Moms Talk Autism Podcast

All four of us in one episode? In the summer? It’s a hot, sweaty, sticky miracle! We had a great time filling you all in on our summer experiences so far. There’s been highs and lows and lots of transitions. We cover everything from staying home to chill, selling homes and big family changes, family trips, and summer camps. Between the four of us, we’ve just about done it all. So, grab yourself an...

Calling ALL parents and kids, this episode is for YOU! We are thrilled to have Jerry Kolber on this week’s episode, creator and advocate for some of the most successful and beloved children’s “edutainment” programming in the world. We chat with Jerry about his own struggles growing up within the traditional public education system, his interest and journey towards TV and other visual media, and to...

Surprise! It’s a bonus episode this week! We are so excited to introduce you to one of our favorite podcasts FOR KIDS!  Who Smarted? is a fun and educational podcast specifically for kids and their families. There are episodes and topics for everyone’s interests and the recordings are really entertaining with lots of cool sound effects, voices, trivia games, and music. It’s a great way to learn or...

Today we had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Stuart Butler and Peter Prokop, two gentlemen who were instrumental in creating and directing a new series called Traveling The Spectrum. Both advocate and share a personal connection to the disability community. They believe all families deserve to vacation and create quality memories together. Traveling the Spectrum is a 6 part series t...

Dr. Alisa Elliot, founder, owner and operator of the Chrysalis Spectrum Foundation,  www.chrysalisspectrum.com , is back to tell us about her latest venture. Which was a glowing success, Check out www.disabilitycomiccon.com , the theme was "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" It was an exciting and inclusive event celebrating the power of diversity in the world of comics! At Dis...

We recommend you watch the documentary first, but it is not required to enjoy this conversation. Links below. We are honored to talk with Beth today, the co-star of the documentary, “You Have No Idea”. Beth and her son, Evan, are featured in this amazing film, giving us a real glimpse into autism life for their family and community. Beth opens up about the struggles, joys, and challenges they face...

Welcome to the Tashie and Shannon show! Totally kidding, but today’s episode IS just the two of us and we’re answering some specific questions y’all have. Per usual, we are no experts, but we will always share openly about where we are in our journey and what has or is (or isn't) working for us. Some of the topics we cover today are: *High pain tolerances in our kids *Knowing when our non-speaking...

Today we chat with Joni Brown about her family’s journey with not only autism but also PCDH19, a rare epilepsy disorder. Today Allie is 20 years old, and Joni discusses their diagnosis story. We dive into the heartache of the life-changing diagnosis, Joni’s tenacity in finding answers, and the triumphs they have made as a family.  We also discuss Joni’s book, Don’t Sing Happy Birthday, which has q...

Welcome to our three-part series on asking for and receiving help from others. Brittney and Jean are having this week's conversation, diving deep into some of the challenges of parenthood and why we DON’T ask for help. What stops us from letting others in? Is it a purely external, logistical issue or are we getting in our own way at times? We break it down into four main areas of resistance when a...

Today we welcome authors Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe and Shahla Alai-Rosales to the podcast to discuss navigating therapies and feeling confident as a parent. Long-time friends and colleagues, they have worked together to bring important insights and knowledge to families all over the world. We are the keystone to our child’s growth and development. We are the guides on their expansion of life, in whateve...

Welcome to the Brit and Shan show, in part two of our three-part series on asking for and receiving help from others. We are diving deep into some of the challenges of parenthood and why we DON’T ask for help. What stops us from letting others in? Is it a purely external, logistical issue or are we getting in our own way at times? We break it down into four main areas of resistance when asking for...

It’s finally time. Today, Shannon and Britt tackle menstruation (aka period problems) with the help of our friend Ashley Lewis! You guys have been asking for this one for so long, and we haven’t been able to speak from experience. Ashley shares about her family, and her daughter’s diagnosis, and then gives us some REAL TALK about our kids and their periods based on her experience!  Ashley and her...

