Amidon Planet

What does it take to move from providing separate spaces for people with disabilities to creating opportunities for them to participate in everyday community life?

In this third episode of 45 Minutes, Keith and Natalie Yelinek reflect on changes in education and community opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Madison, Wisconsin. Their story follows the efforts of parents, educators, and advocates who worked to expand access to public education and create opportunities for students to learn and work in integrated settings.

We hear about the development of educational services in Madison, the influence of educator and researcher Dr. Lou Brown, and the shift toward preparing students for meaningful participation in their communities. These changes became part of Kristin Yelinek’s own story, including her graduation from high school and the beginning of her career at McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research.

Throughout the conversation, Dr. Alice Udvari-Solner and Joel Amidon provide context and reflection on the educational ideas, practices, and people that helped shape this history.

45 Minutes is a five-part Amidon Planet special series about a family’s story of advocacy, education, and the ongoing work of inclusion.

Listen on the Amidon Planet podcast feed, and find supporting materials for the series at amidonplanet.com/45minutes.

What happens when families need support and opportunities for their children, but few exist?

In the early 1960s, Keith and Natalie Yelinek were navigating life with their daughter, Kristin, at a time when families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities had few resources and limited educational options. Finding support meant connecting with other families, learning from those willing to help, and working together to create possibilities that had not existed before.

In Episode 2 of 45 Minutes, Keith and Natalie reflect on the people and organizations that helped them find their footing. We hear how local advocacy began gaining attention, how the community and the Kennedy family helped bring visibility to these efforts, and how parents and advocates began working toward better opportunities for children with disabilities.

Throughout the conversation, Dr. Alice Udvari-Solner and Joel Amidon offer historical context and reflections on the people and efforts that helped move this work forward.

A note about language: This episode includes historical language used to describe people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that is offensive and unacceptable today. We include these words because they were part of Keith and Natalie’s experience in 1962 and help us understand the attitudes and systems they encountered. They do not reflect the language or views of the producers of this series.

45 Minutes is a five-part Amidon Planet special series about a family’s story of advocacy, education, and the ongoing work of inclusion.

Listen on the Amidon Planet podcast feed, and find supporting materials for the series at amidonplanet.com/45minutes⁠.

In January 1962, Keith and Natalie Yelinek welcomed their daughter, Kristin, into the world. Soon, they were faced with a decision that would shape their family’s life for decades to come.

In this first episode of 45 Minutes, Keith and Natalie begin sharing their story of raising a daughter with a developmental disability at a time when educational opportunities and community services for individuals with disabilities were limited; and when families were often given little guidance or support.

Their story begins with a 45-minute decision in a hospital room. From there, it becomes a story about family, relationships, advocacy, and the people who helped create possibilities where very few existed.

Joel Amidon and Dr. Alice Udvari-Solner provide context and reflection throughout the conversation, helping place Keith and Natalie’s experiences within the larger history of education and services for individuals with disabilities.

A note about language: This episode includes historical language used to describe people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that is offensive and unacceptable today. We include these words because they were part of Keith and Natalie’s experience in 1962 and help us understand the attitudes and systems they encountered. They do not reflect the language or views of the producers of this series.

45 Minutes is a five-part Amidon Planet special series about a family’s story of advocacy, education, and the ongoing work of inclusion.

Supporting materials for the series can be found at amidonplanet.com/45minutes.

In this episode, I talk with Adam Ramirez from Teacher Guard about the challenges educators are facing and what it means to genuinely support the people doing the work of teaching.

We explore Adam's work with Teacher Guard, what he's hearing from teachers and schools, and the ways we might rethink how we protect, support, and empower educators. Along the way, we consider the difference between simply asking teachers to be resilient and actually creating the conditions in which teachers can thrive.

This conversation is an invitation to look beyond the individual teacher and consider the systems, relationships, and resources that shape the experience of teaching.

If you care about teachers—and about creating schools where teachers and students can thrive—this conversation offers plenty to think about.

Show notes can be found at amidonplanet.com/episode150

In this episode, I talk with Dr. David Coffey, from Grand Valley State University, about Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and what a book about becoming a better writer can teach us about becoming better teachers. While King is writing about the work of a writer, many of the lessons in On Writing invite us to think differently about teaching as something we continually develop rather than something we simply master.

