David introduces his nearly 21-year-old son Ty, a University of Washington political science junior and twin brother of Stone, a non-speaking autistic young man. Ty recounts early memories shaped by Stone’s wandering and two stressful incidents (a store fire alarm and an ice-rink door opened during a game) that made him feel responsible and anxious about embarrassment or others mocking Stone. He describes how school placement was segregated, why he often hid having a twin out of embarrassment, and regrets teasing Stone’s interests. Ty says jealousy over parental attention was limited, and he was surprised by Stone’s revealed intelligence after spelling/letter boards enabled communication, including advanced knowledge and mental math. Ty condemns the school district’s refusal to allow letter boards, supports legal action, and notes learning to be a communication partner has strengthened his relationship with Stone. He offers advice to parents to give neurotypical siblings attention and ends hopeful about finally talking one-on-one with his brother.

Topics

00:40 Meet Ty Kaufer

03:32 Early Childhood Memories

05:40 Fire Alarm Incident

08:38 Hockey Rink Scare

10:49 School Years and Shame

13:37 Teasing and Growing Up

15:23 Attention and Jealousy

17:40 Ducks Game Breakthrough

21:46 Spelling Changes Everything

25:50 School District Pushback

30:02 Twins and Connection

31:17 Learning as Partner

33:58 Sibling Patience Lessons

35:41 Advocating for Stone

38:27 Planning for the Future

42:13 Rain Man and Brotherhood

46:10 Family Travel Adventures

47:47 Tip for Neurotypical Siblings

49:50 Fact or Fiction Sibling Myths

53:36 Sibling Confession and Regrets

56:14 Light on the Spectrum Hope

58:47 Fantasy Football and Farewell

David addresses the long-running debate over supported spelling communication for nonspeaking autistic people, arguing that a crucial form of evidence is the observable life changes after communication access. He recounts improvements in his son Stone’s confidence, autonomy, relationships, and self-advocacy, and welcomes guests Annika Cioffi and Joanne Curcio to share similar experiences. Annika describes her daughter’s early diagnosis, shifts away from ABA toward SCERTS, exploring Brain Balance, and eventually trying spelling after repeated exposure, noting increased eye contact, joy, and clearer guidance on interpreting echolalia and needs. Joanne details her son’s early autism diagnosis, extensive ABA with minimal progress, later-discovered frequent seizures and epilepsy treatment, severe self-injury and aggression during puberty, and eventual dramatic reductions in self-harm after beginning letterboard communication in 2025, alongside improved medical participation and reduced psychotropic medications. Together they propose CRED, a Communication Rights Evidence Database, to systematically collect quality-of-life outcomes tied to communication access.

Topics

00:46 Why communication evidence matters

03:09 CRED research project kickoff

05:04 Annika early interventions and school shifts

07:22 Brain Balance and regulation strategies

09:46 Discovering spelling and first attempts

13:21 Joanne diagnosis and ABA years

18:23 Seizures discovery and language loss

21:59 Puberty crisis and darkest period

24:29 Seeing spelling work and taking the leap

30:21 Day one breakthroughs and life after spelling

34:12 Medical autonomy and reducing meds

36:20 Back to Annika changes after spelling

36:43 Eye Contact Breakthrough

38:23 Echolalia Decoded

42:16 Books and Captions

44:47 Breaking Baby Video Loops

47:39 Rethinking Stims and Screens

49:03 Talk Age Appropriately

50:18 Behavior as Communication

56:00 Quality of Life Evidence

01:03:52 Tip of the Week

01:08:00 Hope and Next Steps

01:12:30 Wrap Up and Resources

David welcomes Natalie Boehm, founder of the Defeating Epilepsy Foundation. Boehm shares her epilepsy history beginning at age two after a traumatic brain injury, the long-term effects of medications (brain fog, fatigue, mood changes), and how stigma led her to hide her condition before turning to advocacy. The conversation highlights the overlap between epilepsy and autism, noting that about one-third of people with autism have epilepsy, and emphasizes how seizures are only one part of a broader medical, mental health, and quality-of-life puzzle affecting caregivers too. Boehm explains seizure types and basic first aid, discusses misinterpretation of complex partial seizures by law enforcement, and describes emerging technologies and devices for diagnosis and seizure control. She outlines her foundation’s work, including scholarships and seizure dog grants, and stresses caregiver self-care.

