90 episodes

Being a parent of a special needs child is a full time job. Finding the time to attend seminars or support group meetings can be a challenge. Special Parents Confidential is your answer. This podcast presents interviews with the experts you’d see at those seminars and support groups on the issues that matter most for you. Education. Medical. Legal. Advocacy. Political. Social. Religious. Credible experts with accurate, proven information. We also provide links on our website, www.specialparentsconfidential.com, to every expert’s website and other resource websites. All easily accessed 24/7/365 - wherever you are and whenever you want.

Special Parents Confidential John Pellegrini

    • Kids & Family
    • 4.3 • 6 Ratings

Being a parent of a special needs child is a full time job. Finding the time to attend seminars or support group meetings can be a challenge. Special Parents Confidential is your answer. This podcast presents interviews with the experts you’d see at those seminars and support groups on the issues that matter most for you. Education. Medical. Legal. Advocacy. Political. Social. Religious. Credible experts with accurate, proven information. We also provide links on our website, www.specialparentsconfidential.com, to every expert’s website and other resource websites. All easily accessed 24/7/365 - wherever you are and whenever you want.

    Special Parents Confidential Episode 72 Formed Families Forward

    Special Parents Confidential Episode 72 Formed Families Forward

    Formed Families Forward – SPC Episode 72.







    Formed Families Forward is a support organization located in Fairfax, Virginia. They help families in Northern Virginia who have adopted, are fostering, or are kinship families for special needs children. They provide supports, counseling, training, and education.







    Adoptive Families, Foster Families, Kinship Families.







    Being a parent of a special needs kid is a huge challenge.  But an entirely different situation occurs when you’re the adoptive parents, foster parents, or kinship family of a special needs child. Often, far less information is known about the child until after they’re already in their new home. What are the differences between Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship families?







    How does Formed Families Forward Help?







    Support groups like Formed Families Forward exist as a resource for formed families. Focusing on their local communities for a personal connection. As a result, families get a sense of relief to know they’re not alone.







    Meet Kelly Henderson and Kimberly Harrell







    In this episode we talk to two people involved with Formed Families Forward. Kelly Henderson, who is the Executive Director, and Kimberly Harrell, who is the Board Chair. They discuss the services FFFVA provides. Also the problems and challenges that adoptive, foster, and kinship families have, and a lot more. It’s great information. You’ll learn that there’s a lot of help available, even if you’re not in the Commonwealth of Virginia.







    LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:







    Organizations that help Adoptive Parents, Foster Parents, and Kinship Families:







    Formed Families Forward







    North American Council on Adoptive Children







    National Foster Parent Association







    Child Welfare League of America







    Generations United







    CENTER FOR PARENT INFORMATION & RESOURCES aka Parent Training Information Center.







    SHARE THE PODCAST!







    As always, if you liked this episode, or any episode we’ve done, be sure to share it with all your favorite social media sites. We have buttons for some of the more popular social media avenues like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others on the website page for this episode. Be sure to sign up on our email list to have new episodes sent immediately to your inbox. Also feel free to join our Facebook group where you can comment on episodes and communicate with us more easily.

    • 47 min
    Special Parents Confidential 71 Patrick Parkes Part 1

    Special Parents Confidential 71 Patrick Parkes Part 1

    Special Parents Confidential 71 Patrick Parkes Part 1.







    Patrick Parkes shares his life story. All parents worry about their kids and how their futures will turn out. But for parents of special needs kids, those worries can be much more immediate. It’s not just ‘will my kid make it through school’ – but will my kid make it through this grade? Will my child make it through the next grade? What about high school? What will life be like after high school? Can we even think about college or tech school or even some kind of career?







    What It’s Really Like.







    That’s why I think one of the best things for parents is to be able to hear from adults with special needs who have gone through the challenges and have been able to make a successful life for themselves. Knowing that others have made it can be very reassuring. Over the next few episodes of Special Parents Confidential, we’re going to do just that. My guest is Patrick Parkes, who I met earlier this year.







    Introducing Patrick Parkes







    Patrick was born with cerebral palsy and has had numerous challenges throughout his life. He made it through school and into college and he is now a substitute middle school teacher in West Michigan and he’s also a Para-Olympian in the sport of Boccia. Patrick’s story and his unique perspective as someone who had special needs in school and who is now a school teacher is quite informative and I think everyone who hears it is going to learn something interesting.







    LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION







    Patrick Parkes on LinkedIn







    USA Boccia Website







    Patrick Parkes on Twitter







    Help Support SPC!







