The Brain Possible

As we know, not all brain injuries occur during or directly after birth. In fact, according to data from 2016, almost two million neurotypical children under the age of 18 get concussions per year--from sports injuries alone. Obviously, these numbers are higher in 2021--and even higher if we factor in the number of accidents that can happen outside of sports (falls, car accidents, etc). We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Sasha Blaskovich (Dr. B) and Ethan O’Brian, co-authors of “Dr. B’s Concussion Breakthrough: Exploring the Hidden Connection to Neck Injuries and a Simple Guide to Naturally Heal Your Brain” and founders of the Concussion Recovery Kit. Over his career, Dr. B has advised many parents with concussed children, and Ethan has been in their shoes, having experienced ten concussions himself between the ages of eight and nineteen. Together, Dr. B and Ethan share practical strategies for recovering from a concussion naturally, without costly or potentially harmful drugs or surgery. This is a topic I’m very passionate about, and I'm excited to bring you this meaningful discussion.

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Usually, our founder, Emily Abbott, interviews others—parents, therapists, caregivers, nutritionists, and other experts--on The Brain Possible podcast. This time, though, we flipped the script. We invited Polly Ely—a marriage and family therapist, creator of The Lab Method (a tool that help parents meaningfully communicate with their children), and a friend of the show—to get Emily’s story. 

How did the Who Is Carter Foundation and The Brain Possible start? 

Who is Carter, really? 

What happened to bring Emily and her family to where they are today, and what did she learn along the way?

The resulting inspiring and heartfelt conversation covers all those bases—and so much more. Here’s a sample.

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As you know, here at The Brain Possible, we’re all about the possibilities for your child, not their limitations. That’s why Dr. Vaish(VIIISh) Sarathy, with a background in chemistry and functional nutrition, speaks our language. We’re drawn to her work at Functional Nutrition for Kids, where she works with families of children with Down syndrome, autism, and other “intellectual disabilities,” helping them to optimize health, behavior, and learning.

That term “intellectual disabilities” is in quotes on purpose, as another key to Vaish’s story is her own journey with her differently-abled son. After being told her son would never be able to learn, today his progress is astounding. He even writes poetry! In today’s discussion, we’ll learn about Vaish’s personal journey--and how she uses that passion and robust knowledge to help her clients.

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We love bringing you stories that have the potential to further open our minds and our hearts. We have one of those again today, as we’ll be speaking with Elijah Stacy. At only nineteen, Elijah has accomplished so much: at fifteen, he started a foundation to help find a cure for his disease--Duchenne, a fatal form of muscular dystrophy. At seventeen, he wrote a book about his life. And today, he continues to share his story in hopes of lifting up others.

Besides his own battle with muscular dystrophy, Elijah’s brother, Kai, has the same illness. His other brother, Max, suffered a brain injury as an infant and passed away as a teen.

On this episode, we’ll hear from Elijah about what it’s like to have a sibling with a brain injury, how Max’s life and death affected him and his family, and how Duchenne’s continues to impact their lives today.

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We’re always eager to speak to practitioners, mama bears, or experts on holistic living--or, of course, any combination of the three. On this episode, we were lucky to check a couple of those boxes by speaking with Shawna of @alittlelesstoxic. If you don’t already follow her on Instagram, trust us--you’re going to want to start after hearing our talk today.

Shawna uses the power of social media to show us that living less toxic--in the food you cook, the environment you cultivate, and the products you use--can be accessible, affordable, and even fun.

From using scraps to make your own vegetable broth, to creating one-pan stirred natural cranberry sauce instead of the canned stuff, to sprouting your seeds (or legumes) before cooking to make them more digestible, Shawna’s advice is always practical and surprising--in a good way.

For example, she’s recently taken to taping her mouth shut at night when she sleeps. We learn why--and so much more--on this podcast.

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Here at The Brain Possible, our passion for nutrition--and our focus on gut health in particular--is not new. An expert on both is Hilary Boynton, a certified holistic health counselor, GAPS diet expert, cookbook co-author, influencer, and . . . lunch lady. Yes, we said lunch lady. Clearly, we have a lot to discuss! I’ve personally been working my way through Hilary’s cookbook, and I’m inspired by her journey to feed her family (and students at the school where she works) nutrient-dense, organic foods from local sources. In today’s discussion, we’ll cover what drew Hilary to the GAPS diet in particular, her take on the importance of gut health, and much more. You don’t want to miss this one.

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If you’ve been following our podcast, you know we have a passion for harnessing the power of nutrition. There’s no one better to discuss this topic with than Dr. Lindy Woodard. We’ve spoken to her in the past about the big picture of using food as medicine, covering her journey to integrative medicine, her love of food, and more. 

Lindy considers homeopathy, nutrition, and gut health to be the framework for understanding wellness and curing disease. In today’s discussion, we’ll dive deeper and discuss practical steps you can take to set yourself up for success in the kitchen.

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I am always excited to speak with inspiring practitioners and parents on this podcast, but today I am especially grateful for the opportunity to introduce you to Johannes and Signe Skovgaard. That’s for several reasons, one of which is that we are friends. I met Johannes and Signe at the ABM Center in California. They were there with their daughter Anna, and we were there with our son Carter. Though they live and practice in Denmark, we have maintained our friendship.

Johannes and Signe did more than take Anna to the ABM Center . . . they started one of their own, back in Denmark. It’s called the Scandinavian Center of Neurodevelopmental Movement.

On this podcast, we’ll learn more about this incredible family and the work they’re doing to bring the science of neuromovement to children from around the world.

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At The Brain Possible, we love connecting with fellow mama warriors who fiercely advocate for their exceptional children. There’s an energy they bring to the table--one filled with tenacity and love--that’s impossible not to gravitate toward. Now, we get to do that again.

On this podcast, we’ll be speaking with Rachel Pastiloff. Her son Blaise has autism as well as Prader Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that means, if left alone, he will literally eat himself to death. Rachel’s other son Maddock has ADHD and a mood disorder. Oh, and did we mention she’s a single parent?

We're excited to speak to Rachel because she’s outspoken about what it’s really like--the hard days and the wonderful days and everything in between--raising not only one, but two exceptional kids. Her authenticity in how she shows up in this world feels like fresh air. We recently wrote about her on our blog--which you can head over to the website to find--but we wanted more. We wanted you to hear her voice, because it’s such an important one. Together, we’ll explore Prader Willi and what it’s like for Rachel and her family. You don’t want to miss this conversation. Thank you for being here.

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If you’ve listened to the podcast before, you know we have a variety of guests--mama warriors, practitioners, authors, the creators of amazing products for our community, and more. Today, we are going to check a couple of those boxes at once!

Our conversation today is with Tara Cohen. Tara is the marketing director of a company called Lauren’s Hope that makes beautiful and important ID bracelets for exceptional children. But more than that--she’s a mama warrior who has some timely perspective to share about what virtual schooling in the pandemic really looks like for kiddos who can’t possibly sit still in front of a computer screen for hours on end. 

The pandemic is disproportionately affecting exceptional children who can’t simply switch learning modes. Besides what we’ve already lost to COVID--all the lives, our sense of normalcy, etc.--the truth is that the most vulnerable of our kids have lost their right to free and equitable access to education.

We've been thinking about this exact topic a lot lately, and we're grateful for the chance to speak to Tara so we can all learn from her story.

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