TSC Talks!

Tina Guenette Pedersen is the President & Founder of R.A.M.P.~Real Access Motivates Progress, and this is how her story starts; "Well, my name is Tina Pedersen. I'm 47 years old. I have two children and two grandchildren. And I was very active in my life. I was a cheer coach, dance mom, a Boy Scout leader, a football mom. Anything my kids did, I did with them tenfold.

"I'm a four-time cancer survivor-breast twice, bladder twice. And during one of my bladder cancer surgeries, it was a very minor surgery to my bladder machine, because I have a machine now that helps my bladder. During a tweak to that with a 20-minute surgery, I took a stroke to my spinal cord and woke up and never walked again. So literally, a little over five years ago, I walked into surgery and never walked again"

"So it was kind of like here's a wheelchair, go home and figure it out. And that's what I had to do. It took me a while. I mean, of course, I had my downtime in the frustration and just trying to get through your day to day because like I said at the time, my daughter was a senior in high school, my son was a freshman. I was her cheerleading coach for competitive cheerleading. I had to figure out how to live my life and how to make this wheelchair work and figure it out as I went along and I then threw myself into finding out as much as I could what was out there? And like I said, that's when I decided to start an organization for other people who ended up like me."

"In 2018, Tina was named Ms. Wheelchair Rhode Island and her advocacy of inclusion for all began. In this journey, she met many individuals with all types of disabilities and gathered insight and information for change. She was appointed to the Governor's Commission on Disability and voted as Vice Chairwoman."

"Tina's foundation, R.A.M.P. -Real Access Motivates Progress, R.A.M.P.’s mission is to educate and advocate about accessibility and inclusion. We support any and all individuals with disabilities both visible and invisible, their families and support staff in creating a safe, barrier-free environment in all communities. http://rampisinclusion.com/

Tina started an initiative to provide RED BAGS to meet an unmet need, to "keep your (medical emergency) information updated easily and readily available. Not digital and easily accessible for emergency agencies with no technical issues." Join the RED BAG movement! Be a RED BAG carrier—it could SAVE YOUR LIFE!" Learn more on her website and order here: https://www.paypal.me/RAMPisinclusion?locale.x=en_US

Tina is quite a power of example and refuses to harbor negativity and resentment, she lives her life knowing that every day is a chance to make a difference, and the time is now, " we need to be making the people who live here now in this situation right now better and include more people"

Links!
Website: http://rampisinclusion.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RAMPorg/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rampisinclusion
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramp_is_inclusion/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo6u01UIYuN7vWGEtTNsBIQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-guenette-pedersen-b101a018a/
Recent Articles:
https://www.abilities.com/community/ramp.html
https://www.valleybreeze.com/2018-04-25/cumberland-lincoln-area/accessibility-dignity#.XeEc1ehKhPY
http://johnstonsunrise.net/stories/my-time-to-make-a-difference,140277

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

Tina Guenette Pedersen is the President & Founder of R.A.M.P.~Real Access Motivates Progress, and this is how her story starts; "Well, my name is Tina Pedersen. I'm 47 years old. I have two children and two grandchildren. And I was very active in my life. I was a cheer coach, dance mom, a Boy Scout leader, a football mom. Anything my kids did, I did with them tenfold.

"I'm a four-time cancer survivor-breast twice, bladder twice. And during one of my bladder cancer surgeries, it was a very minor surgery to my bladder machine, because I have a machine now that helps my bladder. During a tweak to that with a 20-minute surgery, I took a stroke to my spinal cord and woke up and never walked again. So literally, a little over five years ago, I walked into surgery and never walked again"

"So it was kind of like here's a wheelchair, go home and figure it out. And that's what I had to do. It took me a while. I mean, of course, I had my downtime in the frustration and just trying to get through your day to day because like I said at the time, my daughter was a senior in high school, my son was a freshman. I was her cheerleading coach for competitive cheerleading. I had to figure out how to live my life and how to make this wheelchair work and figure it out as I went along and I then threw myself into finding out as much as I could what was out there? And like I said, that's when I decided to start an organization for other people who ended up like me."

"In 2018, Tina was named Ms. Wheelchair Rhode Island and her advocacy of inclusion for all began. In this journey, she met many individuals with all types of disabilities and gathered insight and information for change. She was appointed to the Governor's Commission on Disability and voted as Vice Chairwoman."

