The Lucky Few

Jessica Hunter and Larkin O’Leary may have started their advocacy journey as @justtwomomssr on Instagram, but they’ve now created their own nonprofit: Common Ground Society. And they're using their platform to put the “social” back in “social distancing” by creating a virtual buddy program for children with and without disabilities. We love the work these ladies are doing and we know you will too!...

Alright friends, you asked! And we’re answering.. What’s the most challenging part of advocacy for you? How do you advocate if you don’t have tons of followers? What do you wish people knew about your child with DS? And how do you keep from comparing yourself to other advocates?... We’re chatting about all of this + more today! Because let’s face it, advocacy is exciting and rewarding but also har...

Kenzie Clark is a former special educator and the brains behind Able Transition Consulting, a service that equips individuals with disabilities with the resources to enter adulthood and thrive! The Able team is all about person-centered planning and making sure that young adults with disabilities have a voice in their transition! That’s why Kenzie’s here to chat about all things transitions, educa...

When it comes to finding the right language to use in this advocacy space, it can be tricky.. to say the least! Do we go with person-first or identity-first language? Should we say disabled or differently abled? And how can we use language to empower our kiddos with Down Syndrome? We’ve done a lot of learning (and unlearning!) to try and figure this all out. And as women who do not have any disabi...

In the midst of moving (and yes all three of us are moving this month!), we feel unorganized and uncomfortable, and we know our kids must feel it too! So how do we help our kiddos with Down Syndrome transition when we’re still working on it ourselves? We don’t have all the answers but do we have some of our favorite “social story” apps + quite a few mistakes for you all to learn from! So friends,...

Not only is Jen Bartz a mother to three, she is a narrative shifter in the healthcare community, especially when it comes to palliative care for our medically-complex kiddos. After her son James passed away, Jen and her husband were inspired to create Hero’s Path Palliative Care. Hero’s Path is a non-profit organization that exists to “empower children with serious illness to live fully by providi...

When Micha and her family moved across the country this summer, she realized it might be time to shift her son’s classroom setting as well. In this week’s episode, Micha’s discussing her decision to place Ace in a more restrictive classroom environment and we’re answering lots of hard questions about school for our kiddos with Down Syndrome.. Is inclusion really always the best option? What if you...

After giving birth to her daughter with Down Syndrome, Michelle Sie Whitten noticed a gap in medical research and quality healthcare for people with DS. And from that moment on, she sought to fill that gap by co-founding the Global Down Syndrome Foundation -- the leading organization dedicated to research, medical care, education, and advocacy for people rockin’ an extra chromosome! We’re so grate...

This week we’re sharing a special recording we did at a recent event with the We Are Brave Together community, hosted by Jessica Patay. We Are Brave Together is “passionate about supporting, serving, and inspiring Special Needs Moms.” Most importantly, they want you to know that you are not alone, friends! That’s why today we’re sharing our “everything’s going wrong” moments and how we reacted to...

If you’re anything like us, you may have wondered (AKA worried) about your child’s speech! How much therapy do they need? What can we do at home? The questions never end! That’s why today we have Shandy Laskey (speech language pathologist, functional nutritionist, and feeding specialist) on to chat about all the things our kiddos need before even thinking about speech therapy... What on earth is t...

What do you do when your pregnancy isn’t what you thought it would be.. when Covid-19 and a shocking diagnosis leave you looking for answers? Well if you’re anything like Abby Green, you discover that what really matters is not the celebrations and expectations, it’s that you love your baby no matter what. Today we have this pregnant lucky mama on to tell us all about her pregnancy in a pandemic,...

“Who decides how smart you are?” Dr. Sarathy is back on the show to chat about this idea from her Tedx talk, as well as her son’s extraordinary educational journey that involves poetry, patterns, and more! We’re also discussing fearless learning, the teach don’t test method, and the unfortunate way that people measure intelligence by appearance. You don’t want to miss this one, friends! ___ SHOW N...

When it comes to feeding our kids with Down Syndrome, we’re all just doing the best we can right? Some days our best is a PBJ and some days it's fresh baked gluten free bread! But everyday, we want to fuel them with food that helps them be their best! That’s why we have Dr. Sarathy on this episode for a conversation all about functional nutrition. Not only does she have two masters degrees and her...

