THE SJ CHILDS SHOW-Building a Community of Inclusion

Send us Fan Mail A quiet moment over coffee can redraw a life. That’s where our guest, Matt Ross, realized he wasn’t just surviving anymore—he was ready to build a plan for growth. We trace how that spark became Grow or Fold, a candid guide to navigating midlife, protecting your family, and designing a future that feels both possible and personal. Matt shares the arc of his career—from building ra...

Send us Fan Mail What if accessibility came first and everything else got better because of it? That’s the idea we rally around as Sara Bradford, aka SJ Childs—AuDHD Advocate and creator of Stream-Able Live and the SJ Childs Global Network—lays out a clear, urgent case for building inclusion into the foundation of our products, events, and stories. With one in four people in the United States livi...

Send us Fan Mail A blog that almost stalled. A book that took shape anyway. And a voice that keeps getting louder. We sit down with Michael, an autistic author from Ontario, to trace how “Michaelism: My POV on Life with Autism” went from idea to self-published reality—and why persistence beat perfection at every turn. Michael opens up about the early days when the word autism felt abstract, while...

Send us Fan Mail What if the very traits that once set your career on fire could be turned into a repeatable system that saves companies and jobs—without burning you out? That’s the tension we explore with turnaround executive Todd Hagopian, whose fifteen years of undiagnosed bipolar disorder powered massive wins and painful self-sabotage before a diagnosis forced a new path. The meds worked, the...

Send us Fan Mail What if social apps actually met neurodivergent needs? That question drives a warm, candid conversation with educator-turned-founder Brittany Moser as we dig into Synchrony, a new social and dating app for autistic and otherwise neurodivergent adults. Brittany traces the journey from a rural Queensland classroom to a Manhattan charter school, where practical inclusion strategies s...

Send us Fan Mail A teenager sent to rehab without ever touching drugs. A yellow‑Formica childhood stitched with bullying and bravado. A school shooting buried by a bigger headline. Jessica Danel’s story doesn’t ask for sympathy—it demands your attention and rewards it with candor, humor, and hard‑won wisdom. We sit down with Jessica to unpack the heartbeat behind her memoir, Bucket List from a Red...

Send us Fan Mail A simple song sparks a bigger truth: creative expression can move us through trauma and toward purpose. From that opening, we dive into a frank, compassionate conversation with neurodiversity consultant and advocate Lisa Richer about late diagnosis, parenting autistic and ADHD kids, and the hard-earned art of trusting your gut when the “experts” disagree. Lisa traces her path from...

Send us Fan Mail A rainy Saturday, a canceled playground trip, and a child named Logan turn into an unforgettable lesson on resilience. We welcome Dr. Ambrose Pass Turner—counseling psychologist, professor, and longtime clinician—to share how a personal health crisis became the spark for a children’s book that helps families navigate disappointment with calm, creativity, and connection. You’ll hea...

Send us Fan Mail A candid, joyful talk with author Bria Rose about flipping Beauty and the Beast on its head, managing perfectionism as autistic creatives, and building momentum as an indie author through outreach, edits, and community. We share practical steps for starting, finishing, and promoting a book while keeping your voice intact. • season focus on autism summits and storytelling magic • B...

Send us Fan Mail A dream, a diagnosis, and a blueprint for calmer families—this conversation with Constance Lewis traces how a sudden medical crisis turned into a playful, powerful tool for emotional regulation. When her son Miles began having grand mal seizures at four, Constance and her husband Andre (a pediatric dentist) entered a maze of tests, medications, and second opinions. After a brain l...

Send us Fan Mail The conversation starts with a memory many families know too well: an early checkup, a handful of red flags, and years of whispered support plans. From there, we move into motion—Carol Waldman shares how a lonely path through therapies and IEPs grew into public advocacy, culminating in a unanimous San Diego measure to expand training and hiring for neurodiverse adults. Along the w...

Send us Fan Mail What if the most powerful support is simply letting people try? That’s the thread we follow with guest Shea Belsky—autistic self-advocate, software engineering tech lead, and host of Autistic Techie—through a candid tour of early supports, hard-won boundaries, and the everyday tactics that make work and life more humane. We start with the shift from “I’m uncomfortable” to “I’m unc...

