In this episode of Autism for Badass Moms, host Rashidah sits down with Lekana Williams, a wife and mother of two sons, ages 26 and 14. Her eldest son received his autism diagnosis at 23, while her youngest was diagnosed at 11.

Lekana opens up about raising two sons with very different autism journeys and the unique challenges of navigating diagnosis, motherhood, and acceptance through the lens of her African American community.

Together, Rashidah and Lekana discuss the silence and stigma that can exist around autism in Black families, the expectations parents may have for their children before diagnosis, and the importance of creating space for honest conversations across generations.

Lekana also shares how she learned to embrace her sons’ individuality, find gratitude in their journey, and encourage them to be proud of exactly who they are.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 — Meet Lekana

1:00 — Oldest son and early signs

5:11 — Processing guilt and grief

10:26 — Meltdowns, work struggles, and getting an adult evaluation

14:12 — Community denial and fear of stigma

17:37 — Youngest son's ADHD and Autism diagnosis story

20:02 — Incident at school

26:42 — School supports, IEPs, and bullying

30:11 — Connecting with each son emotionally

34:09 — African American community and mental health

43:26 — Relief through son's therapy sessions

45:17 — Career as a hairstylist and model

49:39 — Advice for moms afraid of stigma

54:33 — What makes Lekana badass

Connect with Lekana:

Instagram: Instagram.com/LekanaWill

Modeling inquiries: [email protected]

If this episode resonated with you:

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This week on Autism for Badass Moms, Rashidah sitsdown with Erin S. L. Jackson for a powerful conversation about autism motherhood, domestic violence, survival, education, and what it takes to rebuild your life when walking away feels impossible.

Erin opens up about something many women experience but may be afraid to say out loud: sometimes leaving an abusive relationship is not as simple as walking out the door.

Financial dependence, childcare challenges, missed work,isolation, fear, and the responsibility of raising a child with additional needs can make leaving feel impossible.

Erin shares how public assistance programs helped providesome of the financial security she needed to begin separating herself from her abuser — and how higher education eventually became another part of her pathtoward freedom.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 – Meet Erin

0:54 – Pregnant during COVID

2:53 – Her son's RSV hospitalization

4:26 – Developmental regression

6:22 – Getting the autism diagnosis

8:12 – How the diagnosis shifted the relationship

12:06 – Using ChatGPT to cope

12:57 – Building the escape plan

23:51 – The car accident that changed everything

25:21 – Police escort

26:32 – Co-parenting and contact today

32:37 – Mental health and suicidal thoughts

33:32 – Finishing her master's in social work

34:29 – The Title IV fellowship

42:44 – Where to find Erin

43:54 – Advice for moms still stuck

46:22 – What makes Erin badass

Connect with Erin:

Facebook: Erin Jackson

Instagram: Instagram.com/ hopez__Dreams

If this episode resonated with you: 

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A Note to Our Listeners

This episode contains conversations about domesticviolence, intimate partner violence, emotional abuse, financial abuse, and trauma. Please listen with care.

Abuse does not always look like physical violence.

It can include controlling money, interfering withemployment, isolating someone from family and friends, intimidation, manipulation, threats, emotional abuse, coercive control, and other behaviors designed to maintain power over another person.

If something discussed in this episode feels familiar,please know that help and confidential support are available.

You do not have to navigate abuse alone.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domesticviolence, please reach out to a trusted person or a domestic violence organization. You can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE, 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

Host Rashidah sits down with Prue for a candid conversationabout raising her son Jock, who has both autism and ADHD, from the early signs and long diagnostic wait times to daily life on a remote Australian cattle ranch. Prue opens up about grief, anxiety, celebrating small wins, and the community that has rallied around her family, offering heartfelt, hard-wonwisdom for any parent navigating a new neurodivergent diagnosis.
In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 – Meet Prue
1:38 – Early signs before diagnosis
2:03 – Long wait for a diagnosis
3:55 – Behaviors that led to seeking an assessment
5:46 – Autism and ADHD
10:33 – Processing grief and shifting expectations
12:00 – Managing anxiety and hypervigilance
15:53 – Life on the cattle ranch
17:09 – Being open about the diagnosis
22:25 – Feeding issues and celebrating small wins
25:52 – Balancing attention between siblings
29:02 – Helping sibling understand neurodivergence
30:05 – Mom guilt, masking feelings, and self-compassion
34:21 – Making time for self-care
36:12 – Why Prue decided to share her story
39:10 – Finding community with other special-needs parents
42:20 – Jock's therapy team
45:55 – Advice for a mom newly navigating diagnosis
47:55 – What makes Prue "badass"
49:27 – Get in contact with Prue

Connect with Prue McCormack

Facebook: Prue McCormack

Instagram: www.instagram.com/prue.mccormack

If this episode resonated with you:

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On this episode of Autism for Badass Moms, host Rashidahsits down with Lexus Sheffield, a 29-year-old mother of four from Texas.

