Parenting Impossible – The Special Needs Survival Podcast

What is PDA? New to the United States, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Syndrome is a small, distinct profile of autism characterized by avoiding demands and expectations due to an anxiety-based need for control. Our guest, Diane Gould, is the founder of PDA North America and the first American professional with a certification in Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome. She notes that those with PDA often experience panic attacks that appear to the outside world like meltdowns or a behavior problem due to being easily triggered by stimuli. Unfortunately, many professionals respond to emotional events with traditional interventions like talking or crowding the person that escalate or worsen the behavior. Gould notes that "the journey to understanding your child shouldn't be made harder by professionals." Learn more about PDA in Gould's guest article: specialneeds-law.com/pda-autism-profile and on the PDA North America site: www.pdanorthamerica.com

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Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

In a time when employers are scrambling to fill empty job posts, imagine having a tool that would enable the ease of hiring neurodiverse individuals with a 90% retention rate to fill those positions. Our episode guest, Director of avail Support Lisa Marie Clinton explains how the avail® solution provides the one-on-one job support through digitalized tools to provide tailored training and ongoing support. Avail stands for assisted visuals achieving independent living, which acts as a type of job coach for the individual. The technology serves companies in various industries including residential living and schools to maximize services for residents and students. The platform uses Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) tools to provide tailored training and ongoing support without the need for another person to provide these supports. If technology can replace a person in the workforce, then it empowers disabled individuals to acquire greater independence and freedom in the community. Furthermore, workplaces that employ neurodiverse employees enjoy numerous benefits like improved workplace culture, employee retention and development rates, financial benefits and more.

Learn more about avail® and a neurodiverse workplace online: https://centralreach.com/solutions/neurodiversity-hiring/

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

Feeling anxious about money or wanting to avoid talking about it are normal. However, Wealth Psychology Expert and Host of the award-winning, Breaking Money Silence® Podcast Kathleen Burns Kingsbury explains that when we're not talking about money, we're more likely to make financial mistakes and have difficulty learning from them. Plus, in order to have goals and plan for ourselves as well as let go of money shame, we need to talk about money and our financial values. Start with yourself, Kingsbury recommends, and ask: What's important to me? What values do I want to honor? How do I take care of the person in my life with a disability? Once you start to uncover your emotions related to money, the easier it is to talk with your partner about money and plan together.

You can learn more about Kathleen Burns Kingsbury and her recommendations to break money silence on her website: www.breakingmoneysilence.com

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

@RareDiseaseDad and DadVocate are the monikers for Adam Johnson who is now a rare disease patient advocate who hosts a podcast called Parents As Rare that features stories of others like him who are affected by rare or chronic diseases. Host Annette Hines and Johnson discuss a range of topics relating to the struggle that he faced in 2019 when his symptoms related to mitochondrial disease started emerging in the prime of his education career and family life as a husband and dad. Although advocacy or rare disease were not in the realm of possibility for him previously, today Johnson's advocacy and voice related to how parents with rare diseases manage their diagnosis, lives, and grief unite others in the disability world. You can listen to the Parents As Rare podcast and read more about Adam Johnson on his website: rarediseasedad.com or on Twitter and Instagram by his handle: @RareDiseaseDad

We would love to hear what you think about this episode. Please leave a review or post a comment on our website: https://specialneedscompanies.com/podcasts

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

While setting out to write a book about how to age to perfection and thrive to age 100, Award-Winning Author and Podcast Guest Judy Gaman met Lucille, an amazing woman who would transform Judy's life and perspective on aging. Lucille introduced Judy to the beautiful, wonderful, tender side of old, became a dear friend, and provided Judy the hope that maybe she could have that much fun when she's 100-years-old. Judy also gained the value of relating to and appreciating the people around her and handling problems with grace. Listen as Host Annette Hines and Judy Gaman discuss the book Gaman created through her friendship with her best friend: Love, Life, and Lucille: Lessons Learned from a Centenarian.

We would love to hear what you think about this episode. Please leave a comment!

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

"Adversity is not an excuse - it is a reason...to thrive and to push ourselves to excel," writes Mindy Henderson, podcast guest, author, motivational speaker, and advocate as well as the editor in chief of QUEST magazine of the national Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Despite the adversity Henderson encountered in the workplace and while job searching due to others' assumptions about her being a wheelchair user, she motivated herself to self-advocate and open possibilities. We encourage you to read her newly released book, THE TRUTH ABOUT THINGS THAT SUCK, to turn your biggest challenge into your advantage. Learn more on her website: https://mindyhendersonco.com/

We would love to hear what you think about this episode. Please leave a comment on our website: https://specialneedscompanies.com/podcasts

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

How might climate change affect your world? What is a disaster readiness plan? Host Annette Hines discusses these timely topics with her guest, Alex Ghenis who is the deputy director of Sustain Our Abilities (SOA). His advocacy work within climate change and disaster preparedness highlights the needs and voices of the disability community that comprises 20% of all people in the world. As a wheelchair user, he is aware of how essential modern power, transportation, and healthcare infrastructure are to ensuring the health and safety of people with disabilities. The SOA Day for Tomorrow on October 22 encourages people of all abilities to mobilize within neighborhoods "to create awareness of our need to transition back to a healthy, sustainable, built environment where we are ready to respond to disasters and conquer climate change." To find resources and learn more about Day for Tomorrow, visit sustainourabilities.org.

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

A severely traumatic or unusual birth experience, weeks spent in the NICU, and harsh lectures from a neurologist about your child's chances of survival or living a good life are common starting points of the parenting journey that unites many special needs families. Host Annette Hines notes how her guest, Kelly Speck, author of the new book, Hope in the Heartache: The Journey of Grace and Growth with a Special Needs Child, shares many commonalities with Hines' narrative raising her daughter, Elizabeth. Motivation to tackle adversity and live your best life is at the heart of Speck's story of the birth of her son, Bennett who is a quadriplegic, now 15-years-old, and the story of her family with her husband, Travis, and Bennett's brother Jackson and sister Reagan. You can learn more about Speck's story and family on her website: https://hopeintheheartache.com.

We would love to hear what you think about this episode. Please leave a comment on our website: https://specialneedscompanies.com/podcasts

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

How does your child's diagnosis affect your family? Where do you find other parents or caregivers facing similar joys and challenges? Kate Swenson writes that autism "affects the whole entire family," and notes that it was nearly impossible for her to find an autism community when her son Cooper was first diagnosed. Parenting Impossible Host Annette Hines talks with Swenson about creating the blog, Finding Cooper's Voice to be a shared space for families like hers that has reached thousands. This spring, Swenson published her memoir, Forever Boy, about Cooper's world and how she navigates motherhood with four children. Hines and Swenson discuss the challenges of using an online forum to share about autism, and how publishing a book allowed Swenson more control of the narrative of her family's experience to tell the whole story. Swenson's writing creates an authentic, open, and honest space that truly resonates with others. We are thankful that Swenson is so generous in sharing her stories to be an advocate and create an online space for the autism community through her blog, Facebook, and Instagram, and we highly recommend Forever Boy as your next read. You can find her book on amazon and learn more about Swenson and her family at www.findingcoopersvoice.com.

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.

Annette Hines host of Parenting Impossible – The Special Needs Survival Podcast Co-Founder and President Elliot Kallen of A Brighter Day an organization created in memory of Kallen's son who committed suicide have an eye-opening discussion about teen depression, stress, and suicide statistics. A Brighter Day in San Ramon, CA provides resources for teens and their parents to reduce stress and depression and prevent teen suicide.

Kallen's research uncovered shocking facts such as higher suicide rates in more affluent communities and the frightening impact of social media on increasing teen depression. Suicide is preventable. Kallen shares ways that families can support their teens by modeling how to enjoy life, slowing down, eating a daily cell-phone-free family meal, asking probing questions to learn about your teen and what's happening in their life. Concerning signs to look for include anxious body language, changes in sleeping and eating habits, hopelessness--no idea for tomorrow, concerning websites your teen is visiting and friend activities. Find help and resources as a teen or a parent clicking here: https://abrighterday.org. We would love to hear what you think about this episode. Please leave a comment: https://bit.ly/3yfQsIv

Have you been searching for a law firm that understands the unique challenges of your family? We can help you at Special Needs Law Group put legal planning in place to protect you and your loved ones now and in the future. Book a free call today with our team or contact us via our website: specialneeds-law.com/contact.