Parenting Impossible – The Special Needs Survival Podcast

This week is Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week , which is a cause very dear to Annette's heart.   Annette's daughter Elizabeth passed away back in 2013 from mitochondrial disease. Every year, during the third week of September the mitochondrial disease community comes together to bring awareness and educate others on this rare genetic disease.   MitoAction is a nonprofit organization which star...

This week features a very special back to back, two podcast episode release as Annette speaks with two guests who were interviewed for a recent Today Show Article called " Autism Wars ." Today's episode features Annette's interview with Amy S.F. Lutz , an author, vice president of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA), and a mom to 5 children,   her oldest son Jonah having severe autism.  ...

This week features a very special back to back, two podcast episode release as Annette speaks with two guests who were interviewed for a recent Today Show Article called " Autism Wars ." Today's episode features Annette's interview with Kerry Magro , who is an award-winning national speaker, a best-selling author and a role model in the disability community.   Annette & Kerry speak about the "Auti...

The Britney Spears guardianship case has brought the topic of guardianship into the spotlight lately.   People all over the world want to know more about what guardianship is and why it is used.   In this podcast episode, Annette goes over a few of the many guardianship questions she has received from listeners and followers.   Please note that guardianship laws do vary from state to state.   Plea...

As a child, Erich Shafer did not understand what he was and how he was different.   He knew he had balance issues and had to go to speech therapy every week for a heavy lisp to make himself "better."   It wasn't until later in life that he discovered he had Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder) and was on the Autism Spectrum.   In this podcast episode, Annette speaks with Erich about his...

Being stopped by or questioned by the police can be stressful for anyone but for those who are mentally ill or developmentally disabled, it can be quite traumatic. Often these traumatic situations can trigger certain responses in a mentally disabled individual which can escalate into violence or other extreme matters, causing them to be unfairly accused/charged or labeled due to their illness or d...

Planning a future can be challenging.   Most people plan their future one step at a time, planning forward, toward their dream or goal. The PATH Process , "Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope", is a creative planning tool that actually starts with the dream or end goal in mind, and you plan the action steps backwards from that dream.     In this episode, Annette speaks with Teri Steinberg , a...

In this episode, Annette speaks with Christa Couture , an award-winning recording artist, author, and broadcaster from Toronto, Canada.   Christa, who is also disabled, wrote the book "How to Lose Everything" which is a story of the grief and loss she has suffered in her life.   Christa has also recorded a Walrus Talks (the Canadian Ted Talks) called "Living Better"   where she speaks about accept...

June celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride month each year to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.   Pride Month is a time to recognize the issues, challenges, and discrimination the LGBTQ+ community has faced and to celebrate the triumphs.   In this podcast episode, Annette speaks with Ivylee Martinez and her adult child El Martinez, regarding gender identity issues.   El Martinez identifies with the pronouns Th...

Resilience is the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult challenges.   Many special needs parents may struggle with this throughout their child's journey.   The many challenges and difficulties with everyday life, doctors, and getting the proper supports they need can be overwhelming. In this episode, Annette speaks with Dr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon, who goes by Marcia NB .   Marci...

Adult ADHD or Attention -Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder where a person has difficulty concentrating, is hyperactive or restless and displays impulsive behaviors.   This previously recorded podcast is one of our favorites and offers some effective ways to manage Adult ADHD. In this episode, Annette has a conversation with David Greenwood, author of the book, Overcom...

Communication is key, and being able to communicate with your loved ones and friends when they may not be able to use their voice can create challenges.   We wanted to release this extremely helpful, previously recorded podcast again to remind listeners there are alternate ways to communicate other than just speech and voice.   In this episode of Parenting Impossible, Host Annette Hines speaks wit...

The negative impacts of the pandemic have been talked about over and over for the past year.   Let's talk about the positives, the good things that the pandemic has brought us.   In this episode Annette discusses the three positive lessons she has learned from the pandemic, the three positive changes that have happened: 1 – Observation, 2 – Collaboration, and 3 – Innovation. Annette starts off the...