Lexus is the mother of 4-year-old twins, Journie andJamarion, Jr., who were both diagnosed with autism in May 2025. As she navigated developmental concerns, services, and learning how to advocate for both of her children, Lexus was also facing a life-changing diagnosis of her own.

In 2024, Lexus was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

In this candid conversation, Lexus opens up about what itwas like learning that both of her twins were autistic, recognizing their early developmental differences, navigating Early Childhood Intervention, and confronting her own declining health while continuing to care for her family.

She also shares how her experience with MS has changed theway she views strength, motherhood, and self-care.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 – Meet Lexus

1:00 – Twins' NICU journey and early signs of autism

5:26 – Fight to get both twins properly evaluated

9:30 – Health crisis dismissed by doctors

13:30 – Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis

18:00 – Burnout

22:15 – Therapy, Part-time work, and starting CrossFit

24:53 – How the twins are thriving now

31:41 – Reach out to Lexus

33:20 – Advice for overwhelmed moms

Connect with Lexus

Facebook: Lexus Lynette

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lexuslynette

If this episode resonated with you:

-Follow the Autism for Badass Moms Podcast

-Leave a review to help other autism moms find thiscommunity

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Rashidah sits down with Ashley — model, brand ambassador,life coach, rideshare entrepreneur, soon-to-be nursing school grad, and mom of two (with baby #3 on the way!) for a raw, honest conversation about motherhood, autism, healing, and showing up unapologetically.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 — Meet Ashley

1:11  — Raising two kids with differing needs

2:49 — Amir's autism diagnosis 

5:14  — Generational silence 

9:15  — Learning to pinpoint 

12:11 — Navigating daughter's mental health alongside Amir's autism

17:12  — Giving each child a different version of herself

25:38 — Self-love journey and healing her own childhood

26:20 — The power of one true friendship 

32:01  — Co-parenting with intention

36:27 — Self-care amid it all

39:53 — Nursing school, career hustle, and knowing her worth

45:48 — Modeling career

51:10 — Her advice to moms 

55:23 — What makes Ashley badass

58:08 — Closing thoughts 

Connect with Ashley:

Facebook: Love Ladyash

Instagram: Instagram.com/RespectTheLady

Email: [email protected]

If this episode resonated with you: 

-Follow the Autism for Badass Moms Podcast

-Leave a review to help other autism moms find thiscommunity

-Share this episode with a parent who may feel unseen ormisunderstood

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Host Rashidah introduces a raw episode of Autism for BadassMoms on grief, autism parenting, divorce, and coping, featuring guest Emily Fell, a 45-year-old Wisconsin mom to 15-year-old Grace, diagnosed with autism at 2.5. Emily recounts the 2008 pregnancy and birth of her first daughter,Katie, who had hydranencephaly, was delivered by C-section with Emily suffering severe blood loss and transfusions and lived two days. Emily describes Grace’s traumatic birth in 2010, vaccine-related reactions, developmental regression,extensive early interventions including ABA, and later conflicts in her marriage—especially over vaccines—leading to her husband moving out in 2016 and divorce finalized in 2018, plus financial stress and foreclosure.

Emily shares past self-medicating with alcohol, recent sobriety, homeschooling Grace using spelling to communicate, and plans for a center/community for non-speakers with respite and ABA partners targeted for April 2026 and provides her TikTok contact.