Topics

00:46 Why Epilepsy Matters

01:40 Meet Natalie Boehm

03:00 Living With Epilepsy

04:44 Autism Epilepsy Overlap

08:02 Brain Fog And Coping

11:54 Non Speaking Misread

15:15 Schools And Stigma

18:14 Seizure Types Explained

20:47 Seizure First Aid

22:57 Auras And Warning Signs

27:05 New Therapies And Control

31:07 Genetics And No Cure

33:57 Diagnosis And New Tools

35:32 Seizure Tech Breakthroughs

37:41 Medication Fatigue And Caffeine

39:17 Why She Started The Foundation

42:06 Advocacy Story Saving A Life

45:02 Independence Versus Safety

48:10 Animals Sensing Seizures

50:23 Scholarships And Future Vision

53:42 Caregiver Tip Avoid Burnout

56:44 Epilepsy Facts And Myths

57:58 Stigma Funding And Healthcare

01:05:44 How To Help And Contact Info

01:06:47 Closing Thanks And Next Steps

David welcomes Stephen Laine, an autism advocate and writer, to discuss how trauma often intersects with autism through repeated distressing experiences. Laine recounts his sons Matthew and Aiden’s early developmental concerns, dual autism diagnoses, and limited access to ABA in Michigan due to lack of insurance coverage. He describes major family transitions including divorce, school changes, COVID disruptions, and becoming the boys’ full-time caregiver in 2021 with help from his mother. Laine details a recent crisis involving Matthew, now 19, whose impulsivity led to multiple elopements, entering neighbors’ homes and stores for DVDs and games, repeated ER visits, and an inpatient psychiatric hospitalization complicated by inaccurate “aggressive” labeling and poor communication. After discharge, Laine increased home safety, took leave from work, and notes progress with no recent elopements and successes like attending a crowded movie. He emphasizes support systems, self-care through writing and running, and counters stereotypes that autistic people lack emotion.

Topics

00:51 Autism And Trauma

01:37 Meet Stephen Laine

02:55 Advocacy Chose Me

03:21 Early Signs And Diagnosis

06:05 Therapy Access And ABA Costs

06:57 Divorce School Change Trauma

10:05 COVID Lockdown And Zoom Therapy

11:55 Full Time Single Dad Shift

13:37 Finding His Advocacy Voice

15:34 Adult Services Drop Off

18:09 Elopement Crisis Begins

21:31 Escalation GPS And ER Wait

28:16 Psych Hospital Dropoff

29:03 Misread as Aggression

31:53 Kept in the Dark

34:51 Home Safety Reset

35:27 Post Hospital Healing

37:04 Sibling Anxiety Fallout

40:02 Small Wins Returning

41:57 Caregiver Self Care

43:36 Writing and Stereotypes

45:25 Resilience as a Dad

46:29 Support System Tip

48:28 Fact or Fiction Emotions

50:10 Parent Confession Denial

52:10 Find Steve Online

52:55 Light on the Spectrum

54:48 Closing Thanks and Wrap

David welcomes Denise Allen of the Healing Our Sight podcast to discuss binocular vision, strabismus, and how vision is more than 20/20 acuity. Allen describes growing up without 3D vision, clumsiness and coordination challenges, and how traditional eye care and school screenings often miss functional vision problems. She explains strabismus, common treatments like surgery (which aligns eyes but doesn’t teach them to work together), and how vision therapy trains the brain through neuroplasticity. Allen shares her daughter’s improvement after nine months of therapy, her own path requiring surgery plus renewed therapy to gain depth perception at age 54, and a confession about missing her son’s severe convergence insufficiency until age 15. The episode highlights misdiagnosis with ADHD/learning issues, limited school screening, financial barriers, and key signs for parents to watch for.