Dyslexia is a common disorder that challenges your ability to read, spell, write and speak.   This neurological disorder is of particular interest to Annette as she discovered as an adult that she was dyslexic. In this podcast episode, Annette speaks with author Elizabeth Trudeau about her daughter's journey with dyslexia which inspired her new book "Brilliantly Dyslexic".   Elizabeth's daughter w...

Annette LOVES all the questions she gets because she LOVES doing these question and answer podcasts.   Making sure the disabled community has access to all the information they need is key to Annette.   This is one reason why in addition to being a successful attorney, Annette is a podcast host, speaker, author and blogger.   As an attorney, Annette does have an ethical responsibility though to no...

Growing up deaf is a challenge, but what if you grew up deaf in a small area of India where there was no access to any disabled supports or facilities?   What if there was almost no support for your education as a disabled student?   Our guest this week is Tanisha Dayal , a young deaf woman and masters student.   Tanisha, who now lives in Ireland, speaks to us about growing up disabled in India an...

Language is often something that is debated in the disability community – do we use the term "Disabled", or do we use "Special Needs"? Should someone be shunned or shamed because they prefer to use one term over the other? Is there too much emphasis on the language and not enough focus on allyship and effecting change together as one group? In this episode, Annette brings back mom and author Julie...

Most assistance offered to disabled children and adults is for the disabled individual.   Not everyone may realize that their families may need assistance as well.   Parents and siblings can suffer from anxiety, fear, stress, and a host of other issues related to their loved one's disability.   In this episode, Annette speaks with Don Grothoff, a behavior transformation specialist, family coach an...

As adults, most of us generally understand what being anxious or having anxiety means and how it feels.   Adults may understand what another adult, therapist or a doctor may tell them about anxiety, but what about your children? How do you tell your children about anxiety in a way that they will understand?     Summer Batte , an author, magazine editor and mother, faced her own challenges with thi...

The questions have been piling up in Host Annette Hines' inbox so it is time to do a Q&A session.   Making sure the disabled community has access to all the information they need is key to Annette.   This is one reason why in addition to being a successful attorney, Annette is a podcast host, speaker, author and blogger.   As an attorney, Annette does have an ethical responsibility though to not e...

Let's talk "The Arts" – specifically movies.   Rachael & Laura Doukas, sisters, are the founders and producers of Doukas Pictures .   They began their entertainment industry careers acting but soon graduated to writing and producing short films.   The Ryan Express, their feature debut screenplay, advanced to the second round of Austin Film Festival's Script Competition, a distinction only achieved...

So many of us moms and caretakers of children with disabilities can find ourselves all too easily slipping into seasons of unhappiness, bitterness, self-doubt, self-hatred, and lack of motivation. Annette met virtually with Jenny Sanders, founder of iLovekickboxing in Agoura Hills, CA (recently shut down due to COVID-19) to discuss the importance of exercise and endorphins in preventing and fighti...

Joya Van Der Laan is a wife, mother of 3, family nurse practitioner, functional medicine specialist, and business owner. As if that didn't make life complicated enough, two of her three children have special needs including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED).  After receiving her daughter's ASD diagnosis in 201...

In this podcast episode, we cover a topic that's a little "different" from what we usually discuss. Annette invites award-winning male vocalist and author of the children's book "Made by Raffi," Craig Pomranz, to share his story and explain why it's important to not only accept each others' differences, but to celebrate them.  Craig's book tells the story of a shy little boy named Raffi who is oft...

This week, we are celebrating the 100th episode of our "Parenting Impossible" podcast! To kick off this special episode, we listen to a song by Craig Pomranz called "Different," which he wrote to inspire children and adults everywhere to celebrate their differences rather than try to hide them.  After the song, Annette dives into her discussion with 3 incredible guests — Joslynn Jones McLaughlin,...