    We call Special Parents Confidential the resource podcast for parents of special needs kids. And parents are the ones who can help us continue. If you’ve found any episodes of SPC in any way valuable to you, please help spread the word about us. Share our website and your favorite episodes on your favorite social media platforms. We have some handy easy link buttons on the page for every episode. Or just copy and paste the link to our site to your status updates.







    Thanks for listening and for helping out!

    • 50 min
    Special Parents Confidential 70 Autism Goggles Part 2

    Special Parents Confidential 70 Autism Goggles Part 2

    Autism Goggles. Part 2.







    We’d like to introduce you to Autism Goggles, a website and blog dedicated to helping people understand what it’s like to have Autism. Created by Maxine Share, and her son Daniel Share-Strom, this site is an outgrowth of Maxine’s work as a special education advocate. She began this career while trying to help Daniel get the help he needed in school.







    Put On Your Autism Goggles







    The best way to understand any situation is to talk to someone who has experience with it. In order to understand what it’s like to have Autism, you should hear from someone who has Autism. Both Daniel and Maxine have Autism, although Maxine didn’t get her diagnosis until later in life. Through their blog and their advocacy work, they encourage ‘neuro-typicals’ to “put on your ‘Autism Goggles’ to understand the autistic mind.







    There’s Much More Beneath The Surface







    What you will learn is that people with Autism don’t want a “cure” – they just want acceptance and understanding of the way they are. Autism is not a disease. It is not a disability. Browsing Autism Goggles, you’ll learn it’s simply a different kind of social interaction and thinking. You’ll realize while people with Autism may have difficulties in communication, that doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say.







    Part 2. Daniel Share-Strom







    For SPC Episode 69, we talked to Maxine Share, who started Autism Goggles as an outgrowth of her advocacy work that began with her son.







    In Part 2 of our interview, we talk to Maxine Share’s son, Daniel Share-Strom. His own struggles with Autism and Aspberger’s Syndrome were the basis of Maxine’s advocacy for parents. From his bio on the Website: “Daniel is a writer, motivational speaker, workshop facilitator, and co-founder of Autism Goggles, a social initiative determined to ‘reframe understanding of autism’ to focus on ability and strengths.







    “Diagnosed with autism at a young age, Daniel has been moving audiences with his self-awareness, poignant insight, and humour for nearly 15 years.  He does this with full-day workshops and speeches which help parent groups, universities, autism organizations, workplaces, and health care professionals to understand the many features and traits of autism using plain language and practical examples. Daniel is committed to equality, fairness, and social justice for all people as he works to shift society toward acceptance and understanding of neurodiversity.  He speaks up and speaks out for those who have not yet found their voice.”







    Links Mentioned In This Episode







    Daniel Share-Strom’s Ted Talk Speech







    Autism Goggles Article on Anxiety







    Teaching A Student With Autism – For Teachers.







    Engagement Page – Where To Connect with Autism Go...

    • 18 min
    Special Parents Confidential 69 Autism Goggles Part 1

    Special Parents Confidential 69 Autism Goggles Part 1

    Autism Goggles. Part 1







    We’d like to introduce you to Autism Goggles, a website and blog dedicated to helping people understand what it’s like to have Autism. Created by Maxine Share, and her son Daniel Share-Strom, this site is an outgrowth of Maxine’s work as a special education advocate. She began this career while trying to help Daniel get the help he needed in school.







    Put On Your Autism Goggles







    The best way to understand any situation is to talk to someone who has experience with it. And the best way to understand what it’s like to have Autism, is to hear from someone who has Autism. Both Daniel and Maxine have Autism, although Maxine didn’t get her diagnosis until later in life. Through their blog and their advocacy work, they encourage ‘neuro-typicals’ to “put on your ‘Autism Goggles’ to understand the autistic mind.







    There’s Much More Beneath The Surface







    What you will learn is that people with Autism don’t want a “cure” – they just want acceptance and understanding of the way they are. Autism is not a disease. Autism is not a disability. Through Autism Goggles, you’ll learn it’s simply a different kind of social interaction and thinking. You’ll realize while people with Autism may have difficulties in communication, that doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say.







    Part 1 – Maxine Share







    We’ve divided this interview into to separate episodes. In Part 1, you’ll hear from Maxine Share, as she tells her story of how she became a special education advocate in her home of York, Ontario, Canada and the work she does with Autism Goggles. Part 2 will feature our interview with her son, Daniel Share-Strom.







    Links Mentioned In The Episode







    Autism Goggles Website







    What Good Teachers Know About Teaching Kids With Autism – blog article.







    Girls And Autism – Missed Diagnosis Can Be A Nightmare – blog article.







    Reminder.







    Please help spread the word about Special Parents Confidential. Use the social media buttons located on this page to post our podcast to all of your favorite social media platforms.