Topics

01:05 Questioning Assumptions

02:10 Meet Denise Allen

03:48 Growing Up Clumsy

05:49 What Is Strabismus

07:23 Why It Gets Missed

11:29 Discovering Vision Therapy

12:35 Therapy Struggles and Genetics

14:08 Daughter’s Hidden Double Vision

17:40 Surgery Then Breakthrough

20:06 Vision Beyond 20 20

24:35 Neuroplasticity and Training

27:27 Vision Issues Mimic ADHD

28:22 Amblyopia and School Screening

30:09 Autism Misdiagnosis Angle

31:45 Schools Miss Vision Issues

34:24 From Teaching to Podcasting

36:30 Loss and Restarting

37:48 Whole Body Vision Clues

41:04 Doctors Don’t Collaborate

44:44 Parent Warning Signs

49:01 Weekly Segments Begin

49:45 Tip of the Week

51:03 Fact or Fiction 20/20

56:37 Parent Confession Story

01:01:04 Hope Through Neuroplasticity

01:04:11 Where to Find Denise

01:04:55 Final Thanks and Wrap

Greg Evigan on Ringo, Abbey Road, and a New Royal Philharmonic Album

Cha-Chi and David welcome actor and musician Greg Evigan to discuss his extensive TV and film work, including a standout Columbo villain role in “Bird in the Hand,” plus early career highlights like a 1976 Coca-Cola commercial and work connected to Norman Lear, Don Kirshner, Neil Bogart, and Casablanca Records. He traces his musical roots from piano lessons and New Jersey bands to high school musicals and touring with Jesus Christ Superstar, where he understudied Jesus. Evigan recalls seeing The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and acting in Ringo Starr’s TV special, and describes recording his original album with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Studio One at Abbey Road under intense session time constraints. They also revisit his theme songs for BJ and the Bear and My Two Dads, Battle of the Network Stars memories, and direct listeners to Evigan.com for music purchases and autographed vinyl.

Topics

01:09 Meet Greg Evigan

02:03 Columbo Villain Stories

03:52 Coke Commercial Breakthrough

05:11 Kirshner Lear Bogart Connection

06:21 Musical Roots and Piano

07:31 High School Bands and Theater

08:37 Jesus Christ Superstar Break

09:54 Abbey Road Album Setup

11:13 Beatlemania and Ringo Gig

12:56 Recording at Abbey Road

16:18 Ringo Special Clip

17:31 Theme Songs BJ and Bear

19:31 Sitcom Theme Memories

19:45 Co Stars and Butkus

20:37 Kids and Animals Rule

21:33 Family and London Sessions

22:39 Kids Careers Spotlight

23:46 Early Bands and Keys

25:06 Parents Records and Nerves

26:18 School Musicals and Mentors

27:15 Arts Education Matters

30:20 Network Stars Throwback

33:58 Where to Buy the Album

35:22 Final Thanks and Sign Off

David welcomes Angela Akers-Castro to The Lighter Side of the Spectrum to discuss raising her son Miles, diagnosed with autism at age five after she persisted despite clinicians dismissing concerns because he was affectionate, social, and didn’t “fit the box.” Angela describes early challenges including elopement, severe sleep issues, limited rural services in Eastern Washington, and later an epilepsy diagnosis after grand mal seizures that initially weren’t treated as epilepsy, plus the ongoing difficulty of balancing seizure medications and safety. After high school graduation, she found adult supports in Washington inadequate, researched how other states fund day programs with Medicaid, challenged misinformation, met with lawmakers, and launched the Facebook page “A Place to Belong in Washington” to share stories and policy information and mobilize families. Her tip: keep asking questions until things make sense; her parent confession: not acting sooner on her instincts about an unhealthy school placement. She closes by describing Miles’ lasting impact despite communication challenges.

