Raising Kellan

Mike Poole of Walk This Way Oxford is well known as The Coach for children with Cerebral Palsy. In today's episode topics covered and timeframes are: 02:00 Expectations 04:00 Mindset 07:00 Massage and Manual Therapy 09:00 Training, Therapy, and Emotional Responses. 12:00 Teaching kids how to fail 13:00 Mike's Background 20:00 St Louis Children's Hospital 25:00 Time Spent in Therapy 28:00 Accountab...

In today's episode, we chat with Katrina VanBuren Ed. S and Annette Graves, MEd, MACR from Arc Tennessee, Family Engagement Project .  Timeline:  Introduction to Annette Graves and Katrina VanBuren 03:40   What is an IEP and 504 plan and how are they similar/different? 10:14   Abbreviations commonly used in Special Education: FAPE, LRE, PLEP, accommodation vs modifica...

John Shouse and his wife Janet are parents to 3 adult children, Emma Shouse Garton, and twin boys Evan and Brendan who are now 27.    Evan is on the autism spectrum.   John has been involved at the local, state, and national levels in the disability advocacy community, including stints as presidents of both Autism TN , and The Arc TN .  He was on the national board of...

In today's episode, I chat with Jeff Strand who is the Coordinator of Government and External Affairs at the Tennessee Disability Coalition . The Tennessee Disability Coalition is an alliance of organizations and individuals joined to promote the full and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. This year TDC will be hosting an in-person event Disability Day on the H...

Pete Hixon of Woodstock GA has been married to his wife Hollie for 25 years. They have 2 girls - Addie, a freshman at Samford University, and Hope, in her second year at Shepherds College . By occupation, Pete is a speaker and business coach. By passion and as a parent, he is an advocate for the special needs community. Pete and his wife lead an organization to build residential communities for yo...

In this episode, we chat with Lia Stoll of DisabilityWriter.com . Lia is a mom, wife, writer, co-founder of Lara Guide Dog in Greece and founder of Disability Writer, a boutique writing studio voicing accessibility and inclusion for disabled people. Timeline:  00:14  Introduction 04:16  What is the origin story of DisabilityWriter.com 06:57 Lia's connection with Lara Guide Dog Schoo...

Ange Anderson M.Ed opened and led an innovative specialist school in North Wales for 10 years, introducing over 25 different therapeutic/technological interventions to support pupils with learning differences. She’s written a number of books focused on SEN (Special Educational Needs) on therapeutic and technological interventions including VR, AR & AI in SEN; Trampolining for Children & Yo...

The Spirit of Volunteerism is an indelible part of being part of community and belonging. In todays episode 2 friends with similars hearts but different missions meet up on the podcast to tell about the organizations and events were they volunteer. Rachel Talks about Paws to Care and the Dyersburg Dyer County Humane Society Ms Sara talks about Addi's Haunted Trail which happens next Saturday, Octo...

In today's episode, I chat with David Hirsh of the Special Fathers Network, a dad-to-dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs as well as host of the Dad To Dad Podcast.  David was raised by his mother, a Chicago Public School Teacher after his parents divorced. He is grateful to both his mother and maternal grandfather Sam Solomon for positively impacting his and...

In this episode, we chat with Waverly Ann Harris who has worked with individuals with developmental disabilities and their families for over 15 years. She has been the CEO of Friends Life Community since 2016 where she has developed programs that provide opportunities to adults with IDD to grow personally, develop socially, and be actively involved in the community.  She is a sociologist with...

In today's episode, I chat with Chrissy Beasley Hood. Chrissy is a Governor-appointed member of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, Co-chapter Lead for Changing Spaces TN, and founder of Connecting the Journey: Special Needs Support Group. She and her husband Kevin live in Pulaski TN.  They are parents to three daughters including Alaina, the youngest who has complex medical...

Emily Ladau is a passionate disability rights activist, writer, storyteller, and digital communications consultant whose career began at the age of 10, when she appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street to educate children about her life with a physical disability. Her writing has been published in outlets including The New York Times, SELF, Salon, Vice, and HuffPost. Her first book, Demystify...

