In this second to the last episode of the season, I had the pleasure of meeting Bernadette Woldt. Bernadette is a single Mom of twin girls, one being autistic and the other not. She lives in Wisconsin, where at the time of recording, COVID was and still is out of control. We talk about parenting stuff, how her daughter was diagnosed, how school is going, and some interesting things about having twins. This was a great conversation and I’m really excited for you folks to meet her. Please listen a...
Nov 20, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 38
his week I had the pleasure of meeting Tammy Seguin. Tammy’s a single Mom of 2 kids, her oldest being autistic. She’s on the show today to share a bit about her life and journey as an autism Mom. She’s in Canada and we talk about some of the differences between how autism is handled in Canada vs the US. We discuss how school is going and how COVID has impacted their lives. Like Tammy Seguin, we all have our struggles and we all have our own unique stories. Taking the time to learn from each othe...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 37
In this week’s episode, my friend Amy Nielsen is back on the show. Amy is an autism Mom and was on a few months back. We were talking about her journey as an autism parent. We discussed how COVID was impacting their lives at the time. We also talked about what she and her husband were going to do for the upcoming school year. Since that episode, her youngest tested positive for COVID. Her husband tested positive for COVID as well. She’s back to share their story, raise awareness, and talk about ...
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 36
In this week’s Parent to Parent episode, I have the pleasure of meeting Lynn Esparo. Lynn is a single Mom to a little boy with autism. She has an amazing story and she takes us through her journey with the foster care system. Likewise, she takes us through the adoption process as well. Ours is a colorful conversation about all things autism parenting and it’s both hilarious and inspirational. We talk about the ups and downs we both experience. I don’t doubt that many of you will be able to relat...
Oct 30, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 35
In this weeks episode, I interview Sasha Shtern, CEO of Goally. Goally is really cool tech that I’ve been testing with my oldest. Goally helps kids with autism and ADHD manage their own routines or schedules independently. This is huge for many families and I’m excited to bring it to your attention. I’ve had this in my house for a few months and I’m super impressed with it. Sasha is here to talk about how Goally works. We also talk about how it’s helping so many kids to gain independence. Learn ...
Oct 23, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 34
I’m so excited about this week’s episode because I just launched The Parent to Parent Series. Aside from briefly vetting my guests, I go into these interviews blind. The idea is to meet another special needs parent for the first time. Get to know them. Have a raw, unfiltered conversation. Learn about their life and family. Share experiences and insights with the overall goal of reminding everyone listening just how beautiful and unique every special needs family is. You will likely hear some col...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 33
In this week’s episode, my guest is Varleisha Gibbs and we are going to talk about sensory processing disorder. Varleisha is a Mother, wife, and author. Varleisha D. Gibbs PhD, OTD, OTR/L is the Vice President of Practice Engagement and Capacity Building At the American Occupational Therapy Association. In other words, she knows her stuff and is the perfect person to help us better understand what sensory processing disorder is and how we can help our loved ones living with it. We’re going to an...
Oct 04, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 32
I’m so excited to bring you this episode. My guests today are Cara Cooper and Jessica Rush. They’re both Broadway Moms and they’re here to talk about motherhood, parenting, their podcast (MAMAS Talkin’ LOUD), balancing career and family, as well as how their lives have been impacted by COVID-19. Cara is a special needs mom and we talk about that journey as well. Cara and Jessica are absolutely hilarious and I encourage you all to check out their podcast, MAMAS Talkin’ LOUD. It’s a trip. This is ...
Sep 26, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 31
My guest today is a legendary supermodel and celebrity fitness trainer Oscar Smith. He’s devoted his life to fitness and has successfully trained clients with every type of fitness goal. Oscar Smith owns and operates his own fitness studio called O-Diesel Studios, located in Tribeca. Many gyms to be closed and even if they’re open, people aren’t comfortable going because of COVID. Oscar shares things we can do from home to work on our fitness, including things we can do with our kids. He even sh...
Sep 21, 2020•58 min•Season 3Ep. 30
In this weeks episode, I have a parent to parent conversation with Amy Nielsen. She’s an autism mom, author, educator, blogger, podcaster, and early intervention specialist. We talk about her amazing family, life as an autism parent, and how COVID has made things more challenging. We also talk about how she and her husband are navigating the new school year. It’s a great conversation and one you can definitely relate to. About Amy Nielsen: Amy is a former educator with seventeen years of experie...