Topics

00:36 Meet Angela and Miles

01:20 Early Signs and Doubts

04:26 Autism Myths and Misinformation

06:30 Miles Breaks the Mold

11:39 Getting the Diagnosis

14:38 Safety and Elopement Fears

17:06 Family Support and Community Roots

21:23 Epilepsy Warning Signs

26:55 Managing Seizures and Meds

31:04 COVID Disruption and Advocacy

33:55 Seizure Watch Summer Camp

35:34 Advocacy Origin Story

40:13 System Gaps And Case Law

45:28 Public Facebook Pushback

49:21 Ableism And Human Worth

52:17 Miles Community Joy

57:05 Tip Fact Confession

01:02:55 Light On The Spectrum

01:05:11 Join The Facebook Page

01:08:54 Closing Thanks And Links

David welcomes Dr. Antigone Oreopoulos, an Edmonton-based physiotherapist, researcher, and mom of an 11-year-old non-speaking autistic son who communicates via letter board, to discuss how communication for many non-speaking and unreliably speaking autistic people cannot be separated from movement. They explore the disconnect between intention and action, how motor planning challenges can be mislabeled as refusal or lack of comprehension, and why sensory-motor impairment should be recognized as a core autism feature in diagnostic frameworks. Antigone shares powerful descriptions from spellers about bodies that “daydream,” critiques behavior-focused approaches like ABA when volitional motor control is limited, and highlights research (including SPARK data) showing high rates of motor impairment in autism. She explains challenges assessing motor function in level three autism, risks of ignoring physical needs over time, the complexity of pointing/typing for communication, and why IQ-style testing is invalid without reliable communication, emphasizing presumed competence, practical coaching strategies, and frequent breaks.

Topics 

00:46 Movement And Communication

01:27 Meet Dr. Oreopoulos

03:37 Her Son And Letterboard

06:09 Autism Through Motor Lens

09:50 Spellers Describe The Disconnect

13:26 ABA And Misread Compliance

17:18 Physiotherapy And SPARK Data

19:58 Assessing Motor Differences

24:37 Long Term Physical Risks

27:52 Pointing Is Complex Motor Work

33:36 Why IQ Tests Fail

35:54 Presume Competence

37:34 Empowering Parents

41:34 Motor Planning Explained

43:36 Sports and Fitness Tools

47:23 Mentorship and Training Gaps

50:19 Tip of the Week

53:07 Fact or Fiction Motor Signs

58:03 Parent Confession and Growth

01:04:12 Wrap Up and Contact

David welcomes Brandon Boyd to The Lighter Side of the Spectrum for a father-to-father conversation about parenting a disabled child, grieving the imagined version of parenthood, and learning to truly see and delight in the child in front of you. Brandon shares Ben’s early missed milestones, a devastating and discouraging specialist visit in Denver around age one, and Ben’s later autism diagnosis at age two, describing years of being hyper-focused on “fixing” through therapies and fearing a lack of connection without speech. A pivotal McDonald’s moment helped Brandon become present, shift from hypervigilance to curiosity, and bond through Ben’s interests like the garage door, beads, swinging, and water, including a customized backyard pool. They discuss supporting Ben’s neurotypical brother Ethan, isolation among disability dads, and processing grief. Brandon describes Ben’s communication via signs, an iPad with LAMP, and recent spontaneous spelling, and explains why he wrote Delighting in Ben, now available on Amazon and Audible.