"Tina's foundation, R.A.M.P. -Real Access Motivates Progress, R.A.M.P.’s mission is to educate and advocate about accessibility and inclusion. We support any and all individuals with disabilities both visible and invisible, their families and support staff in creating a safe, barrier-free environment in all communities. http://rampisinclusion.com/

Tina started an initiative to provide RED BAGS to meet an unmet need, to "keep your (medical emergency) information updated easily and readily available. Not digital and easily accessible for emergency agencies with no technical issues." Join the RED BAG movement! Be a RED BAG carrier—it could SAVE YOUR LIFE!" Learn more on her website and order here: https://www.paypal.me/RAMPisinclusion?locale.x=en_US

Tina is quite a power of example and refuses to harbor negativity and resentment, she lives her life knowing that every day is a chance to make a difference, and the time is now, " we need to be making the people who live here now in this situation right now better and include more people"

Links!

Website: http://rampisinclusion.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RAMPorg/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rampisinclusion

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramp_is_inclusion/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo6u01UIYuN7vWGEtTNsBIQ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-guenette-pedersen-b101a018a/

Recent Articles:

https://www.abilities.com/community/ramp.html

https://www.valleybreeze.com/2018-04-25/cumberland-lincoln-area/accessibility-dignity#.XeEc1ehKhPY

http://johnstonsunrise.net/stories/my-time-to-make-a-difference,140277

Marissa Fratoni, Holistic RN - Cannabis Therapeutics - Maternal Health - Writer - Public Speaker, is a wealth of information and insight on cannabinoid therapeutics holistic medicine and integrative health. I met Marissa through Jessie Gill, Marijuana Mommy, when discussing our medical cannabis project, wondering if she knew of any local to MA cannabis nurses so was thrilled when she agreed to have a chat.

We started off talking about how she went from traditional nursing in a very demanding operating room at a local hospital to becoming a visiting nurse, then "on a whim" taking a job in a local dispensary, she says,

"Working in the dispensary just completely opened, changed my entire perception of the plant. I was in interacting with people who were very chronically ill and seeing miraculous changes in their overall quality of life with the use of cannabis. And these are things as a visiting nurse, I didn't see you know, my patients were always you know, very a lot of them were very compliant with their pharmaceutical regimens and whatever their doctors were telling them, but they weren't healing and what I saw in the dispensary was cannabis patients consistently coming in and saying, this is helping me it's improved my entire life. It's changed my life. I mean, those are things that I'm was not hearing as a visiting nurse"

She ended up engaging with a lot of people looking for support and she started to offer consultations to women; mainly weight loss, wellness consultations in the realm of motherhood. But then, she started working at the dispensary and had patients who found her that way too when her name was coming up as a cannabis nurse.

"It was a game-changer for them, you know they were looking for people who could help them build a bridge between what they weren't receiving in the medical community and what they were getting in the medical cannabis community. For a lot of patients, they're stuck navigating all of this on their own. And that's essentially where cannabis nurses come in"

We also discuss her role interacting with the traditional medical community, she states, "my goal as a nurse is to not to get them to just completely transfer off of medications. I think there's a lot of poor information out there and a lot of people think that it's either-or, and it shouldn't be. There's a lot of great things available through modern medicine. There's also a lot of great things available through holistic and integrative medicine and practices. And I think my goal as a holistic nurse is to help to again, bridge that gap."

We discuss the CBD craze, her concerns with product safety and labeling, emphasizing that every company that has a quality CBD product on the market will be backed up by functional lab testing, where they're able to tell you the cannabinoid profile and if it's tested positive or negative for any contaminants. If it's tested positive experiment, it shouldn't be on the shelf but they should be able to tell you what is in that product within that bottle."

Marissa also has some experience working with patients in recovery using cannabis as a "harm reduction" tool and has some really relevant insights on working with those struggling with heroin addiction and how cannabis can be a useful but cautions that medical supervision and support are needed when detoxing, etc.

It was a pleasure to pick Marissa's brain on her broad offerings and wide array of lived experiences she's developed into a fabulous platform. Check out her links and thanks for listening!

