In this episode of ISAAC’S Autism in the Wild Holly is joined by the Executive Director of the Arc of Spokane, Sima Thorpe. Sima is here to tell us all about The Arc of Spokane and introduces us to two of her most recent hires, Jennifer and Maria. Together this group discusses the different programs available to families in our area and how we plan to work together to help meet the needs of the developmentally disabled populations in Spokane and extending into our rural areas.

Questions on resources and services:

[email protected]

For Spokane Parent to Parent Resources:

Maria Jennings

[email protected]

509-789-8797

Facebook:  Parent to Parent of Spokane County | Facebook

For Pend Orielle and Stevens County Parent to Parent Resources:

Micaela Herman

[email protected]

509-789-8782

Parent to Parent of Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties | Facebook

Sexual Abuse Prevention Training

Jim Lane

[email protected]

509-789-8325

On this very special episode of ISAAC’S Autism in the Wild Podcast we are joined by two of our favorite self-advocates, Tracey Cohen & John Lemus.  Tracey is an author of three books, two about autism and one about her passion for running.  We had featured Tracey in an episode earlier this year and were so excited to meet her in person when she came to Spokane to visit at the end of the summer.  While Tracey was visiting we introduced her to John Lemus, a Spokane based disabilities professional who advocates for the disability community through his various positions in local and state leadership.

Please take a listen and excuse the background noise as we are recording LIVE on the stage at Pitotti Coffee  as we discuss several topics regarding advocacy.

References:

Today we are joined by Erin Holthaus with SafeinHome Remote Support Services. SafeinHome is a new service available in Washington state to help keep our loved ones with autism or other special needs safe while allowing some independence. This on-call remote support assistance is made possible using technology assisted communication devices (ie a walkie talkie or tablet/phone communication) that your loved one would use to either contact, or be contacted by, the support agency. By utilizing these technology methods SafeinHome is able to provide one-on-one care to the individual in the exact moment they need support-any time of the day.  Each family that utilizes the services can determine the type of care they would like to receive and only need to use the technology they are comfortable with (cameras are NOT required). Take a listen and learn all about the services they provide and how you can help expand these services in Washington state.

SafeinHome

Support: 855-476-6665

Web: www.safeinhome.com

In this episode of ISAAC’S Autism in the Wild we talk to parents that all are raising both children on the spectrum and children that identify with the LGBTQIA+ community in some way.  We have seen a large number of our kiddos with autism questioning their own identity or genders as well as several of the neuro-typical siblings exploring their identities as well. We discuss this connection and determine if we feel these are attention seeking behaviors or simply valid self exploration. We also discuss the challenges of parenting these children-the process of switching pronouns/names, and dealing with the critical views of extended family or communities that are less accepting.

One last book that I’ve been pushing is: Divergent mind thriving in a world that wasn’t designed for you

by Jenara Nerenbeg who is a female autistic author

Join us for a special episode of ISAAC’S Autism in the wild, our 100th episode!

To commemorate we held our first group in-person podcast recording since before the pandemic.  It was amazing to see people’s faces again and enjoy some of the camaraderie we have been missing out on (including opening up some One Tree Cider).

For this episode we are joined by parents: David, Michelle, Maria,  Angela, Chevy, and Karly, some of the voices you regularly hear and a few newer ladies we know you love!  Full Disclosure-with a group this size we barely got through introductions before we had to wrap–so this is a two part special!  Listen in to this part and part two which will be available immediately!

This week on ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild, Holly is joined by three special needs parents and they are discussing the fights that just aren’t worth fighting. These are the tasks that at one point in their life were worth an argument, but now in hindsight, were not worth the time/energy invested.  We discuss topics like wearing appropriate footwear, screen-time, and dinner table etiquette.

Huge thanks to our new podcast voice, Nicole, who shared a gem of wisdom with us “Don’t accept criticism from someone you wouldn’t ask for advice” this sentiment was a great voice of reason while discussing the constant criticisms special needs parent’s tend to find themself surrounded by.

We know that on the whole, our children on the spectrum receive many more corrections each day than a nuero-typical child. In a world of “don’t do that” and “it is better if you do it this way” it is hard to achieve a high sense of self esteem and maintain confidence in yourself.  We have discussed building self esteem in passing while recording other episodes but wanted a chance to discuss this topic as a whole.  So, we invited a panel of parents that discuss the challenges their children-on all ends of the spectrum have faced regarding growing and maintaining self esteem.

Full Disclosure, this episode originally started out as a “recipe share” program. Our goal was to find those perfect gems in the culinary world that are nutritious and every member in the family will happily eat and enjoy. In recording this episode, we realized that this is basically NEVER the case. We had this discussion with several of our autism parents and between the 5 parents, all of our ideas were “no-go” items in one or more of each other’s households.

What did we learn from this epic fail?  We learned that we are all very similar in different ways, and all share the same struggle of cooking for picky eaters. Listen in as we desperately try to find ONE food that all of our kids will eat, as I have already given away–we don’t find it (unless ketchup and cereal counts as a meal), but we have an exceptionally entertaining conversation as we tried to get there! And as an added bonus, this was recorded within earshot of Caleb, Holly’s son, who made several cameos in the episode with his delightful interjections. Enjoy!