The Autism Dad

In this weeks episode, I take some time to answer one of your listener questions. Since I began talking about the challenges I’ve been facing as I help my son make the transition into his adult life, you folks have been asking me “How do I prepare my kids for adulthood and when should I start?”

This is such a good question and honestly, I had a tough time recording this episode because in doing so, I recognized some mistakes I’ve made as a parent. Those mistakes have made preparing my kids for adulthood, a bit more challenging. These realizations were a bitter pill to swallow for me but at the same time, I’m hoping you can learn from my mistakes. This turned into a great episode and I hope it helps. Please be sure to share this with the special needs parents in your life because we can all learn from my parenting mistakes. :-)

Please keep the questions coming. You can submit your listener questions here.

About Rob Gorski and The Autism Dad podcast:

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com.

Featured in this week’s episode:

Goally

Goally is a digital visual scheduler, AAC talker, token board system, and more all rolled into one easy-to-use app. It's made for unique thinkers like autistic kids and kids with ADHD. Kids together with Goally can conquer daily routines and therapy practice without prompting from mom or dad. This reduces that feeling of nagging your kids, and it also grants your kids some autonomy to sort of manage their own lives. Goally can easily be used on your child's existing device or with Goally's optional and affordable, dedicated device. In my house, we found that the dedicated device seems to work better for my son, so that's what we use.

For more information, you can visit getgoally.com and use the code “theautismdad” to save 10% off your order.

In this week’s episode, Dr. Crystal Morrison and I discuss our personal experiences with parenting guilt. We all experience parenting guilt, but how do we manage it and prevent it from impacting how we parent our kids? Secondly, on the topic of parenting, we talk about the importance of not only building your village but keeping the people within it communicating with each other for the betterment of your child. Dr. Crystal Morrison introduces us to Meerkat Village, a tech platform she Co-Founded that helps to keep everyone in your village aligned and working together.

About Dr. Crystal Morrison:

Dr. Crystal G. Morrison is a highly regarded executive advisor, strategist, leader, scientist, and tech entrepreneur. While progressing in her career as a scientist, Dr. Morrison was also growing her family. She has three beautiful children ages 19, 17 and 14. One of her children is autistic and has additional mental health diagnoses, and two of her children were adopted and experienced extreme poverty and trauma. As a mom, she’s spent almost 20 years navigating the complex system of care and advocating for her children. It’s been frustrating and overwhelming, and millions of parents and caregivers face the same feelings and challenges daily. Her experience inspired her to co-found and lead Meerkat Village, a software company dedicated to improving outcomes for children with special needs by building collaboration and communication among adults providing care.

Connect with Dr. Crystal Morrison and learn more about Meerkat Village. Visit meerkatvillage.com

About Rob Gorski and The Autism Dad podcast:

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com.

Featured in this week’s episode:

ABLEnow

ABLEnow – tax-advantaged savings accounts for eligible individuals with disabilities. Learn if you, or someone you know, is eligible to open an ABLEnow account at ABLEnow.com.

Goally

Goally is a digital visual scheduler, AAC talker, token board system, and more all rolled into one easy-to-use app. It's made for unique thinkers like autistic kids and kids with ADHD. Kids together with Goally can conquer daily routines and therapy practice without prompting from mom or dad. This reduces that feeling of nagging your kids, and it also grants your kids some autonomy to sort of manage their own lives. Goally can easily be used on your child's existing device or with Goally's optional and affordable, dedicated device. In my house, we found that the dedicated device seems to work better for my son, so that's what we use.

For more information, you can visit getgoally.com and use the code “theautismdad” to save 10% off your order.

In this weeks episode, you’ll learn everything you need to about ABLE accounts. Sarah Pennington from ABLEnow, explains that ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged savings and investment accounts for individuals with disabilities. They allow these individuals to save money without impacting their eligibility for public benefits like SSI or Medicaid. This is incredibly important for special needs families.

About Sarah Pennington:

Sarah Pennington serves as Brand Manager for ABLEnow, the national tax-advantaged disability savings program offered by the Commonwealth of Virginia and administered by Virginia529. With accounts in all 50 states, ABLEnow is one of the fastest-growing ABLE programs in the country. Sarah is honored to help build this entirely new financial product that canempower millions of Americans with disabilities to save for their future – just like everyone else.

