Living the Sky Life - Our Autism Journey Laurie Hellmann

Jo-Ann Turning also known as “Mrs. Bacon”  is one half of the married, blogging couple from Bacon and Juice Boxes: Our Life with Autism. She's mom to Eric (age 19 on the autism spectrum) and Anna Kate (age 22, recent college graduate who is now working in NYC.) 
When her son, Eric, was first diagnosed with autism 18 years ago, she couldn’t say the word “autism” without crying.  After many years, and many experiences parenting in both the neuro-typical and special needs world, Jo-ann has become passionate about building bridges of hope for her family and other families like theirs. She's been honored to be invited to give several lectures at conferences and schools, works full-time outside the home, and is President of Special Wants, Inc. a 501c3 organization.
If she's lucky enough to get a few hours to herself, Jo-ann loves to bake, cook, read and make watercolor greeting cards.
https://www.facebook.com/BaconandJuiceBoxes/
https://www.facebook.com/SpecialWantsInc/
www.specialwants.org
 

Kentucky mom & former ICU nurse, Rachel Moldoveanu shares her experience navigating through the world of Autism with her almost 15-year-old son Frankie while also parenting her two neurotypical daughters, Livi age 16 and Ellie age 6.  Rachel's love of Diet Coke, Jesus and Kentucky basketball get her through the tough days!  
You can reach out to Rachel on FB: @Rachel Moldoveanu
Rachel's first appearance on my show was January 2020 (Episode 12) if you want to listen to more of her family story!

On this solo episode, I outline our 20 year journey to uncovering and resolving Skyler's GI issues. It finally feels like we are making significant progress! Through his smiles, laughter and decreased frustration (and subsequent hitting), it appears Skyler is becoming less uncomfortable in his own body!
I provide a more detailed account of our experiences in my book 'Welcome to My Life - A Personal Parenting Journey Through Autism' which is available on Amazon.
Want to be a guest on Living the Sky Life? Connect with me via my website lauriehellmann.com to learn how!
 

Mike Stuart is a 74 year old retired educator who lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He and his wife Harriet and their 32 year old autistic son, Aaron, moved from Florida 16 months ago to be closer to their daughter and her family.
 
In 2015, Mike created a life and job skills program for the more significantly-challenged autistic and other developmentally-disabled individuals called Operation Meaningful Life. It has been incredibly successful in turning Aaron into a skilled higher-functioning individual from his formerly designated "low-functioning" label.
 
Through the FB group for Operation Meaningful Life, Mike shares programming and behavioral insights with his 12,000 followers. Mike and Harriet are now formulating the next major phase of Aaron's life: a permanent, secure, life-fulfilling, and compassionate residential model for Aaron and others who are considered more-heavily or severely challenged. 
 
You can connect with Mike via his FB page: @Operation Meaningful Life or his website: operationmeaningfullife.com

Josh Dech is an ex-paramedic and Holistic Nutritionist, specializing in Crohn’s and Colitis, and other related gut issues. It was the successes his clients have had with complex digestive
diseases, previously thought to be impossible to fix, that got
him connected to some of the world’s most renowned
doctors.
Since then, he’s been recruited to the Priority Health
Academy as a medical lecturer, helping educate doctors on
the holistic approach to gut health, and inflammatory bowel
disease.
You can connect with Josh on FB & IG @Josh Dech and find his podcast ReversABLE on all platforms.

Dr. Mary Barbera “fell” into the autism world in 1999 when her first-born son, Lucas was diagnosed with autism. Since then, Mary transformed from a confused and overwhelmed parent to a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and best-selling author.  After earning a PhD, Mary launched her first online course in early 2015 and later built additional courses and a membership program to help both parents and autism professionals. 
In her vlogs, podcasts, books, webinars, and online courses, Mary teaches her unique step-by-step system and method to help children with autism (or signs of autism) talk more while reducing tantrums and other problem behaviors. 
Mary’s latest book Turn Autism Around was published in 2021 by Hay House and is helping parents and professionals start turning things around for young children with early signs of autism and older children with an autism diagnosis who are still struggling with talking, tantrums, eating, sleeping and potty training.   
For more information go to marybarbera.com to access her FB, IG & YouTube pages.