The Play Base

PodPopuli Media

Welcome to The Play Date - a podcast where heart meets science, play meets purpose, and conversations build connection. I’m your host, Frances Fishman, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, educator, mom of three, and founder of The Play Base.Each week, we invite you to pull up a chair and join us for real conversations with experts, parents, therapists, and educators who are passionate about helping children thrive. From mental health to ABA, from the classroom to the therapy room—we’re here to learn, laugh, and grow together.Whether you're a parent, professional, or just someone who cares deeply about kids, this podcast is your invitation to explore, understand, and support the beautiful complexity of childhood.So grab your coffee... and let’s have a play date.

  1. 18H AGO

    Ep. 16 - "Coby Shark: Self-Control, Heart, and the Game He Loves "

    In this heartfelt episode of The Play Base, Frances is joined by her middle child and sweet “angel boy,” Coby Fishman - an eight-year-old who lives and breathes sports (especially hockey). Coby shares what he loves most about the game - the speed, intensity, and the joy of scoring, but also opens up about the part that makes it harder: when his family can’t make it to his games. From there, the conversation becomes something deeper: confidence, perseverance, self-control, and what it takes to stay grounded when life (or the ice) gets tough. Together, Frances and Coby explore: What hockey teaches kids about strength, resilience, and standing up for themselvesThe difference between playing “for the puck” versus “for the body”  and why sportsmanship mattersHow Coby “clicks in” and hyper-focuses when things get intenseWhat happens when stress hits (fight/flight/freeze) and how Coby works through itProtecting teammates, loyalty, and having a big heart in a competitive sportThe quiet confidence that comes from not giving up when things are hardWhy self-control is a superpower at home, at school, and on the iceCoby also shares something incredibly powerful: how focusing on the next right move helps him tune out the noise and how letting stress take over can make your body feel like it’s “driving the car.” Before the episode ends, Coby leaves listeners with an important question to reflect on: “What do you think you should do when your body starts to take control of you?” And in a tender, tearful moment, Coby asks Frances two beautiful questions that every parent will feel in their chest: “Do you think it’s fun working with the kids you work with?”“Do you like being a parent?”This episode is a reminder that kids often understand far more than we realize  and that emotional regulation, empathy, and strength can exist in the same heart. Connect with The Play Base 🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase

    16 min

  2. FEB 24

    Ep. 15 - Kindness Is My Superpower: A Gentle Conversation with My Youngest, Jojo

    In this deeply heartfelt and gentle episode of The Play Base, Frances is joined by her youngest daughter, Jojo (Jordyn), a seven-year-old old soul with a powerful heart and an extraordinary capacity for kindness. What unfolds is a slow, meaningful conversation about love, bravery, emotions, mistakes, friendship, and trust. Jojo shares what makes her feel calm, what her perfect day would look like, what it’s like to be the youngest in the family, and why kindness matters more than anything else. Together, mother and daughter reflect on: What it means to be kind  and why kindness is a true superpowerFacing fear and choosing bravery (even when it’s scary)Making mistakes and believing you can do better next timeFriendship, trust, and how we know who feels safeBig feelings in little bodiesThe beauty of being perfectly imperfectThis episode gently explores emotional awareness, empathy, self-reflection, and resilience  all through the honest and thoughtful lens of a child. Jojo’s questions, insights, and quiet wisdom serve as a reminder that sometimes the most profound truths come from the smallest voices. ✨ A must-listen for parents, educators, therapists, and anyone who wants to reconnect with what really matters. Before signing off, Jojo leaves listeners with a powerful question to sit with: “How many friends do you have and how do you know you can trust them?” 💛 This episode is a love letter to gentleness, connection, and leading with your heart. Connect with The Play Base 🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase

    20 min

  3. FEB 17

    EP. 14 - Sunshine Girl: Creativity, Courage & Big Feelings with My Daughter Chloe