Prior to joining ABLEnow in 2016, Sarah worked for state agencies including the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Her private-sector experience includes marketing positions with Capital One and the Walt Disney Company. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science from West Virginia University. She is Accredited in Public Relations and a Certified Direct Marketing Professional. 

Sarah lives in Richmond, Va. with her husband and son. 

ABLEnow: ABLEnow.com 

References mentioned in interview:

• ABLE National Resource Center: ablenrc.org, managed by the National Disability Institute

• National ABLE Initiative: abletoday.org, managed by the National Association of State Treasurers

About Rob Gorski and The Autism Dad podcast:

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com

Beaming Health:

Beaming Health was created to help parents find the services, supports, and resources they need after their child receives a diagnosis. All too often a child is diagnosed with autism, adhd or anything else for that matter, and parents walk away from that appointment, terrified, overwhelmed, and not knowing what to do next. I’ve personally been there, and it feels like you’re pushed off a cliff and told to find a parachute on the way down. Beaming Health is an amazing resource that is changing the way parents all across the US find the services, supports, and resources their child needs. best of all, it’s HIPPA compliant, and absolutely free. Beaming Health is completely free and available to everyone in the United States. For more information visit beaminghealth.com, that’s beaminghealth.com

William Stanley:

Whether you're looking to plan for yourself and your child's financial future, special needs parents often have to navigate things like disability, ssi, and other services that are tied to our financial situation. This is where people like William Stanley of Northwestern Mutual can help as someone who has firsthand experience with the unique needs of special needs families. William, a special needs father himself understands the challenges you're facing. It can help you plan for your financial future in a way that makes sense for you and your family. You can contact William today to learn more about how he can help you navigate this tricky landscape by visiting http://williamstanley.nm.com/. William Stanley Northwestern Mutual 516-465-9508 http://williamstanley.nm.com/

My guest this week is Marissa Pittard and she is empowering parents. We talk about what inspired her to create a free service that not only helps parents locate desperately needed services, supports, and resources but also builds out a roadmap for their newly diagnosed special needs kids. This is a free service for families within the United States and it's changing lives.

About Marissa (Missy) Pittard:

Missy is the Co-Founder & CEO of Beaming Health. More importantly, she and her brother are neurodivergent, and she built Beaming to make life easier for neurodiverse families everywhere. The site is the easiest place to find care for autism and other developmental differences. Missy graduated from Stanford and Georgia Tech before spending three years at McKinsey & Company where she focused on improving access to quality behavioral healthcare services. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissapittard/

Beaming Health: https://beaminghealth.com/

About Beaming Health:

This website is the best way to find care for autism and other developmental disabilities. The site lets you look at services based on where you live, your insurance, and parent reviews. 

www.beaminghealth.com

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About Rob Gorski and The Autism Dad podcast:

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com

Episode Sponsors:

Meerkat Village:

Being a special needs parent often requires a superhuman ability to manage a ton of different things all at once. Between work, school, doctor appointments, therapies, our own self-care, and everything else life can throw at us, it can be tough to manage all these things. Don’t even get me started on trying to keep everyone communicating with each other. That’s where Meerkat Village can help.

They say it takes a village and this is especially true for special needs families. Meerkat Village is a platform for android and iOS that helps to keep everyone in your village communicating and coordinating their efforts to support your child. Whether you’re tracking your child’s progress at school or brainstorming new strategies to help with behavioral concerns, Meerkat Village keeps everyone connected, and on the same page. It's all done inside one, easy-to-use, HIPAA and FERPA-compliant app.

Meerkat Village is currently looking for parents to join their new Parent Advisory Program. Participation is free. As part of the program, you will receive a free, unlimited subscription and personalized onboarding. In exchange, you provide feedback on how Meerkat Village can improve the platform for your family and others.  

For more information on participating in the program, visit www.meerkatvillage.com/contact and enter "Parent Advisory Program" in the message section.  

I Like My Headphones

"I Like My Headphones" by Carmen White, is an inclusive, empowering, and beautifully illustrated picture book for children ages 3-7.

The story features an autistic little girl who explains to her friends and the reader how she uses her headphones in class to stay calm and focused.

Encouraging inclusion and self-advocacy, "I Like My Headphones" have been used by preschool and elementary school teachers across the country to help their students better understand their sensory-sensitive classmates. 

You can get your own copy of "I Like My Headphones" on Amazon. 