Have you ever felt like you’re preparing for battle when you’re getting ready for an IEP meeting? You’ve gathered all your resources, you’ve been to all the conferences, and you’ve asked everyone you know for advice, but you’re still worried about being met with negativity and pushback. We’ve all been there. Let’s face it, the education system wasn’t made for our kiddos, and it takes a whole lot o...

Anyone else feeling more uncertain about the upcoming school year than ever before? We know we are! That’s why we have Dr. Spinazzi back on the show for a special episode about her insights into Covid-19 and her thoughts on sending kids to school in the middle of this pandemic. Not only is she a physician and professor, Dr. Spinazzi is the medical director of Charlie’s Clinic, a Down Syndrome spec...

In just one day, Kenny Clutch went from dancing in the hospital room for his son Kristian who had cancer, to speaking on the news and being reposted by celebrities everywhere. Not only is he “The Dancing Dad,”  Kenny is also a husband, father of 4, Down Syndrome advocate, and a motivational speaker. Today he’s sharing the story behind his nickname and how his experiences have lead him to host...

Kayla Craig is a mother, author, podcaster, journalist, and so much more. She and her husband lead a diverse family made up of four beautiful children -- including two adopted kiddos and one with Down Syndrome!  After realizing how curious other kids were about her unique family, she put pen to paper and decided to write “Just Really Joseph,” a book to help young children understand what real...

As parents of children with Down Syndrome, we’ve heard of about 1 million things we should be doing to improve the brain power of our kiddos… and we’re guessing you’ve heard them too! Do we say yes or no to B-12, Tylenol, dairy? Is gluten really that bad? And what on earth do we do about vaccines? We’ve brought on an expert to answer all of this and more! Dr. Brian Skotko is the director of Massac...

Just when we thought IEPs couldn’t get any more complicated (and summer couldn’t sound any better!)... Enter Covid-19! Join us for a chat about how we’re handling unfinished plans for kids going into middle school and new plans for a future kindergartener, in the midst of a global pandemic! We’re also discussing our exciting summer plans… Does anyone want to hang out with the dog in the front yard...

As our country has wrestled with the realities of racism over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been reflecting quite a bit over here and we’re guessing that many of you have too.  So let’s talk about it.  In this episode, we’re sharing our recent experience at protests, our own journeys/encounters with racism, and what we’re doing now to diversify our networks and stand with the #BlackLiv...

Teresa Unnerstall is an author, speaker, consultant, and mother to Nick - her 26 year old son with a dual diagnosis of Down Syndrome and Autism. She has nearly 3 decades of experience on dual diagnosis.. which means this episode is full of wisdom, and so is Teresa! She shares three tips to keep in mind for your kiddo with DS/ASD including behavior specialists, speech therapists, and sensory diets...

Jessica Hunter and Larkin O’Leary are on Instagram as @JustTwoMomssr but we all know there’s no such thing as “just a mom!” And these ladies prove it. Jessica is a mother to three kids, and her middle child has Down Syndrome. Larkin has two children, and her oldest is rocking that extra chromosome! Down Syndrome brought them together many years ago and today, their passion for inclusion made them...

Let’s face it, we all love voice-command technology (maybe even a little too much sometimes..) and our kiddos love it too. But Siri and Alexa and Google Home can’t always understand our loved ones with Down Syndrome. That’s why Ed Casagrande, the chair of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS), launched Project Understood. Ed and his team are collecting voices from individuals with Down Syndrom...

When all you see on Instagram is happy moms smiling with their children on Mother’s Day, it can be hard to remember that not every woman approaches the holiday the same way. That’s why we are so grateful to have Katie Jameson on to discuss all things grief and Mother’s Day. Katie is a mother to 4 year old twins (one w/Down Syndrome), a 2 year old, and her son Lochlan who would turn 6 this year. Af...

We know that Down Syndrome does not affect one more race more than another so why is the advocacy space not more diverse? We have Jalondra Davis - author, scholar, feminist, and mother, on to address this topic and more. We’re chatting about everything from her son’s diagnosis story to the many systems that impact our children with Down Syndrome and the intersections between different types of inj...