Living the Sky Life - Our Autism Journey Laurie Hellmann

Julie Hornok has over fifteen years of autism industry experience as a parent, non-profit founder, behavioral program facilitator, global interviewer, speaker & award-winning author of the book United in Autism: Finding Strength Inside the Spectrum. Her daughter, Lizzie, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two & as her daughter made good progress, Julie poured her freed-up energy into providing emotional support, community-building events for special needs moms through her non-profit Labeled & Loved.

Jess Ronne is an author, speaker, podcast host, documentary producer & caregiver advocate.  She is founder & executive director of The Lucas Project—a non-profit dedicated to providing recognition, resources & respite for special needs families. She & her husband Ryan live in Tennessee with their 8 children, including their son Lucas who has profound special needs. Her story of beauty from ashes is detailed in her memoir Sunlight Burning at Midnight. 

From the Pittsburgh, PA area, Catherine Hughes is a mother to Christian who is on the autism spectrum. She is a passionate advocate, innovative storyteller & community strategist. Catherine is an international best-selling author & editor of multiple books. Her long-awaited memoir, Imprisoned No More: A Mother and Son Embrace Autism and Journey to Freedom released in August 2020. Catherine has managed a blog & social media platforms as The Caffeinated Advocate since 2018. 

Christina Abernethy is a dedicated wife, mother of three, and passionate advocate for people impacted by disabilities. She is the founder of Love, Hope and Autism and is proud to be the coordinator for Changing Spaces Pennsylvania, a movement to build accessible restrooms with powered height adjustable adult sized changing tables across communities to promote inclusion. She also works as a Family Support and Community Engagement Specialist at Achieving True Self, supporting families like hers.

Dr. Lisa Peña is a clinical pharmacist, public speaker & busy mom of three including a daughter with a unique subset of autism called, pathological demand avoidance (PDA). Dr. Peña is a co-founder of the nonprofit Labeled & Loved and director of the nonprofit’s annual weekend retreat for mother's with special needs children. She is a Today Parenting team contributor, the writer behind the website/blog The M.o.C.h.A. Diaries & author of “Waiting for the Light Bulb: the ramblings of a crazy, gritty mom.

Wow!!  What a jam packed first season of Living the Sky Life!  I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of the many incredible guests who took the time to chat with me and I'm equally as grateful to ALL of the thousands of listeners each week!  Your feedback and encouragement has made hosting this podcast so much fun and rewarding... so, THANK YOU!  I sure hope Season 2 is even more memorable - keep subscribing and sharing so no one misses a single episode.