Welcome to The Autism Dad podcast, I'm Rob Gorski. This show is inspired by my own personal journey as a single dad raising three autistic kids. It's all about special needs parenting, the challenges that we face every day, and some of the things we have to learn to navigate along the way.

This season, we're going to put a major focus on empowering parents. We're going to talk about building a community of support around your family, the importance of self-care, and connecting with the services and resources that are vital when it comes to raising a special needs child.

So be sure to check us out at listen.theautismdad.com and subscribe on your favorite podcast listening app. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Autism Dad podcast, I'm Rob Gorski. This show is inspired by my own personal journey as a single dad raising three autistic kids. It's all about special needs parenting, the challenges that we face every day, and some of the things we have to learn to navigate along the way.

This season, we're going to put a major focus on empowering parents. We're going to talk about building a community of support around your family, the importance of self-care, and connecting with the services and resources that are vital when it comes to raising a special needs child.

So be sure to check us out at listen.theautismdad.com and subscribe on your favorite podcast listening app. 

Season 5 is officially over and I thought it would be fun to close the season out by revisiting one of my favorite interviews from this season. Sit back and enjoy a great conversation with my friend Kate Swenson.

Connect with Kate Swenson:

Finding Cooper's Voice

Check out Forever Boy

About Kate Swenson:

Kate is Cooper's mom, the founder of Finding Cooper's Voice, and the author of the new book Forever Boy.

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn More About Bened Life

Bened Life supports a neuroinclusive community with education and science-backed probiotics that promote mental and physical health. Bened Life prides itself on hiring neurodivergent staff that helps to run multiple facets of their business. Their medical probiotic, Neuralli, featuring the probiotic PS128, has already helped thousands of neurotypical and neurodivergent people worldwide. Learn more by going to benedlife.com. Use the code "theautismdad" at checkout for 20% off your first order.

Visit Bened Life

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In this episode you'll learn what Board of DD is, who SSA's are and what OOD stands for. Autistic kids grow up to be autistic adults and many will need the services and supports that these agencies provide.

This is our experience and what we've learned along the way.

We've been talking about this on Facebook and I wanted to share what our journey has been so far. Come join the conversation at facebook.com/theautismdad

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn More About Bened Life

Bened Life supports a neuroinclusive community with education and science-backed probiotics that promote mental and physical health. Bened Life prides itself on hiring neurodivergent staff that helps to run multiple facets of their business. Their medical probiotic, Neuralli, featuring the probiotic PS128, has already helped thousands of neurotypical and neurodivergent people worldwide. Learn more by going to benedlife.com. Use the code "theautismdad" at checkout for 20% off your first order.

Visit Bened Life

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final episode of season 5, I sit down and speak with Doug Farrago, retired family physician and author, about his book, “Noki.”

Noki is about an autistic young man who has the remarkable ability to essentially become any boxer he’s ever seen fight. It’s a brilliant story, a fairly quick read, and I love the representation.

Douglas Farrago is a retired family physician, author of seven books, and loves working with autistic people. Doug authored Noki, a book that blends his love of working with autistic people and his passion for boxing.

Website: letnokibox.com

Buy the book: Noki

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn More About William Stanley

Special Needs Parenting is one of the most rewarding but difficult journeys a person can embark on. It comes with so many unique challenges that most families just. They never have to worry about or experience.

Visit William Stanley

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In this brief episode, I share a look back at Season 5 and a glimpse of what I have in store for Season 6. Thank you all for helping to make this podcast such a success. I'm looking forward to continuing to bring you content that is positive, relevant, and educational. Have a fantastic holiday season, and I'll see you in the new year.

Rob Gorski is a single Dad to three amazing autistic boys and Found and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC. Multiple award-winning blogger, podcaster, content creator, digital marketer, social media influencer, and respected public figure for well over a decade.

Connect with Rob Gorski: https://listen.theautismdad.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn More About Bened Life

Bened Life supports a neuroinclusive community with education and science-backed probiotics that promote mental and physical health. Bened Life prides itself on hiring neurodivergent staff that helps to run multiple facets of their business. Their medical probiotic, Neuralli, featuring the probiotic PS128, has already helped thousands of neurotypical and neurodivergent people worldwide. Learn more by going to benedlife.com. Use the code "theautismdad" at checkout for 20% off your first order.

Visit Bened Life

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices