Labeled & Loved Podcast

Rhett Smith is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 25 years of experience. He is the author of two books, The Anxious Christian, as well as, What It Means to be a Man. In this episode, Rhett answers the most commonly asked questions regarding marriage, intimacy, mental health, and boundary setting, while giving us a look behind the label of his own history of anxiety. For more information on Rhett, visit rhettsmith.com and check out his podcast The Rhett Smith Podcast.

Real food meets reality. In this episode, Rachel Tiemeyer shares how her journey from a desperate mom navigating nutritional changes for her son’s diagnosis with Crohn’s Disease morphed into authoring two cookbooks, From Freezer to Table (2017), and From Freezer to Home (2020), and creating the wildly popular site, Thriving Home, along with her friend and colleague, Polly Conner. We discuss her healthy fast and fresh meal ideas for busy families, along with her latest project, 1 Hour Freezer Prep, where she equips moms to make 6 family meals in just 1 hour. We also dive into women in business, the scarcity mindset, and Rachel’s own journey through binge eating and body image issues.

Julie Hornok brings over sixteen years of autism industry experience as a parent, behavioral program facilitator, global interviewer, speaker, award-winning author, and President/co-founder of Labeled and Loved. In our season one finale, Julie shares the story of her daughter Lizzie who went from a nonverbal toddler to a teenager attending college in the fall, as well as the incredible awakening that can occur when we as women surrender our worry and turn our stories into service. Julie can be found at www.juliehornok.com. Her first book is titled, “United in Autism: Finding Strength Inside the Spectrum.”

Traveling as a family is often overwhelming when you have a child or loved one with special needs. In this episode, Certified Autism Travel Professional, Dina Farmer, breaks down how she helps families remove the stress of autism-friendly vacation planning. From a day at Disney to tropical destinations, Dina, a mother to child with autism, uses her personal and professional expertise to partner with tourism suppliers who provide programs and accommodations for those with differing needs. Dina can be found at lilyandmagnoliatravel.com where she offers planning for autism-friendly airlines, cruise lines, hotels, resorts and vacation activities.

Megan Carranza is a mother, podcast host/creator, and autism advocate. After Megan’s oldest child, Logan, was diagnosed with autism in March of 2017, she became a mom on a mission to spread the message of awareness, acceptance and inclusion. Megan saw a need for more support within the autism community and launched her podcast, Adventures in Autism, in September 2018, creating a safe and supportive space for families and individuals with autism to come together and share. In this episode, Megan talks candidly about grief, the diagnosis process, therapies that have worked for her son, and why a mother’s intuition is never wrong.

Jess Ronne is no stranger to the unexpected. After her son Lucas had a stroke in utero and was born with profound special needs, Jess soon thereafter lost her beloved husband to brain cancer. Forever the fighter, Jess turned hardship into hope becoming a renowned author, speaker, podcast host, documentary producer, and caregiver advocate. She is the founder and executive director of The Lucas Project—a non-profit dedicated to providing recognition, resources, and respite for special needs families, as well as author of her brilliant memoir Sunlight Burning at Midnight, and soon to be released second book, Blended with Grit and Grace. Jess lives with her eight children and husband Ryan in Tennessee and can be found on The Today Show, Daily Mail, Huffington Post and www.jessplusthemess.com.

Imagine being able to ask a BCBA anything. In this episode, Sasha Long, BCBA, M.A. and founder/president of The Autism Helper, Inc. answers parents' and providers' most pressing questions surrounding autism. Sasha is a board certified behavior analyst, former special education teacher, and current international speaker who works full-time as a consultant, writer, and behavior analyst. Sasha also manages and writes The Autism Helper Blog as a way to share easy-to-use and ready-to-implement strategies and ideas for parents, educators, therapists and administrators in the world of autism.

Hilary Kennedy is an Emmy award-winning TV host from nationally syndicated morning shows, Eye Opener, Morning Dose, and now the Glenn Beck Program on TV and radio. She has been featured on Access Hollywood, Extra, The Rachel Ray Show, and published a book, "Career Diary of a TV Host: 30 Days on the Job". In this episode, Hilary gives us a candid look at life behind the camera. We talk about managing online bullying, being your authentic self, and also her unexpected journey through postpartum depression.

Kayla Cromer is breaking down boundaries in Hollywood and beyond. Kayla plays Matilda, the starring character in Freeform’s new comedy series, “Everything's Gonna Be Okay,” and is the first actress on the autism spectrum to play an autistic main character on a TV series. In this episode, we discuss what it was like to come out about her diagnosis in such a public way, the impact of disability representation in TV and film, and also Kayla shares brilliant advice for parents, and in particular, girls on the spectrum. Kayla can be found as a guest investigator on TLC’s “Ghost Brothers” and in the feature film “Apparition,” as well as her upcoming featured film project, “Okinawa.”

After mistiming a tackle, college football player Chris Norton was paralyzed on the field at eighteen-years-old and given a 3% chance of ever moving anything below his neck again. But instead of letting grief overcome him, Chris set a big goal: to walk across his graduation stage, and eventually down the aisle with his bride. Those walks went viral, inspiring over 400 million people worldwide. Chris is now a keynote speaker, author, founder of the Chris Norton Foundation, and a regular fixture on some of the biggest news outlets in the world. Chris prides himself as a foster & adoptive dad, and was featured in the popular documentary 7 Yards: The Chris Norton Story which is available on Netflix and to rent on AppleTV and Prime Video.