    A great way to get in touch with us and comment about episodes you’ve listen to is on our Facebook Page. Please “like” the page and tell us what you think. You can even suggest topics for upcoming episodes and ask questions about previous shows.







    Special Parents Confidential is now available on Spotify! Just follow the link here to subs...

    • 53 min
    Special Parents Confidential 68 The Pushy Lawyer

    Special Parents Confidential 68 The Pushy Lawyer

    The Pushy Lawyer.







    Meet Kelley Simoneaux, aka, The Pushy Lawyer.







    Some people go into disability advocacy and disability law because they feel compelled to help serve in a community that has many areas that need representation.







    Then there’s Kelley Simoneaux, who’s known as The Pushy Lawyer. Kelley suffered a spinal injury in a car accident at age 16. The accident left her a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. But she decided to dedicate her life since then to becoming a lawyer, specializing in product safety law, and spinal injury law. She has also been quite an advocate for disability rights and accessibility laws, due to her own experiences in law school and in her career as a lawyer.







    From Injury To Advocacy.







    Using her nickname, The Pushy Lawyer (inspired by her use of a wheelchair), Kelley has made a difference, and not just in the areas of law that she specializes in. She’s even made a difference in the way courtrooms are run, and designed. As she says at the very beginning of her career, a judge couldn’t understand why she did not rise when he entered the courtroom as all the other people had done. Just by being in court, she’s been able to raise awareness of those with disabilities and special needs virtually every day.







    Where’s The Access?







    When Kelley was starting out in her legal career, many courtrooms and government buildings didn’t have adequate access. This caused problems for persons in wheelchairs, or on crutches, or even using walkers.  Through her work, and primarily without having to file legal action, the court system in several states began to rethink and redo their designs to allow for greater accessibility. Not just for lawyers, either, but also for plaintiffs and defendants, and even jurors and the public. Being the Pushy Lawyer has helped her inspire improvements, and, as you’ll learn, more still needs to be done.







    LinksK







    Kelley Simoneaux Email







     Twitter feed For The Pushy Lawyer







    Kelley Simomneaux on Instagram







    News Report on Kelley’s Uber situation







    Reminder







    Please help spread the word about Special Parents Confidential. Use the social media buttons located on this page to post our podcast to all of your favorite social media platforms.







    A great way to get in touch with us and comment about episodes you’ve listen to is on our Facebook Page. Please “like” the page and tell us what you think. You can even suggest topics for upcoming episodes and ask questions about previous shows.







    Special Parents Confidential is now available on Spotify! Just follow the link a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2sUWyDRNB9HNqSXmJkkrS2?

    • 59 min
    Special Parents Confidential 67 When the Nightmare Happens

    Special Parents Confidential 67 When the Nightmare Happens

    When the Nightmare Happens.







    This episode could probably be called Parent Story number four, but I’ve chosen to call it When The Nightmare Happens. Because this is the kind of parent story that you don’t want to happen.







    Meet Kiri Salazar.







    Kiri Salazar is a person that my wife Sarah and I met here in the Grand Rapids Michigan area. She is a widow and her son Alexei has non verbal autism. Like many people she has a blog, where she writes about her life and her son’s challenges. This past November, 2018, Kiri shared a story about an incident with her son that was about as frightening and stressful as it can get. Fortunately, as you will hear, the incident eventually turned out fairly well. But I felt it should be shared, which is why I invited her to be on this episode, and she agreed to do it.







    What Would You Do?







    I should warn you that Kiri’s story is difficult to listen to. But her hope is that by sharing it she can perhaps help other families who may be faced with a similar situation. Our greater hope is that some officials in government, who are in a position do something about the challenges we talk about, can help to remedy these situations by coming up with ways to provide better support to families.







    Links







    You can visit Kiri’s blog at: The Dust Season 







    Kiri’s original blog post about her son’s incident: With Prejudice







    Reminder







    Please help spread the word about Special Parents Confidential. Use the social media buttons located on this page to post our podcast to all of your favorite social media platforms.







    A great way to get in touch with us and comment about episodes you’ve listen to is on our Facebook Page. Please “like” the page and tell us what you think. You can even suggest topics for upcoming episodes and ask questions about previous shows.







    Special Parents Confidential is now available on Spotify! Just follow the link here to subscribe to our podcast for free.

    • 46 min

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5
6 Ratings

6 Ratings

D3TroitTig3erz ,

Informative and diverse

A wide range of topics are covered, providing ample information without overwhelming the listener.

Meredith0929 ,

Interesting and informative

Special Parents Confidential covers a variety of topics relating to parenting a child with special needs. The conversations are engaging and informative.

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