Living the Sky Life - Our Autism Journey Laurie Hellmann

Kelly resides in FL is mom to 32-year-old Steven who received his autism diagnosis at the age of 2.5. Since that time, he has also been diagnosed with Apraxia, Tourette's, OCD and Anxiety. Steven is a kind, gentle soul. He loves life and everyone he meets. His journey has not been easy but he has persevered through every single obstacle he has faced. Kelly learns from Steven every single day and feels extremely blessed to be his mom.
You can connect with Kelly on IG: @growingupsteven 
Malinda Dalton-Cook resides in the San Diego area with her husband Chad and their 20-year-old daughter Paige, who is severely impacted by autism.  Malinda is the CEO/Founder of Paige's Pantry which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  The mission of Paige's Pantry is to help teach and empower teens and adults on the autism spectrum; giving them the opportunity to learn organizational, communication, community & administrative skills.  www.paigespantry.org
Malinda is also the host of the Autism Masterminds Podcast: autismmasterminds.com
Crystal Sacco resides in CT and is the mother of Keith, her 28- year-old nonverbal son with Autism and ID who lives in a group home. She has worked with individuals or families with disabilities directly or indirectly for 14 years.  She is passionate about supporting families and helping them become the best advocates for their loved ones.  She has a particular place in her heart for helping nonverbal adults with Autism and challenging behaviors. You can connect with Crystal on Mighty Networks through her family support page Elea Village at https://village.getelea.com/feed
Dottie Davis resides in Mandeville, LA and is a mother of four children, her youngest, John, age 24 is autistic.  She served on the PTA at her son's school in order to stay involved with administration, teachers and staff.  Dottie also served as Parent Liaison for the Special Education Dept. for St. Tammany Parish School System for three years.  She helped to facilitate communication between parents of special needs and/or gifted students and school administration and teachers.

Alicia Miner (WA) - resides in Washington State and is a single mom to her amazing 18-year-old son, Austin, who is autistic and non-verbal. She has recently started the Spelling to Communicate program and is always advocating for her son's future. 
Connect with Alicia via FB: www.facebook.com/alicia.miner.9
Leasa Hoogerwerf (CA) - is the mother of two adult sons, her youngest, Cody is 21-years-old and has nonverbal autism.  Leasa is a very passionate advocate who chose to share her family's journey through autism on social media via the Cody Speaks Facebook page so other families wouldn't feel so alone.  
Connect with Leasa via FB or IG: @Codyspeaks
Lisa Dempsey (TX) - Lisa Dempsey is a special needs mom & is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit, Forgotten Wishes Foundation, whose mission is to inspire a sense of belonging and be a source of joy for people with disabilities. Lisa also writes a blog about her experiences called Lisa DempseyHQ.com. She and her husband Robert are the parents of four children and reside in Houston.
Connect with Lisa via her website: www.forgottenwishesfoundation.org or FB/IG page: @Forgotten Wishes Foundation
Sherry Little (CO) - is the mom to four amazing children, two daughters and two sons, all now in their thirties. Her three oldest have blessed her with five beautiful grandchildren. Sherry's  youngest child, Aaron, was born with special needs in 1991. She resides in Colorado and is very passionate about changing the broken system for disabled adults and their caregivers. 
Connect with Sherry via her FB page: @Caregivers of Disabled Children Unite

Jess Ronne (MI) - Lives in Grand Rapids, MI and is the author of 'Sunlight Burning at Midnight' and 'Blended With Grit and Grace.' She also founded a non-profit 'The Lucas Project' and initiated & helped produce the recently released documentary 'Unseen' which touches on the challenging lives of caregivers. Jess and her husband Ryan are the parents of 8 children and their almost 18-year-old son Luke has multiple diagnosis resulting in profound special needs.
Connect with Jess via:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/theofficiallucasproject      
IG: @jessplusthemess 
Coffee with Caregivers podcast:  https://anchor.fm/jess-ronne
Robin LaVoie (AZ) - Robin lives in Fountain Hills, Arizona with her husband Chuck and their almost 23-year-old autistic son, Blake. She feels lucky to live in a state that allows parents to be paid as attendant care providers for their adult children, and to be married to a home builder who recently designed and built a new home for them with an attached “apartment” for Blake, who needs full-time care and supervision. Robin’s reflections about life as her son’s caregiver and advocate have appeared in print and online. Her latest musings can be found in her monthly-ish email newsletter, “It’s Like This.”
Connect with Robin via:
Newsletter - https://itslikethis.substack.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/robin.k.lavoie

Caryn Culver is a life long Tennessean and currently resides in Knoxville with her husband Chad and 3 children. Caryn's middle child, Peyton, was diagnosed with autism in 2010 at the age of two.
Since this time, their family has been on a journey to help Peyton reach his best potential. After visiting doctors and specialists around the country and trying numerous therapies, Peyton has finally found his voice with Spelling to Communicate (S2C).
Peyton, now 14 years old, has made it his mission to help other non-speakers have access to communication programs like S2C. Please visit ThePeytonproject.com for more details.
*To hear my first discussion with Caryn back in 2020 where we discuss parenting and how they found the S2C program, listen to podcast episode 44.
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To purchase my book “Welcome to My Life – A Personal Parenting Journey Through Autism” click HERE or visit Amazon.com!
You can easily stay connected to the Living the Sky Life podcast and me in various ways.  Please visit my website www.lauriehellmann.com for all the links.
I'd love to hear what you think, so if listening on the Apple platform, please leave a written review and rating of the podcast!  If you are interested in being a guest on an episode of Living the Sky Life, please contact me!

Lisa Dempsey is a special needs mom & is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit, Forgotten Wishes Foundation, whose mission is to inspire a sense of belonging and be a source of joy for people with disabilities. Lisa also writes a blog about her experiences called Cluck Howl Crow.
Lisa is happiest when spending time with her husband Robert and family. To refuel her mind and body, Lisa travels in her trailer named Rosemary von Wunder, takes walks on the beach or binge-watches Broadway Musicals in New York City.
Lisa and Robert have been married for 18 years, have 4 children and live in Houston, TX.
Connect with Lisa on FB: @dempseylisa or @forgottenwishesfoundation or IG: @cluck_howl_crow or @forgotten_wishes_foundation
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To purchase my book “Welcome to My Life – A Personal Parenting Journey Through Autism” click HERE or visit Amazon.com!
You can easily stay connected to the Living the Sky Life podcast and me in various ways.  Please visit my website www.lauriehellmann.com for all the links.
I'd love to hear what you think, so if listening on the Apple platform, please leave a written review and rating of the podcast!  If you are interested in being a guest on an episode of Living the Sky Life, please contact me!

Peri, better known to her FB followers as Not Raingirl is a 24-year-old autistic adult. Peri's honesty, understanding and deep desire to educate parents and caregivers about living with autism - as a nonverbal child and now an outspoken advocate, is greatly appreciated and admired.
*I can assure you this Autism mom not only values Peri's willingness to help explain and guide me but that she does it from a place of kindness, love and truly to be helpful rather than confrontational*
You can connect with Peri on FB: @notraingirl
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To purchase my book “Welcome to My Life – A Personal Parenting Journey Through Autism” click HERE or visit Amazon.com!
You can easily stay connected to the Living the Sky Life podcast and me in various ways.  Please visit my website www.lauriehellmann.com for all the links.
I'd love to hear what you think, so if listening on the Apple platform, please leave a written review and rating of the podcast!  If you are interested in being a guest on an episode of Living the Sky Life, please contact me!