Send us Fan Mail What if “treatment-resistant” isn’t about you—it’s about the tools? We sit down with Dr. Theodore Henderson, a neurobiologist and psychiatrist, to rethink brain care for autism, TBI, depression, anxiety, and long COVID through neuroplasticity, functional imaging, and smarter energy-based therapies. Instead of labels and guesswork, we dig into how infrared light can reach mitochond...

Send us Fan Mail Dive deep into the fascinating world where regenerative agriculture meets human health with landscape architect and author Mattieu Mehuys. From his roots on a Belgian family farm to his current mission transforming farmland in the Azores, Mattieu shares how his personal journey through crisis became the catalyst for his life's purpose. The conversation reveals startling truth...

Send us Fan Mail Curiosity drives creativity in this heartfelt conversation with author Mila Maxwell, whose debut novel "Finding Lady Baltimore" emerged from a simple yet profound question: "What if something happened to me that allowed me to see her perspective?" This burning desire to understand her sister Sarah's experience with cerebral palsy ultimately became the foun...

Send us Fan Mail Kathy O'Connell opens up about her journey navigating dating while living with cerebral palsy, revealing how vulnerability and self-acceptance transformed her personal life and launched her mission to help others. As founder of Radiant Abilities, she's developed a framework that guides people with disabilities through the often challenging world of dating and relationshi...

Send us Fan Mail What if your child's seemingly unusual behaviors are actually their way of connecting with a world most of us can't see?  Catherine Crestani, leadership coach and intuitive healer with nearly two decades of experience as a speech-language pathologist, shares profound insights about the spiritual dimensions of autism that mainstream approaches often miss. Drawing from her...

Send us Fan Mail What if autism isn't a modern condition but an ancient, essential thread in human evolution? Dr. Kristen Williamson, a professional counselor diagnosed with autism at 39, takes us on a journey that challenges everything we think we know about neurodiversity. "I feel like an alien wearing a matching skin suit of a human," Dr. Williamson confesses, describing the exha...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when children struggle to read despite their best efforts? How can parents spot the early warning signs of dyslexia or dysgraphia? And why do millions of children continue falling behind in reading despite classroom interventions? Daniela Feldhausen, founder of Kids Up Reading Tutors, brings both professional expertise and transformative solutions to these pressing qu...

Send us Fan Mail Ever felt like your brain works differently than everyone else's? Dr. Albert Bramante invites us to celebrate these differences as superpowers rather than limitations in this enlightening conversation about neurodiversity. Drawing from his 22 years as a talent agent and his background in psychology, Dr. Bramante shares why he prefers the term "neurodivergent" over &...

Send us Fan Mail What if the key to transforming children's mental health wasn't found in medication or traditional therapy, but in teaching them to quiet their minds and connect with their bodies? In this eye-opening conversation with healer and educator Luminara from Manchester, UK, we discover the remarkable impact of bringing meditation, visualization, and energy work into school set...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when artificial intelligence meets neurodivergent thinking? Magic, innovation, and life-changing tools for those who've always felt different. Meet Derek Crager, a late-diagnosed autistic entrepreneur who spent decades feeling like "an alien here on Earth to observe" before discovering his neurotype at age 50. Now he's channeling his unique perspec...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you uncover a hidden family history that reveals both heartbreak and resilience? Janet's discovery of a banker's box filled with her brother's medical records sparked an unexpected journey into autism's troubling past and ultimately led to her powerful memoir, "The Alien Savant." Born in the 1950s when autism wasn't recognized a...

Send us Fan Mail What if you suddenly experienced the sensory challenges your autistic child faces every day? Jacki Edry's life took a dramatic turn when doctors discovered a massive tumor on her brainstem. After surgery, she woke to a transformed reality - faces appeared to melt, floors became disorienting patterns, and everyday sounds overwhelmed her completely. This remarkable conversation...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when autism representation meets reality? Kaelynn Partlow pulls back the curtain on life before, during, and after Netflix's "Love on the Spectrum" in this candid conversation about authenticity and advocacy in the public eye. Diagnosed with autism at age 10 after years of medical professionals dismissing her mother's concerns ("In the ninetie...