Ashley Barlow graduated Magna Cum Laude from Miami University with a BS in German Education (K-12) and received her JD from Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 2006. In a former life, she was a German teacher in Jefferson County Public Schools and Cincinnati Public Schools, having taught nearly every grade from K to 12.  She also taught Real Estate and Business Law at Miami University. Her area...

In this episode, we chat with Tom Woodard who together with his brothers Matt and John have created a unique workplace in Nashville TN that specifically employs persons with disabilities.   On the Avenue is located in the Gulch. It is part distribution center that provides drug testing kits to the State of Tennessee and part advertising studio where the participants known as "citizens" &...

In this episode, we chat with Ali Manning: food scientist, food educator, author, and founder of Umami Food Consulting. With over ten years in the food industry, she utilizes her passion for food, science, and community to help food entrepreneurs tackle issues  beyond the kitchen. Ali is the Program Consultant for Project Green Fork and the creator of Food Science 4 Kids, a program that teach...

Sergio Calderon is the founder of Valiant Fitness . He provides an all-inclusive functional training program for individuals of all abilities. His program was created after awareness that community-based fitness programs were not available to serve individuals with IDD and Mental Health needs. Sergio lives in Murfreesboro, TN but grew up in a small town named Fillmore in Southern California. ...

Colleen and Max Starkloff founded the Starkloff Disability Institute in STL, MO.  Do yourself a favor and check out the work being done here to empower students and young adults with disabilities to think creatively and proactively about their future.  Colleen chats with us on a wide range of topics including the Disability Rights Movement and History, ADA, Universal Design as well as th...

BIO: Dr. Alyssa Walz, PT, DPT is a pediatric PT born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the Professional Development Director at Tender Ones Therapy Services where she has worked for the last 7.5 years. Dr. Steve Doran and Dr. Alyssa started the Stand Up Paddle Boarding Aquatic Therapy program in 2015, and co-founded the Paddle Boarding PT/OT Camp with OT Nilka Clayton. Alyssa works PRN at Chi...

As the mother and primary caregiver of a special needs child, Carla Christensen has spent over 20 years navigating the world of special education and medical advocacy. She's brought that hands-on experience to her role as Marketing Director for MAX-Ability , where she relishes the opportunity to work with groups like Changing Spaces, Universal Changing Places, Love Hope & Autism, The On-Air Ad...

Hillary Sussman has been a physical therapist for 24 years, she is a mother of three, and a dog mom to Roxy; the inspiration for her new inclusive children's book series- The Adventures of Roxy 1:00  Hillary Sussman, PT and the Adventures of Roxy 2:30 April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month 3:20 Theme of the Amputee Coalition : "Your Ordinary is Extraordinary" 6:15 The Adventur...

Cynthia Slomowitz is an experienced Pediatric Physical Therapist and an expert in the treatment of autism including generalizing skills during gross motor play. She graduated from Temple University with Doctorate in Physical Therapy and is presently a Ph. D. student working with mentors Dr. Briano Di Rezze & Dr. Melissa Tovin on an independent study on ASD. Cyndi is also a mom to 5 wonderful a...

In this episode, we chat with Julie Jones. Julie is mom to Braeden, a 26-year-old young man who lives with cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. Julie loves sharing her family's travels with Braeden on her blog Have Wheelchair Will Travel and is the co-founder of the world's first disability-specific travel magazine, Travel Without Limits. To find out more about Julie and her family you can als...

In today's episode, I chat with Cathlyn Smith and Emma Shouse of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disability about the work done at the Council as well as the free upcoming leadership program " Partners in Policymaking ".  The deadline for the application to join the program is March 31 and the goal of the program is to educate and empower persons with disabilities and their families on...

I chat with Carol Westlake and Jeff Strand of the Tennessee Disability Coalition . TDC is a group of 40+ organizations that come together to support the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life. The 4 domains that make up TDC are public policy, brain links, family voices, and small grants.  Bio of Carol Westlake: "I am the founding director of the Tenne...

"Ten years ago, I established Therapeutic Focus (TF). TF is my heart: a passionate, outpatient pediatric therapy clinic located in West Memphis, Arkansas. TF provides occupational, physical, and speech therapy services to predominantly impoverished children with disabilities while focusing on improving their overall functional performance in the areas of fine and gross motor skills and speech" - L...