Welcome to our three-part series on asking for and receiving help from others. Brittney and Tash are starting this conversation by diving deep into some of the challenges of parenthood and why we DON’T ask for help. What stops us from letting others in? Is it a purely external, logistical issue or are we getting in our own way at times? We break it down into four main areas of resistance when aski...

Today we were able to chat with Tara Clark from Modern Mom Probs! If you haven’t found Tara online, you definitely should; her links are below! Today we had a great conversation about her son’s diagnosis. Jack was diagnosed in 4th grade with Developmental Coordination Disorder, also known as Dyspraxia. We discussed the ins and outs of their story, but it morphed into even more; a discussion about...

This one is a bit wild, y’all. Just like Tash’s favorite chunky sweater.  We talk about pet peeves, our favorite outfits and clothing, ways to unwind and relax, and our apps that we just can’t quit! This is exactly what it’s like when we are all in the same room. Lots of giggles, maybe a couple of swears. Just giving you a heads-up. 😉 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com...

WHAT DO I DO ABOUT THE OREOS?!?! :D (Inside joke… listen and you’ll understand!) For a discussion on consequences, this one has a lot of laughs. It's important to laugh at ourselves, right?  How do we teach our kids consequences that empower them to make better choices? What is the framework around this? AND.. if we haven’t been the best with consequences in our home, how do we start now? Great co...

Welcome to the first of our Merry-Go-Round Episodes! We needed a fun way to revisit episode topics that we'd already done, but as you all know, certain topics are ever-changing. Much like a merry-go-round we just circle right back around. Today’s episode we touch on SLEEP! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like for us to revisit and update and we'll get on it!   Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad...

We love it when DM chats lead to podcast guests. Katie shares her personal story about her son’s diagnosis and therapy journey, specifically ABA. This led to her finding her voice, speaking up, and helping others in her area and state to receive more coverage for autism services. We all have to start somewhere! Connect with Katie on Instagram @7luckyleaps Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company....

Today we had a great discussion with Rachael Farkas at Mindful Voices about therapies and services available to autistic families in a “one-stop shop” style company. There are places out there that can provide speech, OT, potty training, ABA, etc all from one location and team. Everyone works together and has access to your kids’ data and information…amazing! Honestly, this is how it should be. We...

Life is tough, but so are YOU! Shannon and Britt here to talk about current struggles with our autistic kids. Dentists, ER visits, soccer practice, and the struggle to get on a literal bus. No one says this life is boring, am I right? Things happen to us, that’s life. How we react and process and move forward? Well, that’s where it’s really up to us. The more we practice and learn and stumble and...

Another amazing conversation with Jonathan Alderson today! We dive into the topic of feeling frustrated when our kids “just won’t listen” to us and how we can find our way back to the joys of parenting again, even with kids who may have more challenging behaviors.   How can we adjust our expectations? What are the changes that we can make in our intentions and our attitude that will yield better r...

Today we had the pleasure of talking with Jonathan Alderson. Jonathan has a Master's of Education from Harvard and also completed a three-year intensive certification training in autism treatment at the Autism Treatment Center of America. While we could go on and on about his BIO , what we discuss is even MORE important. After working directly with autistic children, Jonathan started to see that s...

We can’t wait to dive in with our guest today, Kelley Coleman, author of “Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child”. No joke, this is one of the best books on autism and parenting disabled kids we’ve ever read! We talk about the book and venture into other topics including:  The “Go Home, Google, and Cry” method isn’t the only option anymore Invisible vs. NOT visible vs. visibl...

It is of no mystery to most of us, or so it seems, that feeding and diets are significant touchstones in having a kid on the spectrum. No matter where they fall, that is the very thing that became apparent in all of her work. Join us for this expert guest, Elizabeth Klein, BCBA, LBA + M.Ed., who shares her professional experience in the field and is currently the clinical supervisor over an ABA pr...

In today's episode, we had the pleasure of chatting with Sarah Anzalone, Speech Language Pathologist. Sarah works in the Camas School District as an SLP working specifically with elementary-age children. Sarah shares with us about coming from a large district in Las Vegas to a much smaller district in Camas and how different that looks. She also gives some insight on the direction of pre-entering...