aVERY BRIGHT LIFE

.... and, should we tell our older kids with intellectual disabilities the truth about S. Claus, the E. Bunny and the gang?? And if so, how? 

This episode is about that AND how we celebrated Christmas in May 2019 when I nearly ruined future holiday magic forever. 

*Content Warning: Not for kids... sensitive info. 

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

School is Avery's happy safe place. So for her to come home the other day, distraught and scared and worried about going back, it was upsetting. This is the story of her terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. 

*Content Warning: Not for kids. Violence. 

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

It isn’t easy to change our perspective and stay positive. It’s way easier to focus on all negative stuff. And man, there's a lot. Especially right now. This episode is about how we can actively change our perspective and reshape our reality, including the challenges we face as disability families.

Here is the link to the EXCELLENT study I talked about in this episode: Strength in Diversity: Positive Impacts of Children with Disabilities

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

Sometimes we're all a little (or a lot) negative. Of course we are. I mean, have you looked around lately? There is some STUFF happening. There's also some stuff happening in our house right now too. Nothing we can't manage but holy man, it takes a toll. So, in this "keepin' it real" episode, I share a bit about what's going on over here in the format of a game we used to play with the kids. The game is called, "Fortunately Unfortunately." Ever played it? No? Then this is the perfect episode for you to learn how to play AND to enjoy an obscure Nelly Olsen reference. 

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

*Content Warning: some rather traumatic content about a child (my child) choking. 

This episode is about why children, kids with disabilities in particular, choke. And also, what we as caregivers can do to keep our kids as safe as possible. 

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

As soon as I feel like I have a handle on the terminology in the disability community, I come across something new. Like "Glass Children." I'd never heard of this until a few months ago. In this episode I share a bit about who Glass Children are and what parents and the community at large can do to help make sure that kids with disabled siblings feel SEEN and heard. 

Jamie Guterman's TED Talk about growing up as a Glass Child

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

Ever hosted a puppy party? How about a dog wedding? Just me? I know, it's a bit out there. But isn't that what we do as parents? I feel like I've lost that creative, silly side this past few years. A pandemic will do that. So I thought I'd share the old "fun" dog wedding planner, puppy party host Lisa. Just FUR fun. Oh and in case you were wondering who let the dogs out? I did. 

This episode is rated Clean for all audiences.. clean, if you don't count the dog hair on my pants. 

How to host a dog party

Dog Wedding

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

Part of working toward inclusion, includes talking about exclusion—where it comes from and how it feels. Disability advocates like me talk a big talk. But, I haven't always been a shining example of inclusion. My history includes plenty of ableism.

Sharing my missteps doesn’t paint me in the most flattering light, but exposing our flaws and our subsequent growth can be one way to uncover hidden but common ableist ideas and help clear a path ahead. So buckle up, I’m going to expose myself.

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The "Bad Bubble" episode I mentioned: Ep. 15 Friends

The photo of me and my date before a high school dance is HERE on Instagram. Um, the hair, the dress, the white pumps. There's a lot to unpack there. But most important is the boy in the window behind us. 

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

A resounding welcome and happy hello to our new listeners! This episode begins with a brief intro about who we are and what this podcast is about. We then move into a medical update and some thoughts about how as parents, our identities are so tightly connected to our kid's diagnoses—whether we mean it to be or not. 

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Living With The Fear of SUDEP: https://averybrightlife.com/living-with-the-fear-of-sudep

Fridge Make-Over How To Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqN50FG0cZE

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster

I thought it might be cool to go 'viral' on social media. And then we did. And now I'm not so sure it's all that it's cracked up to be. Though there's no adult language in this episode, it still has an Explicit rating because there are topics around online bullying and derogatory comments that are not meant for little ears. 

In this episode mom Lisa explains how an Instagram reel that went viral elicited a broad range of comments—some thoughtful, some ignorant and some downright awful. 

Avery is absent in this episode (she is fine, just taking the week off). She'll be back next week!

Here's the reel discussed in this episode: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CbGrzrTAeqS/

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This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury.

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at averybrightlife.com.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: @LisaThornbury

Facebook: aVERY Bright life

Twitter: @LisaThornbury

Questions or Partnership Inquiries: [email protected]

Have a comment, question, episode suggestion or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you! Message us old-timey style by commenting on our podcast page. Or show us your techie and leave an AUDIO message via the Anchor messaging button! We might even use your voice message in an upcoming episode!

Thanks for listening. 💜

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Keywords for searchy-ness: disability, disabled kids, developmental disabilities, intellectual disability, parenting, special needs, epilepsy, seizures, hypotonia, chromosome disorder, speech delay, end ableism, disability family, parenting podcast, mother daughter podcast, kid podcaster