What does it mean to approach teaching as a craft? How do we learn from revision? And how might we become more intentional about getting better over time?

Whether you've read On Writing or not, this conversation offers an invitation to reflect on your own practice and the ongoing work of learning to teach better.

Show notes for the episode can be found at amidonplanet.com/episode149.

In this episode, I talk with Charlie Van Norman and Devin Santiago, from MathBreakers, a video game designed around curiosity, creativity, and mathematical thinking. Rather than asking players to memorize procedures or answer endless practice questions, MathBreakers invites them to experiment, solve problems, and discover how mathematics shapes the world around them.

Together, we discuss what makes an educational game truly engaging, how thoughtful game design can foster reasoning and exploration, and why play is an essential part of meaningful learning.

Whether you're a teacher looking for new ways to engage students, a parent curious about educational games, or simply someone who enjoys thinking about learning differently, this conversation offers an inspiring look at the intersection of mathematics, technology, and imagination.

Show notes for the episode can be found at amidonplanet.com/episdoe148

What happens when some of the most significant parts of a person's teaching and learning experience remain unseen?

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Amanda Goodwin about her dissertation, INVISIBLE: An Autoethnographic Study of Teaching and Learning with Physical Disabilities and Neurodivergence. Through the lens of her own lived experience, Amanda explores how invisible disabilities and neurodivergence shape teaching, learning, relationships, and professional life.

We discuss why personal narratives matter in educational research, how autoethnography helps us understand experiences that are often overlooked, and what educators can do to create classrooms and workplaces that are more accessible, compassionate, and responsive.

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, question our assumptions, and recognize that every classroom includes experiences we cannot fully see. By listening carefully and leading with curiosity, we can create learning communities where people feel understood, valued, and supported.

Coming this fall on Amidon Planet.

In 1962, Keith and Natalie Yelnick were given 45 minutes to make a decision about their newborn daughter, Kristin, who was born with a developmental disability.

What followed was not only a family story, but a story of social change.

Over the next six decades, Keith and Natalie witnessed—and helped shape—the evolution of educational opportunities, community inclusion, and support services for individuals with disabilities. Their experiences offer a unique window into how families, educators, advocates, and policymakers worked together to create opportunities that simply did not exist when Kristin was born.

In this special five-part series, host Joel Amidon and educator Dr. Alice Udvari-Solner share a recorded conversation with Keith and Natalie, weaving in historical context, personal reflections, and lessons that still matter today.

45 Minutes is a story about family, advocacy, education, and the ongoing work of inclusion.

The series begins this fall. Subscribe to Amidon Planet wherever you get your podcasts so this series will appear automatically in your feed when they are released.

Learn more and find supporting materials at amidonplanet.com/45minutes.

What does it mean to become more fully yourself?

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jeremiah Sims about his new book, Finding the Beautiful Path: On Blackness, Multidimensionality, and Radical Becoming. Through personal reflection, scholarship, and storytelling, Jeremiah invites readers to consider identity not as something fixed, but as something continually unfolding.

Our conversation explores the power of multidimensionality, the limitations of reducing people to a single story, and the ways Blackness offers insight into broader questions of humanity, belonging, and growth. We also discuss the idea of radical becoming—the ongoing process of imagining and moving toward new possibilities for ourselves and our communities.

If you've ever wrestled with questions of identity, purpose, or what it means to grow beyond expectations, this conversation offers both challenge and hope. 

Plus, the Physical Media of the Episode, The Greatest Showman soundtrack on vinyl!

Show notes can be found at amidonplanet.com/episode146/

What if puzzles were about more than finding answers?

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jeff Wanko, Dean of the College of Education and Health Sciences at Bradley University, about how puzzles create opportunities for both community and reasoning. While puzzles are often viewed as individual challenges, Jeff shares how they can become powerful experiences that bring people together around curiosity, conversation, and shared problem solving.

We explore how puzzles encourage learners to explain their thinking, test ideas, listen to others, and make sense of complex situations. Along the way, we discuss why productive struggle can strengthen both understanding and relationships, and how puzzles help create spaces where everyone has an opportunity to contribute.

Whether you're a teacher, leader, or simply someone who enjoys a good challenge, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on what happens when people think together. Plus, the Physical Media of the Episode, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.

Show notes can be found at amidonplanet.com/episode145.