Sep 11, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 29
In this week’s episode, my friend Annette Hines stops by talk to about homeschooling vs online learning. We discuss the differences between homeschooling, distance learning, and remote learning. We even talk about unschooling as well. As parents, we need to know that we have rights when it comes to our children’s education. Our children have rights as well. With COVID interfering with the reopening of schools this Fall, we need to know our homeschooling vs online learning options. Annette helps ...
Aug 22, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Let’s get honest here for a minute. We all want our kids to return to school. No one is saying that’s a bad idea. It’s important that our kids get back into the classroom. The issue is whether or not it can be done safely and the answer in most cases is a resounding no. We are handing our teachers a basket of impossible. As of 8/14/2020, a few schools have begun to open in the United States, and already, there are well over 2,100 students/teachers in quarantine due to COVID19 across several stat...
Aug 13, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 27
In this week’s episode, I speak with Alycia Halladay again. The previous episode can be found here . Alycia is the Chief Science Officer at the Autism Science Foundation. We recently had a discussion about how COVID19 impacts the Autism Community. We talk about family stress, school-related safety concerns, and even touch a bit on the upcoming COVID19 vaccine because the anti-vaxxers are already moving to discourage people from taking a COVID19 vaccine when it’s ready. About Alycia: Alycia Halla...
Jul 31, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 26
I’ve been wanting to take on the topic of co-parenting through divorce for a while now. It’s relevant to so many families out there, including mine. David Hill, MD, FAAP literally co-wrote the book on Co-parenting Through Separation and Divorce: Putting Your Children First for the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is such an important topic because divorce is common, but unfortunately, navigating divorce, especially with kids (in general) can be incredibly challenging for a million reasons. T...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Welcome to The Autism Dad podcast. Every Friday I bring you a new episode with an amazing guest and we take on topics that are relevant to your life. You will hear conversations about various parenting topics, mental health, autism, ADHD, technology, current events, and yes, sometimes even politics. It’s important to me that I approach these topics in a no-nonsense way and I don’t hide my views and opinions. I’m not afraid to take on sensitive topics here on The Autism Dad podcast. Therefore, I ...
Jul 22, 2020•51 sec
My guest is Eileen Silverberg. She’s a Life Coach in Emotional Management and author of “A Warrior of Light: A Guide of Inner Wisdom For Challenging Times”. We have a very important conversation about the physical and emotional challenges of being a caregiver. Eileen shares her personal journey of becoming a caregiver to her mother. The message here is very important. Please listen, share, subscribe and rate this episode. Eileen Silverberg’s Links: Website: https://eileensilverberg.com/ Get her ...
Jul 16, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 24
In this episode, I speak with Matthew Boulay about education in the advent of COVID19, as well as the importance of summer learning. We talk about his new book “When Schools are Closed: A Guide for parents to discover the extraordinary power of summer learning in the era of COVID19”. It’s a great conversation and I recommend you check out his book. Link below.About Matthew Boulay: Founder and Former CEO of the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) Author of “When Schools Are Closed” A guid...
Jul 10, 2020•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 23
Amy Kelly is the mother of Danny, Annie, and Ryan. Her daughter Annie is diagnosed with moderate to severe autism, verbal apraxia, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and general anxiety disorder. Amy Kelly is the National Director of Family Engagement for Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. Devereux is one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit providers of behavioral healthcare. She also serves as a family representative on several special-needs boards in the community, locally...
Jul 03, 2020•52 min•Season 3Ep. 22
If you’re a parent who’s trying to discuss COVID19 with your children, this show is definitely for you. Kristin Canavera is a child psychologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and she’s on the pod today to discuss the St. Jude COVID19 resource kits for kids, tweens, adolescents, and parents. These are free downloadable resource kits and can be found at the link below. We discuss talking to kids about COVID19 in a way that’s developmentally appropriate. Please take a listen and pass thi...
May 16, 2020•38 min•Season 3Ep. 21
We have never experienced anything like COVID-19 in our lifetime and people are scared, myself included. Many of us are dealing with high levels of acute stress, irritability, and sleep disruption. My guest today is Laurie Nadel, Ph.D. Dr. Laurie is a very well-known author, psychotherapist, disaster stress expert and is considered a thought leader in the emerging field of acute stress and PTSD. Dr. Laurie has been a guest on Oprah , CNN, Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell and George Noory, and num...
