Parenting Impossible – The Special Needs Survival Podcast

It's been months since many of us across the nation have had to change our way of life. It's a difficult time for everyone, but having a child with special needs comes with additional obstacles. In this edition of Parenting Impossible, Annette speaks with licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Sharon Saline. Dr. Saline is a top expert on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences and mental health challenges...

In this edition of Parenting Impossible, Annette talks with The Arc of Massachusetts Executive Director Leo Sarkissian and Policy Officer Ellen Taverna about issues affecting the special needs community during the COVID-19 epidemic. The mission of The Arc is to enhance the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, which includes community support and serv...

Annette's podcast journey takes her all the way to the United Kingdom this time as her guest this week is Giuliana Wheater.  Giuliana is an author, award winning therapist, teacher, trainer, public speaker & fundraiser. She is Founder of Therapies for Special Needs and Rainbow Kids Touch Therapy & Relaxation. She is the author of the book, Indian Head Massage for Special Needs. Giuliana first intr...

Annette takes a few minutes at the beginning to update listeners about social security during the COVID-19 crisis and what you can do to access your benefits as well as get answers from the social security office. As of the date of this podcast, the offices are closed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Annette suggests setting up an account online with social security so you can access certain infor...

Annette is back and talking about special needs advocacy with Leslie M. Leslie, project director for The Federation for Children with Special Needs based in Massachusetts. This is an important podcast about parenting, special needs and advocacy. Annette and Leslie discuss the importance of advocating for what you feel you need for your special needs child and they discuss important tips to remembe...

On this episode of Parenting Impossible, The Special Needs Survival Podcast, Annette talks with Leslie M. Leslie of The Federation for Children with Special Needs to discuss how to be more involved in the education process as a special needs parent. Leslie serves as the Project Director for the MassPAC and APPLE projects at the Federation for Children with Special Needs. She provides technical ass...

Advocating for your special needs child in school or as a young adult in their transition years is something just about every special needs parent will have to do. In this episode of Parenting Impossible, Annette talks about how important it is to advocate properly for your loved one. Her guest this time is Ellen Chambers. Ellen has devoted her career as an advocate by helping families, educators...

Annette takes on the topic of discrimination against caregivers of those with special needs in this podcast episode. This podcast being aired during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, it's a very timely topic as many of our special needs caregivers are uncertain about their employment future. Rebecca G. Pontikes, is Annette's guest and is the founder of Pontikes Law, LLC. She represents employees in all ar...

This episode of Parenting Impossible, Annette talks about life Insurance. But before you turn away, you need to understand the importance of life insurance in the special needs planning conversation. It is an important topic and vital part of a special needs trust. Annette's expert guest for this topic is Janice A. Forgays, an attorney with over 25 years of experience in this area of helping famil...

Annette takes this podcast episode to answer some questions from listeners about special needs planning. Many questions come in from her dedicated podcast fans about all types of topics related to special needs planning, law and other important topics. Annette first takes a minute to recognize that many in the special needs community are concerned about the Coronavirus as some may be more vulnerab...

Annette goes "live" in this special podcast episode. She takes the microphone and heads out to the Federation For Children With Special Needs Conference in Massachusetts to talk with folks about a number of topics important to the special needs community. Annette speaks about the topic of transition planning which she has covered before on the podcast with various trusted experts. Part of being a...

On this episode of Parenting Impossible, Annette sits down with Yariela Brandao, founder of byond 22, an organization that helps the families of young adults in their transition years. byond22 recognizes that there is a great need for many individuals with disabilities that need assistance transitioning from special education to adult services. Yariela has taken her years of advocating for her own...

Annette kicks off part two of her interview with Dr. Sharon Saline, a licensed clinical psychologist, a leading expert on ADHD and the author of the very popular book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew. This time, Annette and Dr. Saline discuss executive functions, how to understand them better and how to maximize these critical life skills for your child with ADHD. Dr. Saline says that for man...

Annette talks about how to be a great parent of a child with ADHD this week. Her guest is Dr. Sharon Saline, a licensed clinical psychologist, a leading expert on ADHD and the author of the very popular book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew. Dr. Saline first discusses what ADHD actually is and walks listeners through what it takes to accurately diagnose a person whether they are a child or an...

This week, Annette talks about the stress, challenges and hardships of caregivers and parents of those with special needs. Her guest to discuss this important topic is JK Whisenant. JK provides counseling in a diversity-based practice to adults providing individual and couples therapy, small groups and psycho-education/training. JK treats parents and caretakers of special needs populations helping...

In this episode of Parenting Impossible the Special Needs Survival Podcast, Annette begins the discussion of transition planning for young adults with special needs. Annette is well known in the state of Massachusetts for her work in this area, and as a national expert, so she puts her expertise to work in this important podcast. Annette talks about how special needs transition planning is always...

This week, Annette has a touching interview with Lisa Deck of Rare New England, an organization that assists patients, families and others that have been touched by some form of rare disease. The organization provides resources and other educational opportunities to the rare disease community. Lisa is a fighter, having experienced multiple strokes as well as two brain surgeries. She's an inspirati...

Annette takes time on this podcast to sit down with Regina Snowden and Joanna Dumas of Partners For Youth with Disabilities based in Massachusetts.   This amazing organization runs several programs including one to one mentoring, career readiness, online mentoring, theater arts and a youth leadership forum, all for youth and young adults with disabilities.   Regina and Joanna discuss the importanc...

"This week Annette discusses an important issue facing Social Security recipients. The current administration is proposing a change to the way recipients are being reviewed to continue receiving their benefits.   She also answers a series of questions sent in by listeners. First a question about how working impacts Social Security benefits. Next she tackles how to start thinking about housing issu...

This week, Annette sits down to discuss the 2020 census and why it is so important for individuals with disabilities. Her guests are Carly Bari, partnership specialist with New York Regional Census Center and Ellen Taverna, policy officer with The Arc of Massachusetts.   Annette starts by asking her guests for an explanation of the census and its function. Carly explains that the census takes plac...

Special needs planning takes front and center on the Special Needs Survival Podcast this week. Annette talks about what any family or caretaker needs to understand going into the year 2020 when it comes to planning for the future. Annette quickly goes over the SECURE Act which was just signed into law. The SECURE Act provides some flexibility and opportunities when it comes to tax planning and dis...

Mini-podcast episode.   Annette takes a few minutes to talk about the recent developments in Massachusetts with Nicky's Law. Nicky's Law passed the Massachusetts House of Representatives in January 2020 and paves the ways for an abuse registry for those who mistreat individuals with disabilities. The governor of Massachusetts is expected to sign the bill which will make this important effort law i...

Annette sits down with Amber Bobnar, who runs the very popular WonderBaby website. WonderBaby is a website that is packed full of valuable resources for parents raising children that have visual impairments and other disabilities.   Topics on her website range from tips on raising children that have visual impairments, toy reviews and recommendations for children with disabilities, sleep, eating a...

The SECURE Act went into effect on January 1, 2020 and Mark Worthington of Special Needs Law Group joins Annette to discuss this important development and to shed some light for special needs parents about what they need to pay attention to when it comes to retirement and leaving assets to their loved ones with special need.   One of the big changes in the SECURE Act is that it increases the retir...

On this episode of Parenting Impossible, the Special Needs Survival Podcast, Annette takes time to address a number of issues and challenges that could face the special needs community in 2020. Her guests are MacKenzie Mahoney, the newest attorney with Special Needs Law Group and Mark Worthington, a partner at the firm.   Annette and MacKenzie discuss the growing concern regarding the availability...