In this episode, we discuss:

00:00 Podcast Intro

00:43Grief and Autism

02:46 Meet Emily Fell

04:52 Pregnancy and Shocking Ultrasound

08:50 Katie’s Birth and Medical Crisis

13:20 Saying Goodbye to Katie

16:04 Pregnant Again After Loss

17:44 Grace’s Birth Complications

23:19 Regression and Autism Diagnosis

26:15 Marriage Strain and Vaccines

29:11 Husband Moves Out and Fallout

32:58 Black Cloud and Getting Sober

34:21 Quitting Alcohol Clarity

35:24 Divorce Boundaries Strength

36:44 Grace Therapy Reflections

39:49 First Word Mom Moment

42:04 School Battles Presume Competence

46:55 Homeschool Spelling Breakthroughs

49:24 Spiritual Walk Revelation

52:14 Building Non-Speaker Community

56:15 How to Reach Emily

58:09 Advice for New Moms

01:03:22 Final Encouragement Outro

01:03:56 Guest Application Call

Connect with Emily:

TikTok:  emilygrace.do.homeschool(Emily & Grace Do Homeschool)

Instagram: www.instagram.com/amazing_grace_homeschool

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@amazing_grace_homeschool?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091213029569&mibextid=LQQJ4d

LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-fell-presume-competence/

If this episode resonated with you:

-Follow the Autism for Badass Moms Podcast

-Leave a review to help other autism moms find thiscommunity

-Share this episode with a parent who may feel unseen ormisunderstood

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Instagram: www.instagram.com/theabmpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/theabmpodcast

In this powerful episode, host Rashidah sits down with Julia Faith Parker, a single mom from Memphis, Tennessee, who opens up about navigating her son Shamar's autism diagnosis, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and what it truly means to pour from an empty cup. Julia's story is raw, relatable, and full of gems for every autism mom who's ever felt alone in the journey.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 — Meet Julia from Memphis, Tennessee 

1:04 — Shemar's early development and red flags

1:55 — Born during the pandemic

3:54 — Shamar is diagnosed with autism at age 3 — and Julia breaks down

10:24 — Closing the business

17:26 — Moving back to Memphis

18:22 — Starting school & navigating the ABA waiting lists

25:15 — Julia's biggest regret

41:39 — What about Julia? How she carves out time for herself amid it all

41:51 — The importance of being intentional: scheduling self-care 

41:51 — Julia's vision for special needs families in Memphis

41:51 — Advice for the mom who is alone with no support system

46:03 — "Double P": Prayer + Positivity

46:07 — What makes Julia a Badass Autism Mom

Connect with Julia:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1juliafaith_

Facebook: Julia Faith Parker

Autism for Badass Moms is the award-winning podcast where no autism mom is left behind. Each week, host Rashidah shares honest conversations with mothers around the world of autism, advocacy, resilience, and the realities of raising neurodivergent children.

Website: https://www.autismforbadassmoms.com

Follow Autism for Badass Moms:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/theabmpodcast

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theabmpodcast

In this powerful international episode, Rashidah sits down with Dalisse — originally from Honduras, now living in Barcelona — who is raising two boys on the autism spectrum: Adrian and Guillermo. Both boys were diagnosed around 17 months old, but while Dalisse was learning to navigate autism evaluations, therapies, and advocacy for her children, she was also beginning a life-changing journey of her own—receiving her own autism diagnosis as an adult.

Together, Rashidah and Dalisse discuss the emotional realities of parenting while discovering your own neurodivergence, the similarities and differences between autism support in Spain and the United States, and why community is essential for autism moms everywhere.

Out of her family's journey came something powerful. Dalisse is the co-founder of Loving Pieces Books, a publishing company dedicated to creating inclusive children's books where autistic children can see themselves represented. What began as a way to support her own sons has become a mission to help families around the world embrace neurodiversity through meaningful storytelling.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 — Meet Dalisse from Barcelona, Spain

1:09 — Early Signs & The Road to Diagnosis

2:00 — "Wait and See" — A Universal Experience Across Borders
5:43 — The 2 AM Google Spiral

6:53 — Explaining the Diagnosis to Family & Grandparents
9:19 — Processing the Guilt: "Am I a Bad Mom?"

9:57 — Two Boys, Two Very Different Journeys
21:05 — Autism Resources & The System in Spain vs. the US

28:41 — From Digital Marketing to Children's Books

35:07 — Loving Pieces Book

42:47 — Traveling with Autistic Kids

51:40 — Dalisse's Own Autism Diagnosis & Healing Her Inner Child

54:32 — Advice for the New Autism Mom
55:30 — What Makes Dalisse a Badass Mom?

