Talk Like a Mother: Parenting Autism Podcast

Join us as we chat with the incredible Kris Lindsey. We hear about her kids, her path to meeting her husband, their blended family, and the family's amazing journey. There is no doubt that we could talk to Kris for hours and hours. We had so many questions and were truly inspired by her story.  Kris is a mom to 7 kids, five with additional needs. She is a foster parent to 4-year-old twins and...

We recently got the chance to chat with Rachel Lack, our friend from Arizona. She discusses her son Henry, who is 11, and their autism path. She also shares his feeding journey and some of the struggles around his food allergies. We also speak with her about her career as a documentary filmmaker and her recent project, Across the Spectrum, the Doc, following autistic children until adulthood. She...

We had the fantastic opportunity to speak with Dr. Temple Grandin. We are in awe of her wisdom and learned so much not only about her path in this world but the path our children take. A life-changing experience for the five of us at the Table. We discussed sensory input, the frustration around communication, giving limited choices, transitions to adulthood, and how when you are looking for nothin...

In our final episode of the looking back series, we look back at an episode from series nine. We discuss the challenges around how much a lack of sleep can impact our lives. We look at our worth as women and human beings and the expectations others put on us. We talk about how to justify our place in the world and how we can sometimes overcompensate for the expectations out there.  We di...

We look back at our most listened-to stand-alone episode, Mothers and Mental Heath. We dive into an intimate look at mental health in women and the struggles we have all faced around the table with our mental health. We open up about depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. How these mental health conditions relate to our daily lives and the skills, we use to make our way through the hard times. You mi...

We look back at our deep discussion on friendship in series four. This is a sensitive subject for us all as we have moved from single people to mothers.  We share some of the complicated ways that our friendships have gone, how we have learned to let go of some things that hold up back from keeping relationships, and how we found our friendship through the internet.  We also talk about o...

First, we want to say thank you to all of our listeners for all of your support in making this podcast a success. We had a great time recording our first live podcast to celebrate reaching 100 episodes. It has been an amazing, beautiful ride.  In this episode, we look back at some of the funniest, hardest, and most impactful recordings. The amazing Jamie Ramos surprised us with a beautif...

In this episode, we look at our first No Reservation episode. Some of our favorite movements are when we can cut loose and chat with each other as friends. We look back at all our travel experiences during the pandemic, we talk about the changes since recording, and what we have learned since recording this episode.  Listen to the No Reservations episode here: https://anchor.fm/tableforfive/e...

In this series, we look back at some of our favorite and impactful episodes as we head toward our 100th episode. There have been a lot of things that have changed since recording Q&A 2, Part 1.  Things we look back on, how our kids' diagnosis has impacted work and maneuvering our kids' schedules. We talk about progressions and regressions that flow with our kids' schedules. We discuss how...

Our first time at the table for 2023, Happy New Year!! We talk about our hopes for the upcoming year. We are so excited about 2023 and all the amazing things coming your way from the podcast.  Advice for this year "If you aren't getting something from something if you are always having to push back, let it go." Jenn Dunn What should you be setting free this year? See us in Minnesota as the of...

Take a look at 2022 with us. We can't believe what a long year it has been. Most of us have had significant growth and significant changes. Join us as we laugh our way out of 2022. We reflect on all the progress our kids have made and the progress we have also made. It has been a year listeners.  Can't wait to see you in 2023!!! Big things to come next year. If you haven't seen our posts, we...

In this episode, we chat with Eileen "Mama Fry" Shaklee.  Eileen “Mama Fry” Shaklee is an autism advocate, speaker, writer (sort of), and fundraiser. Her most important project to date is raising her 18 year old autistic son and getting him ready for a world that isn’t always ready for autism. She is married and lives in New Jersey. We chat with Eileen about the early years after diagnosis, t...

This week we wrap up our big feelings series, talking about our weeks. We love when we have the opportunity to chat as friends do, and we also look back at the series as we opened up in a raw and real way about some of the most tender subjects in our lives. We are thankful for everyone's feedback on this series and all the kind words from our listeners.  If you are on a rollercoaster of feeli...