The book ‘Delighting in Ben’: https://a.co/d/0bA4O0pE

Topics

00:46 Fatherhood Grief

01:35 Meet Brandon and Ben

04:08 Early Signs and Specialists

05:51 Denver Diagnosis Shock

09:45 Fixing Mode Years

13:57 McDonalds Turning Point

17:52 Loving What Ben Loves

21:53 Pool Bonding Breakthrough

24:55 Balancing Ethan Too

28:34 Isolation and Processing

32:36 Family Gathering Stress

33:50 Communication Tools Update

35:08 Spelling Breakthrough

36:45 Aging Out and Empower

37:59 Exploring S2C Options

39:40 Puberty and Meltdowns

42:32 Stone Communication Journey

45:07 Why Write the Book

50:07 Hardest Chapters to Relive

53:05 Ben Joy and Growth

53:56 Tip of the Week

56:04 Autism Fact or Fiction

58:19 Parent Confession Segment

01:02:07 Book Plug and Farewell

Guest Dr. Jeanette Benigas, SLP and founder of FixSLP, describes ASHA as a membership association with no legal authority, arguing it maintains power through the Certificate of Clinical Competency (CCC), accreditation control, employer requirements, and pricing that she says creates antitrust concerns. She recounts FixSLP filing an FTC complaint and submitting a bylaw petition for pricing transparency that ASHA allegedly sidestepped. Benigas emphasizes evidence-based practice includes research, clinical expertise, and patient values, and supports families pursuing methods that work. Kaufer cites recent rulings stating ASHA positions cannot override children’s legal rights and introduces his coalition, Communicators for Communication Rights (C4CR), seeking stories documenting harm tied to ASHA-based denials.

Topics

00:40 Stone Story And ASHA

02:10 Meet Dr. Benigas

06:21 FixSLP Origin Story

07:19 CCC Money And Tying

12:36 Why SLPs Fear ASHA

19:49 FTC Complaint And Petition

25:29 Budgets And Low Pay

27:34 Why Lawsuits Stall

32:20 ASHA Blocks Alternatives

34:51 Credential Funnel Control

35:47 State Level Reform Wins

37:20 Courts Reject ASHA Authority

41:03 Evidence Beyond Research

46:01 Why ASHA Dug In

53:18 Politics and NMES Example

57:29 Coalition and Next Steps

David welcomes Dan Feshbach, founder and board chair of Multiple, a nonprofit autism innovation platform connecting families, entrepreneurs, funders, mentors, and community members. Dan shares his personal origin story after his son Reed’s early language regression and autism diagnosis in the 1990s, describing scarce services and the practical challenges of daily life, which later led him and other families to help start Oak Hill School. Drawing on his entrepreneurial background, Dan co-founded TeachTown to address gaps in autism education and speech-language resources; the platform now serves over 170,000 students across 3,000 districts. Dan explains Multiple’s 12-week accelerator, Launchpad pre-accelerator, Demo Day, and its autism tech database of 600+ companies across 15 categories, noting roughly 60 companies supported and significant capital flowing to cohorts. He emphasizes impact-first innovation built for dignity, access, communication, and “speed of families,” with special concern for lower-resource caregivers.

Find Dan at https://www.multiplehub.org/

Topics

Autism Innovation at the Speed of Family: Dan Feshbach on TeachTown, Multiple, and Building for Dignity

Host David Kaufer welcomes Dan Feshbach, founder and board chair of Multiple, a nonprofit autism innovation platform connecting families, entrepreneurs, funders, experts, and community members. Dan shares his personal origin story after his son Reid’s 1993 autism diagnosis, the scarcity of services, and how families co-founded what became Oak Hill School. He describes building TeachTown from a gap in speech and language resources, growing it into a digital education platform serving over 170,000 students in 3,000 districts, and later shifting to launch Multiple. Dan explains Multiple’s 12-week accelerator (and Launchpad pre-accelerator), its autism tech database of 600+ companies, and how rigorous selection emphasizes impact, strong founders, traction, and scalable solutions. The conversation covers why autism innovation is growing, the need for more federal funding, and Dan’s “speed of family” focus, especially for underserved families and nonspeakers, including Reid’s recent spelling progress.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:40 Meet Dan Feshbach

03:13 Reid Diagnosis Early Days

06:44 Starting Oak Hill School

08:33 TeachTown Origin Story

11:21 From Exit to Multiple

14:09 What Is an Accelerator

17:56 Cohorts Success Stories

21:55 Why Autism Innovation Grows

27:50 AI Tools for Parents

30:54 Research to Real Products

33:16 Autism Investment Landscape

33:51 Pushing Federal Funding

34:51 Vote Autism Across Aisle

37:04 Impact First Investing

39:13 How Multiple Picks Startups

42:11 Scaling and Visibility

43:36 Launching a First Mile Fund

44:59 North Star Serving Families

46:58 Speed of Family Access

50:02 Lessons from Reid

53:56 Autism Tip Try Tech

56:52 Light on the Spectrum

58:53 Early Testing New Tools

01:01:47 Closing Thanks and Resources