Links:
Website: https://holisticnursemama.blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marissa.fratoni
Instagram: @holisticnursemama
Twitter: @Marissa_Fratoni
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-fratoni-94b62429/
Central MA Yoga: https://centralmassyoga.com/marissa-fratoni/
Medium: https://medium.com/@marissafratoni
https://cannamommy.org/about

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

Joyce Gerber & Amie Searles are The Canna Moms who started the local-to-MA podcast called The Canna Mom Show!. Referred to as The Click and Clack of Cannabis, while also aspiring to be the Terry Gross of Cannabis Talk, these ladies were awesome. Funny, smart and actually visionaries who want to get the word out that Canna Moms are not lazy, good for nothing slackers who are a burden to society but exactly the opposite! Inspirational visionaries out to change the world, one canna story at a time!

We talk initially about cannabis and parenting and our observations that cannabis has helped us all, in many instances be better parents, or at least more able to engage in the now and connect with our offspring. Making the connection with the TSC community, I will share personally that using cannabis helped me greatly slow down the frequent crises long enough to observe my son's TSC/TAND behaviors, my own role in perpetuating patterns, and start to break the cycle. One small example of how the potential of cannabis as medicine can positively impact the entire family.

Their pitch is as follows: 'Are you interested in hearing inspiring cannabis stories told by real cannabis moms? This is the show for you! Former family law attorney and mother of two, Joyce Gerber, and her canna-sister, Amie Searles, a 420 Realtor, talk with women from coast to coast who are leaders in the revolution of cannabis and caregiving and crushing the cannabis stigma, one canna story at a time."

While an overall lighthearted conversation, we dipped down into the weeds a bit to get some of the deeper motivations for their willingness to step away from more traditional careers and launch a podcast. Not just any podcast, but one on cannabis. Joyce discusses some life challenges with juggling career and parenthood and coming back to a career in her 50s and how that pushed her to try something different. Amie relates how her own experience being diagnosed with breast cancer and using cannabis as part of her treatment regimen gave her the impetus to speak out about her positive experiences instead of holding on to the many years of shame, guilt and confusion so many from our generation felt and continue to feel for using something that can actually contribute to improved mental and physical health.

"But the truth is everybody has a cannabis story. You know, Even myself, I'm very active in my temple and in our synagogue, I'm having a doctor come in, and we're going to do a talk on cannabis, Friday night, pre-service. You know, these are older women a little older than me. And we are the fastest growing population of users"

We discuss the local cannabis industry in MA, challenges with legislation in cities such as Cambridge, MA, some of the fun events these ladies have attended to engage with the local community and promote their work, such as a Cannabis Wedding Expo. Also discussed are the CBD market,, CBD safety and Cannabis interactions with medications, the overmedicating of America with pharmaceuticals, and much more. This one will make you laugh, cry, giggle, inspire you & broaden your vision in regards to the potential of cannabis as medicine, as a recreational substance, and more. Also, how podcasters as communicators speaking out about this sometimes controversial subject matter have the power to truly affect change, at a local and national level. Go Canna Moms!

Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecannamomshow
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecannamomshow/
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-canna-mom-show
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-canna-mom-show-with-joyce-and-amie/id1485037386
Tune In: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Health--Wellness-Podcasts/The-Canna-Mom-Show-p1245811/
LinkedIn, Joyce: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-gerber/
LinkedIn, Amie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amie-searles-79329373/
YouTube Promotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSeN5j1pWlo

Thanks for listening! Reviews on ITunes are much appreciated. Check out our website: https://tsctalks.com and our current market research survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YFGZMX9

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

Russell Cole describes himself as "FUTURIST - EDUCATOR - BUSINESS LEADER, An entrepreneur who is motivated by providing access to technologies and innovations that we should already be benefiting from. I am humbled by the deep network of passionate, caring, professional and incredibly intelligent people I am fortunate to be surrounded by and learn from, daily."