Come listen to stories from the table themed around different Big Feelings each of us have about parenting. Stories: 00:31 My Heart Took Longer by Jennifer Dunn 03:13 A Letter to My Son by Kimberly McIsaac 08:13  A New Path Ahead by Tabitha Cabrera 11:59: The Deepest Fears by Jaime Ramos 15:54 A Letter to the Parents of the Other Learners by Rachel Flanagan If you haven't seen our posts, we r...

This week we break down the guilt we have felt as mothers. Some guilt seems silly when you look back and realize you had no control. Other guilt seems to last forever. All parents feel some sort of guilt and we want everyone to know they are not alone.  If you haven't seen our posts, we recently started a Newsletter and would love for our followers to check it out. Here is the Newsletter Link...

Happy Thanksgiving to all our listeners! Have you thought recently about gratitude? Gratitude can be as small as being grateful for having a couple of sips from a warm cup of coffee, being grateful for the people who show up for us every day and watching the fantastic growth we see in our kids. We look back at all the things that have brought us joy and give a rundown of what gratitude can look li...

This week we break down the different ways we all have felt grief. Grief can come and go. This episode is filled with raw, open sharing of some deep routed feelings. We hope if you have felt these feelings, you know it is ok to feel whatever comes your way and very healthy to walk through those feelings. Don't let anyone tell you how you should be feeling. There is nothing left on the table in thi...

This week we had the opportunity to speak with Jamie Lin Brown.  She is an autism mama dedicated to supporting her community of fellow autism mamas with tools, resources, inspiration, and mentorship to become more intentional as women beyond their 24/7 caretaking roles.  She has a Master's in nonprofit leadership and management, a BA in organizational leadership, and has worked in the no...

Join the Halloween Queen and the other ladies at the table as we discuss Halloween and share our thoughts on some of our fall favorites.  Hear who loves and doesn't love Halloween at the table. We talk about how Halloween went last year and how Halloween is different for our families. There are lots of laughs in this episode. Happy Halloween to all our fans, and we hope if you are venturing o...

We close out our series with reflections on all the things we learned from our lovely guests and what we feel when looking into the future for our kids. We also discuss our hope for systemic changes for our community and the challenges of finding services for autistic adults. The move from childhood to adulthood is something we all think about. We love to cut loose and keep it real in our no reser...

A revisit of a lovely storytellers episode from series 8, stories told from the voices of neurodiverse adults. We were blown away by the beauty in each piece and regularly learn so much from hearing from autistic adults and neurodiverse adults as we learn about our own children. Story 1: By Danielle Orleans, "Learning has helped me focus and brings new hope, learning about everything is what makes...

We had the opportunity of chatting with the inspiring and amazingly driven Jess Ronne. We chat about her son Lucas and all of the lovely projects she has going on right now. One thing we can all take away from this interview is that we need to get back to caring for each other. Jess recently purchased a farm, Hope Farm, to provide a place for not only her son but several other families in the area...

This is a must listen to episode! We had the pleasure of speaking to Amy Schlueter about her adult autistic son Alex. We discuss the transition from young adult to adult, the guardianship process, systemic issues during the transition, and how we all look down the path of where our kids will land when they head out into the world. Amy is insightful and inspiring in the way she views not only the w...

We had the pleasure of speaking to Megan about her early school experiences, mental health, and path to diagnosis. Megan is a 22 year old she has autism and speech and language disorder, she has her own blog to advocate for those who have learning difficulties and to help others know they are not alone. Megan is a spectacular young women and we are lucky to hear her perspective so we can learn mor...

We had the pleasure of speaking with Carrie Cariello about her family and her son Jack who recently left home to attend school. We all wonder where our kids will land in this life as they move from the tender shelter of our home to the outside world. Carrie speaks about this path beautifully in her writing.  Carrie Cariello is the author of What Color Is Monday ?: How Autism Changed One Famil...