Connect with Dalisse:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovingpiecesbooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovingpiecesbooks/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loving-pieces-books-autism-childrens-books/posts/?feedView=all

Website: lovingpiecesbooks.com

About Loving Pieces Books

Dalisse and her husband created Loving Pieces Books — a series of illustrated children's books written for autistic kids and their families, available in 4 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese & Catalan). Books mentioned:

• Autism: My Invisible Backpack
• Autism: This is How I Party
• Autism: A New School Year
• Autism: Calming the Chaos
• Autism: Confidence Starts Here
• (Coming soon) Autism: Our Travel Adventure

Purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iRC3eRC

Autism for Badass Moms is the award-winning podcast where no autism mom is left behind. Each week, host Rashidah shares honest conversations with mothers around the world about autism, advocacy, resilience, and the realities of raising neurodivergent children.

Website: https://www.autismforbadassmoms.com

Follow Autism for Badass Moms:

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/theabmpodcast

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theabmpodcast

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another autism mom, caretaker, or provider. Together, we're building a global community where every mom feels seen, heard, and supported.

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Kaylyn Vega — a Puerto Rican-Dominican mom from the Bronx, now raising her four-year-old autistic daughter in Florida alongside her Jamaican husband. Kaylyn opens up about spotting the early signs of autism, pushing back against family denial rooted in cultural stigma, navigating a resistant pediatrician, and ultimately becoming a fierce advocate for her daughter and other families on the same journey. Her story is raw, real, and deeply inspiring.

In this episode, we discuss:

0.00 Welcome & introducing Kaylyn — from the Bronx to Florida

0:26 Kaylyn's background: Puerto Rican, Dominican & her daughter's Jamaican heritage

1:18 Early signs she noticed — tippy-toeing, delayed milestones, limited verbal communication

2:01 Who first said "autism"? Kaylyn did — and why she already knew

2:40 Cultural pushback: "She'll grow out of it"

4:26 Getting the diagnosis — pushback from the pediatrician AND the preschool

10:02 Finding peace in the diagnosis and mourning the "planned" future

14:01 How Kaylyn's daughter is thriving today — speech, swimming, meditation

15:27 Running a "tight ship" when family babysits

20:13 Navigating insurance & the out-of-pocket diagnosis — what moms need to know

22:37 Going back to school: psychology major, health insurance, and RBT certification

26:13 Kaylyn's vision: an autism wellness advocacy business

27:56 Self-care, a supportive partner, and guided meditation with her daughter

29:22 How to reach Kaylyn

29:42 Advice for moms struggling with family and cultural barriers

31:17 What makes Kaylyn a badass? Her voice

Connect with Kaylyn:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kayykulture._

Email: [email protected]

If this episode resonated with you:

-Follow the Autism for Badass Moms Podcast

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Rashidah sits down with Wendy Ernzen — mom, podcaster, and fierce advocate for families raising loved ones with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Wendy's daughter Nicola (Nic), 23, has profound autism and bipolar disorder. Wendy shares her decades-long journey through early diagnosis confusion, relentless school battles, a family crisis that spilled into the community, and ultimately finding Nic a safe, supported, and joyful home. This episode is raw, honest, and deeply moving — a must-listen for any parent in the thick of it.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 — Intro & Welcome

3:34 — Wendy Joins the Conversation

7:06 — Early Signs & The Road to Diagnosis

11:50 — School Battles & IEPs

15:48 — Watching Peers Move On

19:50 — Bipolar Disorder Enters the Picture

21:58 — First Crisis at 12: Psychiatric Units

26:40 — Planning for the Future

31:16 — Crisis Before Graduation

34:30 — Behaviors Spill into the Community

37:00 — Crisis-Trained Officers

39:54 — Securing Housing: A Two-Month Fight

42:19 — Finding Strength

44:59 — PTSD & Therapy

47:22 — The Birth of Let's Plant Houses Podcast

50:36 — Advice for the Mom Who Feels Completely Alone

55:46 — What Makes Wendy Badass?

58:11 — How to Connect with Wendy

Connect with Wendy:

Let's Plant Houses Podcast —

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-plant-houses/id1724641933

https://open.spotify.com/show/2J8JhQUrkKrXaYxs8JF4Zh?si=0dac5a63b4174d46

Website: www.letsplanthouses.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/letsplanthouses

LinkedIn: Wendy Ernzen

If this episode resonated with you:

-Follow the Autism for Badass Moms Podcast

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