In this episode, we start off discussing how Russell got his start in the cannabis industry and his current role as CEO of Organic Grow Solutions. He details the operations of OGS; "We work with cultivators on advanced imaging. So really taking a look at the bio physiology of the crops through imaging solutions and having the opportunity to see what's really going on at the crop level based on wavelengths of light that we can't see what the human eye but these cameras can. We just take photos using these very advanced imaging lenses. We start to look at the different types of light signatures that the plants give off and sometimes that signature indicates that a plant has low nutrient levels or maybe possibly a disease or pest pressure zone that's starting to break out. And we're able to really start to take that information and build data libraries with more precise information”

We also get into a discussion on the cannabis industry in a broader sense, comparing the North American and European markets; "they're fortunately able to take the best practices from Canada from other countries that they've seen to develop their policy and regulations behind the medicinal side. What that's doing is, it's stopping the hype from creating a brand sort of propaganda if you will, and just focusing on the validation of it being a medicine today, and really working the system to include pharmacies, studies, and research"

Wrapping it up, Russell pulls it all together and shares his live vision; "My life vision is taking technologies, call it cannabis, call it anything a biosynthetic, 3d printed organs in the future and other technologies that that I think are very valuable to society, but are there are barriers to accessing those technologies and we've seen that with cannabis, whether it's because of government regulations and prohibition or whether it's because of costs, whether it's because of data. I think that bringing access to the things that humans could really value from is a mission I'm on and whether again that's cannabis or biosynthetic 3d printed organs, I think it's very important to commercialize and accelerate and lobby and push the boundaries. Yep. And that's mostly my thought is just giving access to people and accelerating our development towards making sure that our world can, just improve."

Thanks, Russell for your dedication, vision, and work to the cannabis industry and the world in general!

Russell's links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russellcole/
Organic Grow Solutions: https://www.organicgrowsolutions.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrganicGrow-Solutions-283257502607493/
https://growupconference.com/speakers/russell-cole/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

Nurse Janna Champagne, RN, BSN, Cannabis Nurse and Medical Cannabis Expert joined me to discuss her lived experience and work in the cannabis industry, including the success she's had utilizing cannabinoid medicine for her daughter with Autism.

Janna's introduction to the cannabis industry began as a cannabis patient when she suffered a health collapse in 2012. She credits cannabis for helping to reduce her reliance on harmful pharmaceuticals, and for supporting her ability to regain optimal health status. Janna is also known for her daughter's cannabis/Autism success story, which published on the cover story in a nationwide industry magazine in 2017.

We engage in a discussion covering Janna's initial entry into the industry to address her own serious health issues and from there launch into a discussion of her daughter's diagnosis and lived experience of Autism.

"I believe Autism is dysfunction in the is the triad of the gut, the brain and the immune system and the interactions between them okay, this is where main mainstream medicine is really failing to address autism because it's not looking at that it's, it's doing it like many of the mental health disorders where they just they have these symptoms. We're going to label them autism. Oh, yeah, I think we can do put it in the bottle we can try the mental health pharmaceuticals. But beyond that, they don't look at how to heal the gut."

"As a nurse, my approach has always been with my daughter with myself , my patients, we're supposed to weigh the risk versus benefit of all of the options and guide our patient to make an informed decision. And obviously, you know, ideally, they would choose the least risky options with the most potential benefits. And I have seen literally I've worked with thousands of patients directly individually. And it's so commonplace for patients to reduce their reliance on pharmaceuticals, once they start cannabis therapy, and really improve their quality of life. You know, in the elderly population. I've seen reversals of dementia, really the autism population I've seen improved behavior, improved quality of life, improved function."

"I see cannabis as having the potential to revolutionize our broken healthcare system with you, but the only way that is going to happen is if we keep it pure, and keep it medical quality and keep it patient-focused, because if we go the farmer route, we're going to end up exactly where are right now with pharmaceuticals that aren't effective, they're creating customers not cures, and they're not in the best interest of patients. That's why I am so driven to try to educate, and really bring people on board that are patient-focused, and really highlight those companies."

Thanks Janna for opening our eyes to the amazing potential of cannabis to continue to profoundly impact the lives of so many desperate for answers beyond the mainstream medical system. A true Healthcare Revolution!

Check out Janna's links! She's done and is doing amazing work and has much information published:

https://jannachampagne.com/
http://www.integratedholisticcare.com/providers.html
https://www.cannabisnursesnetwork.com/member/cannabisnursejanna/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janna-champagne-bsn-rn-95a51a167
https://twitter.com/cannanursejanna
https://www.marijuanamommy.com/cannabis-nurses-chat-with-janna-champagne/
https://www.facebook.com/jannababe
https://www.instagram.com/nursejanna/
https://youtu.be/aUgDjgFjbA8

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

Stacey Jackson, special education advocate, parent, engineer & past school committee member stopped by the podcast to give us an update on her daughter's out of district placement as well as engage in a discussion on the transition process.

