Unapologetically Whole

Send us Fan Mail Growing up alongside a sibling with autism can transform your life's blueprint in the most unexpected ways. in this episode, we're joined by the remarkable Nadia Hamilton, who shares the touching saga of her brother, Troy, and how his journey on the autism spectrum has awakened a legacy of empowerment and innovation. Nadia's candid recount of the joys and hurdles th...

Send us Fan Mail Every January, my husband Tosan and I brace ourselves for the impact of the 'January reset' on our family's finances. As parents of a child with complex medical needs, we're no strangers to the avalanche of medical bills that come with insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums starting anew. Our latest episode offers an intimate conversation where we pee...

Send us Fan Mail Our 2023 year in review episode is here. We discuss the ups and downs that is/was 2023, including a life changing family trip to Barcelona, an ice storm that prevented travel to our daughter's therapy, a short term caregiver crisis, the myth of work-life balance and so much more. https://notyourmamasautism.com/ https://www.instagram.com/notyourmamasautism/ https://www.faceboo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Addis Gonte, Non-Profit CEO and Disability Inclusion Advocate. We talk about how a car accident changed his life, resulting in traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. We also speak on how his life changing accident led him on a new path to founding a non-profit, called Able Mindset , and many lessons learned along the way. https://notyourmamasautism...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, my husband, Tosan, and I have a conversation about the transition we've made and are making into the start of adolescence. Our kids, a boy and a girl, are now both pre-teens and our daughter has an intellectual disability. We talk about the special considerations we have to think through and make as we raise neurodivergent children who are undergoing a new li...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Janelle Johnson, a licensed marriage and family therapist, Founder of Bridges Family Life Center, PLLC , Mom, Wife and Self-Advocate. We talk about her own autism self-diagnosis, how she became a therapist, her own philosophy on "masking", her decision to eventually self-ID, raising an autistic child and her views on so much more. As always...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Dr. Tade Akere, a mother, wife, businesswoman turned psychologist and advocate. She is the mother of an adult autistic son and a neurodivergent and mental health advocate serving patients through her Illinois based practice. She is also the host of the webseries Dr. Tade Talks and the author of the book, No! Not My Son!: An African Mother's Jour...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Tim Markle , the Southern Regional Center Director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center . We speak about delivery of health care to diverse populations, his own experience as a dad to an autistic son and how understanding the power of forgiveness has allowed him to become a better person, father, husband and advocate. https://notyourm...

Send us Fan Mail In Season 6, Episode 2 of the Not Your Mama's Autism Podcast, I speak with attorney, self-advocate and former law school classmate, LaNasha Houze. In this episode, LaNasha speaks to how she ended up obtaining her later in life ADHD diagnosis, the subsequent realizations she made when it comes to her neurodivergence and provides some advice to those who wish to know more about...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 6 of the Not Your Mama's Autism Podcast, now brought to you in both audio and video form. In addition to listening to our podcast on your favorite podcast platform, now you can view new episodes on You Tube. After a long hiatus, we start our new season talking through our parenting journey through various seasons that includes/included: stay at home parentho...

Send us Fan Mail Our conversation on special education law continues with Tracey Spencer Walsh , podcast host, attorney and special education law expert. This part of our conversation focuses on things to consider as your child ages through and eventually out of special education. https://notyourmamasautism.com/ https://www.instagram.com/notyourmamasautism/ https://www.facebook.com/NotYourMamasAut...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Tracey Spencer Walsh, an attorney specializing in special education law and a podcast host of the podcast, "It's Special", a show focused on navigating disability within the education space. In our conversation, Tracey and I speak on what special education is, the laws in space to safeguard it and some of the thing that parents should c...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Inarm Osborn , a passionate entrepreneur who is dedicated to improving the lives and job prospects of neurodivergent adults in need of his services. He is the Founder and CEO of Auti Quest, an innovative app that provides employment support for autistic adults. He is also Centra Co Support Services, a day center for adults with intellectual disabilit...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Koko Ekeng, mom, parenting coach and author. She talks about how her daughter's complex medical needs started her on a journey to America in order for her to get the help she needed medically and, eventually academically as well. She speaks to how her training as a life coach prepared her for a very difficult season https://notyourmamasautism.com...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Dr. Jessica Taverniti, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, PHD in Psychology and Co-Founder of Nurolux, a platform that provides its members with actionable and customized tools that aids autistic people, their families and professionals that support them a better roadmap to improve overall quality of life. I speak with Jessica about her background in p...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with Andrew Arboe, Founder of Driving with Autism, an online program that helps autistic people how to drive. He talks about common challenges he sees in this space, some of the personal challenges he has faced as a self-advocate and how the types of programming he has available for people in need of these services. For more information on Andrew's w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Andrew Komarow, Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Founder of Planning Across the Spectrum , a firm that specializes in financial planning for neurodivergent and disabled people and their families. We talk about his later in life autism diagnosis, what he thinks people get wrong about neurodivergence and some ways that his firm fills in the gap for...

Send us Fan Mail For Season 5, Episode 3 of the Not Your Mama's Autism Podcast, I speak with Danielle Feerst, Occupational Therapist and Founder of iElevate, a life and career coaching platform for neurodivergent teens and adults. We talk about the reason why a need for her services exists, challenges associated with this relatively new coaching space and how her background as an occupational...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with pediatric occupational therapist, Micaela Wilson. Mickey, as she is better known by, walks us through how occupational therapy can help certain people, the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy and the kinds of considerations people can make when deciding which therapist is right for them. In addition to our podcast, please see...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the first episode of the new season, Season 5, Episode 1 where we speak to Amy Root. She is an autistic self-advocate, corporate executive, mom and wife. We talked about how her later in life autism diagnosis not only better helped her understand who she was, but helped her better parent her children (including two autistic children) and "re-parent" herself. h...

Send us Fan Mail It is not every day that someone is vulnerable about their life journey. I had an enlightening discussion with Jennifer Msumba, award winning autistic filmmaker, musician and writer. In this episode Jennifer walks us through her self-advocacy journey, how she uses art to cope with feeling different and the time when she was forcibly institutionalized. Time and time again, she has...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I interview my son, a budding self-advocate in his own right, about the start of his transition into middle school and his recent discharge from physical therapy. He talks about how he is processing the end of therapy, the friends he made there and the types of things that run through his mind as he thinks of the start of middle school. https://notyourmamasautism....

Send us Fan Mail JP "J-Rock" Horsley is a black, autistic musician who currently lives in the UK. He is also a contributor to the book, Educational Psychology Perspectives on Supporting Young Autistic People: Insight from Experience, Practice and Research , which was published in April 2022. We had a rich discussion about his music, how his neurodivergence contributes to his art, the sti...

Send us Fan Mail Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a form of therapy commonly administered to children on the autism spectrum. According to Healthline media, ABA is a type of therapy that can improve social, communication, and learning skills through reinforcement strategies. Many experts consider ABA to be the gold-standard treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other deve...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak to the filmmakers behind the documentary, " Unseen : How We're Failing Parent Caregivers and Why It Matters". We discuss the idea behind the documentary, why the decision was made to tell the story visually and what people hope they get out of the film. For more information about this film, check it out here . https://notyourmamasautism.com...