Living the Sky Life - Our Autism Journey

Teresa Unnerstall is a writer, advocate, speaker, and consultant specializing in the dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism (DS-ASD). She is the author of "A New Course: A Mother's Journey Navigating Down Syndrome and Autism." Teresa has contributed articles to The Mighty along with several Down syndrome support groups across the country. In addition, she has been writing a weekly blog about h...

Hot off the press.... I'm officially an author!!  Get your copy of " Welcome to My Life - A Personal Parenting Journey Through Autism" today on Amazon!! For this solo episode, (and for all of you audio book fans!) I decided to read a short chapter from my book entitled A Spiritual Journey. It's been quite an emotional ride over the past year, writing and publishing this memoir.  My only hope is th...

Meet the Disorderly Blondes... Brenda & Kristi!  These two dynamic, South Florida autism moms (and fellow podcasters) are very candid when discussing motherhood, autism... & enjoying a cocktail or two!  Kristi has two sons, her oldest, JR is on the spectrum, and in 2009 founded a non-profit called Puzzle Peace Now.  Brenda also has two sons, her oldest, Dylan is on the spectrum and in all her spar...

Dr. Tara Regan is the Executive Director and Founder of Autism Grown Up, an online non-profit organization based in North Carolina. She's a sibling to 2 autistic adult brothers (Tyler and Tanner) and has been working in the autism community for over a decade. Dr. Regan has a background in direct care practice, social work, and special education. She integrates all she's learned across disciplines...

Sam Huber is 31 years old and lives in in Bridgeport PA with his wife Gisette and son Sky.  He was diagnosed with ASD at age 14 & many life experiences have led him to gain a better sense of himself and navigating life in the autistic adult world. He became a public speaker to give a personal voice to Autism & to help the world better understand how the autistic mind works.  Sam is also an educato...

Keischa Pruden wears many hats. She is a believer, wife of 25 years to husband Paul, mother to two amazing sons Aaron and Bryant, psychotherapist, autism advocate/consultant. Keischa holds many licensures/certifications in North Carolina in the mental health arena which allow her to work with a wide arrange of populations and issues.  In addition, Keischa is also a published author. Her first publ...

Megan Carranza is a mother, podcast host/creator and autism advocate. After Megan's oldest child, Logan, was diagnosed with autism in March of 2017, she became a mom on a mission to spread the message of awareness, acceptance and inclusion. Megan saw a need for more support within the autism community and launched her podcast, 'Adventures in Autism,' in September 2018. The purpose of the podcast i...

Ron Sandison works full time in the medical field and is a professor of theology at Destiny School of Ministry. He is an advisory board member of Autism Society Faith Initiative of Autism Society of America. Ron has a Master of Divinity from Oral Roberts University and Charisma House published his book, A Parent's Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom. He is also the author of Thought...

Maggie Bannigan, OT and owner of All Abilities Boot Camp, earned her Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology from Michigan State University (GO GREEN!) and Masters in Occupational Therapy from Indiana State University.  She has been a licensed OT for 3 years. In her spare time, Maggie enjoys hiking, racing or competing in various athletic events, spending time with friends & traveling.   To connect with M...

Brad and Jamie met in 2015 and married on March 31st, 2018. Brad became the step-father of 3 wonderful boys, Gavin (12), Jaeden (9), and Cainan (7).  Gavin was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy & Autism at ages 8 months and 3 years respectively and was 8 years old when Brad came into his life.  Gavin is non-verbal and considered severe for his condition.  Their family is always on the go with extra cu...

Hannah is 27 years old and lives in Brisbane, Australia. After qualifying as a Speech Language Pathologist and working for about 2 and a half years, she realized she wanted to pursue her other passion - music. While transitioning to a career in music, she met Tate who was soon to become a true mate. She works as a caregiver for Tate 4 days a week. Hannah started sharing photos and videos of their...

Au-Some Helpers is a new Nanny/Sitter placement agency in Louisville, KY owned and operated by Brittany Cummings.  Brittany has a very special place in her heart for children that are exceptional in their own way.  The mission of Au-Some Helpers is to be the missing piece that you need to make your family portrait perfect! You can connect with Brittany via her website:  www. Au-somehelpers.com and...