Stacey discusses how the immersive experience living away from home in a setting such as Riverview School, a co-educational boarding school placement, can be beneficial for those with "complex learning challenges" and has served her daughter well. Keeping the big picture in mind while advocating for the most effective programming for our loved ones challenged by special needs and trying to stay positive while making and keeping connections, are a few tools that have served Stacey well over the years. She urges parents to keep setting the bar high and remember that the main goal of any transition is that our loved ones are able to hold a job and live independently as possible.

She states, "I don't know if it's just people have pity on kids with special needs....oh their lives are so hard that you know... let's not push them anymore. Let's keep them happy. But she's the type of kid that like most kids, if you're not going to push her, she's not going to take on anything herself, she's going to sit back and coast and play Uno all day if they'll let you. But at the end of the day, we're doing these kids a tremendous disservice because, okay, we might be keeping them happy, but that's going to help them later on. Is that going to help only hold a job or live independently or have you know, great friendships with people if they're not pushed outside their comfort zone? "

To hear the original podcast episode with Stacey Jackson: https://www.spreaker.com/user/8658658/stacey-jackson-take-2

Stacey's Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacey.w.jackson.9
Riverview School: https://riverviewschool.org/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

Kevin Greene, VP of Cleveland School of Cannabis is an Entrepreneur - Strategic Marketer - Business Development - Cannabis Entrepreneur. He shares his experience in the education arm of the cannabis industry and the novel programs and success of CSC in terms of job placement, online and brick/mortar options and more! Dr. Mary Clifton shares her inspiration for getting into the industry with 25 years experience in traditional medicine. "My goal here is to normalize cannabis and just make it something that everybody's using for common conditions and also for income". 20 years of experience in both the hospital and private practice and is also a licensed by the New York State Department of Health to provide medical marijuana and is a recognized expert in CBD, Cannabis, and Medical Marijuana.

"She is a published researcher, a national speaker on women’s health and osteoporosis, and author of four books, and two new soon-to-be-released books on CBD and Cannabis – what you need to know, how to use them and a COOKBOOK to support ease of use." https://cbdandcannabisinfo.com

Check out Kevin and Mary's links!

Mary Clifton, M.D.

DrMarymd.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drmarymd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.k.clifton.5
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbd_thc_md/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYWQ8H9L7RIIUkSNena8bCg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com › marycliftonmd
https://cbdandcannabisinfo.com
https://health.usnews.com/doctors/mary-clifton-572365
https://www.amazon.com › Mary-Clifton-MD
https://www.entrepreneur.com › author › mary-clifton-md
https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenbobrow/2019/08/30/the-five-questions-discussed-by-cannabis-md-dr-mary-clifton/#2f9e5e26325b
https://drmaryjanemd.com/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/wc/dr-mary-clifton

Kevin Greene:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-greene-48b5b7b7/
Cleveland School of Cannabis
https://www.linkedin.com/company/clevelandcannabiscollege/about/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cleveland-School-of-Cannabis-2409311089353307/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ohiocannabisedu
IG: https://www.instagram.com/clevelandschoolofcannabis/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9SHx-_odKX-FJ7hqx-ypDw
[email protected]

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

Steven L. Kelley, President, and CEO of Ellenville Regional Hospital joins Jill in a discussion on the changing landscape of the healthcare industry as well as his involvement with Nicky's Gardens of Hope as a Board Member. Jill also gives a longer than usual introduction, tying together past, present and future guests, and some back story on the broadening subject matter, inspiration, and vision for the podcast.