May 08, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 20
This week’s episode is all about helping our kids survive the COVID19 lockdown. Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D, joins me to discuss ways we can help our kids better maintain, both emotionally and physically in a situation in which their entire world has been turned upside down. Mary Jane has worked in the Autism and ABA field for over 35 years and she has some amazing advice for parents, including myself. Be sure to check this episode out and share it with the people in your life. About Dr. Mary Jane Wei...
May 01, 2020•50 min•Season 3Ep. 19
In today’s episode, I have a conversation with Dr. Jason Kahn, PhD. Jason, as he prefers to be called, is a developmental psychologist and co-creator of Mightier. Mightier is a program I’ve talked about quite a bit because it uses video games to help kids learn to emotionally self-regulate. That means fewer emotional outbursts or meltdowns, and a reduction of parental stress. Jason talks about how Mightier is empowering kids and parents to better manage life on COVID19 lockdown. Lockdown is disr...
Apr 25, 2020•47 min•Season 3Ep. 18
In this week’s episode, (recorded on 4/8/2020) I talk with my friend Hazel McAdam. Hazel and I decided to have a conversation about everything from ADHD, Anxiety, and COVID19 to politics and how the outside world views the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID19 pandemic. I don’t typically, delve into politics but it’s interesting to hear firsthand what the people in other countries think of the insanity going on here in the US right now. Emmett joins at one point and speaks with Hazel ab...
Apr 24, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Season 3Ep. 17
This is a very special episode. I speak parent to parent with Melissa Winchell about the struggles our families are facing on COVID19 lockdown. Melissa’s family was featured on ABC News recently, along with mine and few others. ABC News were exploring the impact COVID19 lockdown is having on special needs families like ours. I speak with Melissa about the challenges she’s facing as a special needs parent, while on lockdown. We both talk very openly about our fears, concerns and the many struggle...
Apr 17, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 16
In this weeks episode, I speak with Alycia Halladay. Alycia is the Chief Science Officer at the Autism Science Foundation. We recently had a discussion about many things Autism related. We talked about the new Autism statistics released by the CDC and what they mean. We talked about how COVID19 is impacting Autism families and ways we can help. We also discussed the current bane of my existence, at home schoolwork while on COVID19 lockdown. I know that’s a major struggle for many special needs f...
Apr 11, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 15
In this shorter episode, I discuss a major milestone we’ve reached, 30 days on total lockdown. I share how I’m managing a seriously delicate medication situation with my oldest. I talk about how we’re doing and the struggles I’m facing as a single Dad during the worst pandemic in a century. Please remember that self-care is more important than ever. It’s not easy but we have to do our best to look after ourselves, especially during these turbulent and uncertain times. Support This Podcast You ca...
Apr 06, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 14
In this episode, I talk with Aaron Shute from Brain Power. We discuss how they are using highly specialized software and Google Glass to improve the lives of Autistic kids and adults. Brain Power uses augmented reality to help Autistic individuals better interact with the world. The technology is absolutely amazing but please understand that this is very expensive and will not be for everyone. Aaron explains that they normally work directly with schools but since schools are shut down, they are ...
Apr 03, 2020•30 min•Season 3Ep. 13
In this episode, I open up about how I’m managing my depression while I’m on total lockdown with my 3 Autistic kids. Those of us who live with mental health issues may find ourselves struggling more because of all that’s going on around us. I hope that my experience can help someone else. Please remember that self-care is more important than ever. It’s not easy but we have to do our best to look after ourselves, especially during these turbulent and uncertain times. Please listen and share it wi...
Mar 29, 2020•22 min•Season 3Ep. 12
In this episode, I update you on a major decision I had to make in order to keep my immunocompromised son safe during the COVID19 pandemic. Very few things are simple with it comes to Special Needs parenting and I share the thought process that goes into making potentially life altering decisions for my kids. I also talk about a few other things that are on my mind and I curse a bit. ;-) I also want to apologize to my mother for the language in this episode. I'm feeling terribly overwhelmed and ...
Mar 25, 2020•24 min•Season 3Ep. 11
In this weeks (albeit late) episode, I talk about life on lockdown and what it's like to manage this COVID19 health crisis as a single Dad to 3 Autistic kids. Gavin, (my oldest) is immunocompromised and I have to walk a very, very fine line in order to keep him safe. It's not easy by any stretch of the imagination but we're muddling through. Later in the episode, Emmett, my 11 year old, joins me to discuss how this whole lockdown is impacting him. He does an amazing job of expressing his thought...
Mar 20, 2020•42 min•Season 3Ep. 10