For those unfamiliar, the Pixar animated short "Loop" follows two teens as they canoe across a serene urban lake.  They make an unlikely pair; outgoing Marcus is reluctantly paired with a non-verbal, autistic girl named Renee.  Today, I'm speaking with director Erica Milsom & producers Krissy Cababa & Michael Warch about the making of this impactful film. If you haven't yet seen this beautiful, an...

Regan Miller is a spirited, 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher from Louisville, Kentucky. Her passion for kids and yoga are what inspired her to create Adventure Peace Yoga, LLP with Brittani Dodge in 2019. She strives to practice the techniques she teaches in class on a daily basis, with the aim of bringing peace and light to those who surround her.  Brittani Dodge is a passionate teacher, both in...

Eileen Lamb, author of "All Across The Spectrum" and founder of The Autism Cafe, is a writer and photographer. Born in France, she now lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and two sons, Charlie (6) and Jude (4). On her blog, she shares the ups and downs of raising a severely autistic child while being on the autism spectrum herself.  Through all of her writing and sharing, Eileen hopes to provi...

Mark Pfeifer, on a mission from God set out to design & launch a business model to provide careers for adults with special needs that would also include short & long term financial opportunities for those employees.  Thus, the company Wiggle Wow was born.  In the near future, Mark would love to provide franchise opportunities of WW to parents of adults with special needs as a way of providing addi...

Rebecca Duvall Scott is an accomplished writer and the proud recipient of numerous awards throughout her educational career at local, county and state levels. She was awarded the Horrigan's Scholarship at Bellarmine University, where she graduated with a Bachelor's in English. She considered herself a fiction writer, but when her son was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder and she began to...

Todd Metcalf is a dynamic Autism dad who through his career as a financial advisor, enjoys helping families with special needs children develop long term financial strategies.  Todd and his wife Beth have two amazing kids, Tyler who is 14 and Katie who is almost 18.  Katie was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 5 and was given a poor, future prognosis from the neurologist - which Todd and Beth we...

Kelly and her husband have been married for 31 years have 3 children. Their oldest son, Steven was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2 and is now 29. Steven was non-verbal until the age of 4 and also has a diagnosis of Apraxia. Later in life he would also be diagnosed with Tourette's and OCD. Her family's journey has been a long and sometimes difficult one. When he was young, Autism was not well...

Emma Miklinski is a BCBA who has worked in the field of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) for 2.5 years.  Emma hails from Buffalo, NY and currently lives in the Louisville, KY area.  Emma loves to run (mostly with her dog, Hank) and enjoys reading - both about ABA and other topics! You can stay connected to Emma via:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmalmiklinski13 Facebook: https://www.fac...

Jen Creagh is a nurse with 20+ years of experience mainly in women's health & obstetrics.  She and her husband, Chris, who is her best friend & biggest supporter have been married since 2008.  Jen & Chris are parents to Natalie, their super-creative & sweet 10-year-old daughter with ADHD and dyslexia and Quinn, their very active and loving almost 8-year-old boy with Autism.   Jen shares their fami...

Robert Colbert is an accomplished IT professional, husband & Aspie. He was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (an Autism spectrum disorder) in his early 40's and shares how his diagnosis has changed his view of himself and how he views the neurotypical world he lives in. Stay connected with Robert at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertcolbert/ https://www.facebook.com/robert.m.colbert ***********...

Kate Colbert is a neurotypical wife to an Aspie husband, the "mom" to four beautiful dogs, and the founder and president of Silver Tree Market Research and its sister company Silver Tree Publishing. Her husband Robert was diagnosed first with ADD then with Asperger's when he and Kate were in their early 40s. Together with her family, Kate lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin, just minutes from Lake Michiga...

Today's episode touches on the area of concern many of us parents with older children on the spectrum now find ourselves focused on - navigating the future for our Autistic teens who will be aging out of services and programs much sooner than we would like.  This extra special 'couples' episode also includes our husbands who share some perspective about Autism from a dad's point of view. You can r...

Dr. Arthur Krigsman is a pediatric gastroenterologist specializing in the evaluation and treatment of children w/ ASD and related disorders.  His practice, based in New York, focuses on the clinical needs of children with Autism and co-morbid concurrent gastrointestinal symptoms.  Full disclosure... Dr. Krigsman has been my son's physician for a little over a year now and finally gave us the answe...