so blessed that he did. He first made Christine a mom and has helped her grow in so many ways. Abryn reminds her everyday to enjoy the simple things in life. She's absolute...

Nicole Gottesmann has not had the easiest road into parenting and adult life. After suffering the sudden loss of her first born child, she was elated to learn she was pregnant again. Not soon after that, her husband unexpectedly passed away. As a widowed, single mom raising her beautiful son Gabe, Nicole refused to let her prior traumas overshadow her appreciation for all the blessings she still h...

Where has the time gone... I can't believe my favorite son Skyler is 20-years-old today!!  My greatest hope for you Skyman, as you celebrate this special birthday and enter a new decade of life is that you never lose that spark in your eyes and determination in your heart to keep growing, achieving and teaching the world not to underestimate non-speakers!! Love you Buddy!!

Valerie Gilpeer  is an attorney who has been practicing law for forty years. She shifted her civil law practice twenty years ago in favor of representing families of disabled children trying to obtain educational services from local school districts. She has continued to focus on disability rights law through her volunteer work with several nonprofit organizations in the Los Angeles area. Emily Gr...

Jackie Moore received a Bachelors degree in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Central Missouri.  Less than three years ago she launched Jordyn's Summer Shirt Project to teach Jordyn, her daughter with autism, job skills.  Jordyn has not only learned job skills, she's learned to independently do a job.  They have been featured on 94.9 The Bull radio station, 11 Alive News, Fox5 Atlan...

Corey and Andrea Landreth are the parents of 4 grown children. They moved to El Dorado, Kansas to begin Real Life Christian Church in 2006 where Corey is the lead pastor. Andrea is a school psychologist in the public school system. They began the Drawings by Trent business in 2015 for their son with the goals of encouraging families, educating communities and inspiring everyone through Trent's art...

Luis, is the Autism Dad behind MEAVIA, a brand inspired to design and develop toys and learning aids for kids with Autism and other developmental challenges. When he's not sketching toy ideas on napkins, Luis is spending time with his daughter London (8) and son Myles (5) who is on the spectrum with level 2 Autism. Before setting out on this new adventure, Luis spent his entire career in Corporate...

Gina Schaal and her husband Dan have been married for 21 years & live in Chaska, a SW suburb of Minneapolis. They have two sons, 18-year-old Carter & 16-year-old Casey.     Gina holds a BS degree in Medical Laboratory Science & works for a large healthcare system in the Twin Cities. Lab people are known for their type A personalities which she believes has been one of her biggest assets to raising...

Kelly and her husband Rob live in Kent, UK and have two children, Carson (14) and Kendra (11). Carson is nonverbal and autistic with severe learning disabilities. Kendra is also on the autism spectrum. Kelly started her FB blog "This is Carson, his autism journey and our family" almost 4 years ago with the goal of reaching out to families like her own. Before starting her page, she hadn't seen man...

Tiffany Hammond is the voice behind Fidgets and Fries. She is an Autistic mother and advocate. Tiffany is a storyteller, using her own personal experiences with Autism and parenting two Autistic boys to guide others on their journey. Her activism is rooted in challenging the current perception of Autism being a lifelong burden, cultivating a community that explores the concept of Intersectionality...

Julie Bockey is a Veteran, a registered nurse, a Type 1 diabetic and a dedicated triathlon competitor. She and her husband Shawn, who is also a triathlete, are the parents of two adult sons, Christian (26) and Jake (23) who were both diagnosed with ASD as toddlers. Both Christian, who is nonverbal, and Jake who is partially verbal and also a Type 1 diabetic, have joined their parents and found the...