Steve has been the President and CEO of Ellenville Regional Hospital since September 2003. "He has a diverse background in the computer, research, and healthcare industries. Under Mr. Kelley’s leadership, ERH has been recognized with 4 national awards from HRSA for patient safety and medication safety, has been recognized by the National Rural Health Association as one of the top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the country for Quality, and has been a leader in New York State in the areas of quality measurement and rural health. Many other significant awards have followed."(http://bit.ly/31zKK0E). I thoroughly enjoyed my discussion with Steve and have more audio that will be included in future episodes. He discusses his entry into the healthcare industry after some words from his grandfather; "I was really quite successful in what I was doing in it. And I visited my 90 some year old grandfather. And I was telling him how successful I was how I had really nice clothes and suspenders and I had a new car and took great vacations. I owned a house before I was 25. I kind of the world by the tail, but my grandfather was a farmer and a Presbyterian minister and any money that he ever made, he gave away. Because he thought other people needed it more. And all of my efforts to impress him. Were all they did is turned him off. "

He talks more about how he went from working in a business/IT setting to the healthcare industry and how this led to his success questioning the reasoning of doing things the same way because that's the way they've always been done. He is continually thinking outside the box and looking for ways to innovate, improve collaboratively with his staff which has led to a complete turnaround for Ellenville Regional Hospital.

"Under Mr. Kelley’s leadership, ERH has been recognized with 4 national awards from HRSA for patient safety and medication safety, has been recognized by the National Rural Health Association as one of the top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the country for Quality, and has been a leader in New York State in the areas of quality measurement and rural health"

He also serves as a board member for Nicky's Gardens of Hope, an innovative program designated as is the first Financially and Environmentally sustainable resident community solution designed to provide a holistic life for Adults with Autism and IDD (Intellectually Developmentally Disabled). (http://bit.ly/316fk1L)

Steve discusses how he was inspired by Founder & CEO of NGOH, Adriana PIltz and why he is motivated and inspired by the innovative and unique approach Adriana and her team at NGOH has to meet the long term needs of this rapidly growing population.

If you'd like to skip past the intro and jump right into the episode, jump to 14 minutes! Check out our crowdfunder and please share it if you can: http://bit.ly/33xlERc

Steven Kelley's Links:
Ellenville Regional Hospital: http://www.ellenvilleregional.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-kelley-a28847a/
Nicky's Gardens of Hope: https://nickysgardensofhope.com
Adriana Piltz' GoFundMe: http://bit.ly/316fk1L

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

The Spectrum Sports team is comprised of Dan Minko, Lisa Faracchio and James Paoletti, all involved in special education in some capacity in their local NJ high school. They got together to form Spectrum Sports. All are passionate about fitness and exercise, and being keenly aware of the challenges their students had accessing more typical opportunities for sports engagement in their local school district, they launched their business.

"Spectrum Sports is an exercise program for individuals with disabilities such as Autism, Asperger's, Down Syndrome, and other multiple disabilities. We provide exercise through various sports, games, and group fitness. Our qualified team offers several activities that provide unique individuals, and their families, with fun and exercise in a judgment-free zone."

Since launching, they've had huge success and have expanded their programming to include different age groups and methods of delivery. What I loved about this team is they are truly focused on making everyone's experience with sports and fitness related activities a positive one. They assess each participant, get some history as to challenges and strengths and find a way to engage them on an individual and group level. Finding the balance between motivating and provoking anxiety and resistance can be tough but through humor, individualized approach and incredible encouragement, they've been able to be hugely successful. As their business grows, it's part of their vision to open their own facility and expand the scope of programming. They work to keep costs low and hope to continue to do so.

From their site: We divide our program into two categories – passive and active – to let athletes learn at a comfortable pace. Our active group jumps right into competition, while our passive group works on motor skills to develop and strengthen their muscle movements. We offer various sports, collaborative games, group exercise and more! We now offer sessions for kids aged 5-11 as well as for kids aged 12+. Spectrum Sports was created because there are so many disorders and disabilities prevalent in today’s society; however, there are no places that offer these special groups of people and their families a place where they can exercise, play games, and socialize with similar individuals or families. Simply put, Spectrum Sports wants to get people with special needs active. We simply offer various activities and games that get people with special needs on their feet and moving. We will be teaching and play various sports and games such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis baseball, whiffle ball, kickball, obstacle courses. We will also be running group exercise like Zumba and P90X."

I was honored to meet this team of passionate, purposeful individuals working to improve the quality of life for those with special needs through sports & fitness. Motivating neurodiverse individuals who have already had negative experiences with more typical programming and showing them the joys and rewards of physical activity, is much needed in our society and hearing about those programs out there making a difference is truly needed and inspiring!

Links:
Website: https://spectrumsportsnj.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spectrumsports3/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpectrumSports8
https://www.instagram.com/spectrumsports3/
https://www.camdencounty.com/event/spectrum-sports-6/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.