    In this incredibly special birthday episode of The Play Base, Frances is joined by her firstborn daughter, Chloe Fishman, for a heartfelt, funny, and deeply insightful conversation that only a child could lead. Chloe shares her many passions, from baking, comedy, music, dance, theater, and art, to making friends and (lovingly) annoying her siblings. She talks about finding her voice on stage, overcoming fear in auditions, learning to persevere through big transitions, and what it was really like moving to a new country at a tender age. This episode is filled with laughter, original jokes, imaginative ideas (including a reimagined Pokémon game), and powerful reflections on empathy, creativity, and emotional awareness. Chloe opens up about being an empath, connecting deeply with animals, sensing others’ emotions, and how that can feel both like a gift and a challenge. Frances reflects on watching her daughter grow into herself - a beam of light, a “sunshine girl,” and a child whose courage, compassion, and curiosity leave a lasting impact on everyone she meets. ✨ This episode is a celebration of: Perseverance and growthCreativity and imaginationEmotional intelligence and empathyFinding your voice, even when it feels scaryHonoring what makes you uniquely youWhether you’re a parent, an educator, a therapist, or someone who simply loves hearing the world through a child’s lens, this episode will leave you smiling and maybe tearing up just a little. 🎂 Happy Birthday, Chloe. Thank you for sharing your light with us. Connect with The Play Base 🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase

    19 min

  4. FEB 17

    Ep. 13 - Kindness Matters: Building Emotional Strength, One Tool at a Time

    Frances Fishman sits down with Laura Waldorf Reiss, founder of Kindness Matters, to explore how kindness, emotional awareness, and nervous system regulation can reshape the way we parent, lead, and live. Laura shares how Kindness Matters began, how the programming evolved, and why the work must be consistent and repeated to create lasting impact. This episode is an invitation to see emotions as signals, build tools for regulation, and practice kindness intentionally, toward ourselves and others. In this episode, we cover: How Kindness Matters was bornWhy the nervous system is at the center of behavior and connectionNaming emotions and choosing tools like reframing, grounding, and communicationWhy children respond so powerfully to emotional educationThe ripple effect of kindness and the impact we cannot always seePartnering with others to expand a mission beyond one personFind Kindness Matters: Kindness Matters 365 dot org (KM365 dot org) Note: Any event dates mentioned in the episode reflect what was said during the recording. Connect with Laura Waldorf Reiss & Kindness Matters  🌐 Website: https://kindnessmatters365.org/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindnessmatters365/?hl=en OR https://www.instagram.com/laurawaldorfreiss/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kindnessmatters365org/ Connect with The Play Base 🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase

    49 min

  5. FEB 3

    Ep 12 - Does It Feel Right? Reimagining ABA Beyond Autism (Part 2 with Jayme Teplin)

    In Part 2 of Frances’ conversation with Jayme Teplin—former Clinical Director at The Play Base Toronto—this episode goes deeper into Jayme’s clinical journey and what shaped her into the kind of practitioner families and teams feel safe with: compassionate, flexible, and fiercely human-first. While ABA is still widely associated with “autism treatment” and table-based programs, Jayme shares how her path expanded far beyond that traditional lane—into adult services, dual diagnosis, addiction, mental health, justice-involved populations, brain injury, and complex systems work. And the twist? That expansion began as an accidental job transition… the kind that would make most clinicians panic—yet it became the experience that “blew open” what ABA could truly be when it’s practiced as a science of behavior for humans, not a rigid protocol. Frances and Jayme unpack what so many clinicians quietly carry: the guilt and discomfort of early training that didn’t always feel right—and the hope that there is a better way. They talk candidly about rapport as the foundation of change, why consent and autonomy matter, what “non-contingent reinforcement” looks like with adults, and how a truly skilled clinician is defined by their soft skills as much as their credentials. This episode is for BCBAs, RBTs, educators, therapists, parents—anyone who wants to understand what compassionate behavior change can look like when we stop reducing people to diagnoses and start seeing the whole human. In this episode, you’ll hear about: Why ABA’s reputation is still tied to old-school, table-based models—and why that’s incompleteHow Jayme’s work expanded beyond autism into mental health, addiction, justice systems, and brain injuryThe story of the phone call that changed everything (“Surprise—you’re moving to adult complex needs… in 15 minutes.”)Why rapport isn’t a phase—it’s the foundation of all changeWhat non-contingent reinforcement really means (and why it matters for trust)Reading the “small cues” before escalation (and why prevention beats crisis every time)The missing pieces in clinician training: attachment, trauma, neurodiversity, and practical competencyThe myth that autistic people lack empathy—and why Frances and Jayme strongly disagreeThe difference between being technically correct vs. being ethically alignedWhy a credential isn’t the same as clinical wisdom (and what should change in training/testing)Closing reflection: Jayme leaves listeners with a powerful check-in for every clinician and helping professional: “Does the way you’re doing ABA feel right in your heart—and do your clients respond to it?” If either answer doesn’t sit right, she encourages deep reflection… and trusting your gut to realign. Connect with The Play Base 🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase

    49 min

  6. JAN 27

    Ep. 11 - Success Is the Best Revenge: Jayme Teplin on Neurodiversity, Self-Advocacy, and Becoming the Clinician You Needed (Part 1)

    In this heartfelt Part 1 conversation, Frances sits down with Jayme Teplin, Clinical Director of The Play Base Toronto, for a powerful episode that blends lived experience with professional insight. Jayme shares her personal story of growing up neurodivergent in Toronto navigating early diagnoses, struggling in an under-resourced public school system, and eventually thriving thanks to a life-changing private school designed for neurodivergent learners. She opens up about what it meant to learn self-advocacy, understand her brain, and build the strategies that carried her through high school, college, a top-tier master’s program, and ultimately passing the BCBA exam on the first try. This episode isn’t just about credentials. It’s about resilience, identity, and the deep healing that can come from turning pain into purpose, especially when you dedicate your life to supporting children, families, and systems in ways you once needed yourself. In this episode, you’ll hear about: Jayme’s early experience with diagnoses, labels, and feeling like a “misfit” in the school systemThe private school that helped her “love school again” and the sacrifices her family made to get her thereWhy learning how your brain works can change everything (even when you’re 12 and don’t want to hear it)How Jayme learned to self-advocate early: attending IEP meetings, booking accommodations, and owning her supportsFinding ABA “by accident” through a Section 23 classroom model (academics + ABA embedded in school)

    30 min

  7. JAN 20

    Ep. 10 - Science Meets Soul: Reimagining ABA, Education, and Inclusion with Alley Dezenhouse

    In this powerful Play Base episode, Frances sits down with the one-and-only Alley Dezenhouse, founder of Magnificent Minds (MagMinds)—for a conversation that feels equal parts validating, visionary, and deeply human. Frances shares how Alley’s voice helped her step out of imposter syndrome and into her own truth as a clinician and leader. From there, Alley takes us through her journey: starting in childcare roles, landing in “clinic-y” early ABA environments, and ultimately building MagMinds (founded in 2011) to deliver evidence-based support in spaces that feel like school, because kids deserve to be kids. Together, they unpack what it looks like when science meets art, when data doesn’t equal meaning, and why the future of education depends on moving beyond compliance and toward trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, nervous-system-aware practice. In this episode, you’ll hear about: Why Alley built a school because she hated school—and how that shaped her missionThe difference between “good data” and real learning (and why some graphs can be misleading)The “science in the background, human in the foreground” approach to behavior changeWhy nervous system regulation should be foundational in education and therapyWhat ableism looks like in practice (including the harmful “indistinguishable from peers” mindset)How MagMinds trains staff with trauma-informed care + neurodiversity-affirming frameworksWhy educator perceived competence matters more than checklists for sustainable behavior supportsAllie’s prediction on where education is heading and why the pendulum may swing before it balancesA closing reflection inspired by Viktor Frankl: the power that lives in the space between what happens and how we respondQuote to sit with “I can’t control what happens—but I can control what happens in the space where I process it.” Connect with The Play Base 🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase Connect with Allie 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magminds/?hl=en 💻 Website: https://www.magnificentminds.ca/

    58 min

  8. JAN 13

    Ep 9 - The Work Beneath the Trigger with Rebecca Guez

    In this deeply heartfelt episode of The Play Base Podcast, Frances sits down with Rebecca Guez, someone who entered her life at exactly the right moment and quickly became a grounding guide and trusted support. Rebecca shares how she began as a conscious parenting coach after realizing she didn’t want to yell, punish, or parent on autopilot but also discovered that tools alone aren’t enough when we’re triggered and can’t access them. From there, her work evolved into a powerful, intuitive blend of conscious parenting, emotional healing, nervous system awareness, meditation, energetic protection, and deeper “why am I wired this way?” exploration. Together, Frances and Rebecca talk about: Why triggers are invitations to heal what’s happening within usHow sensitive and empathic children often “feel” what adults try to hideThe difference between being sensitive vs. being empathic (and how to tell)Why language matters (“I feel anxious” vs. “I am anxious”)Parenting as the ultimate mirror: the messy, magical work of repair, growth, and self-trustThey close with a powerful reminder: life isn’t happening to you—you have more power than you think, and staying committed to your inner work is one of the bravest things you can do. Connect with The Play Base 🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase Connect with Rebecca Guez 🌐 Website: https://rebeccaguez.com/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccaguez 🎙️ Rebecca’s Podcast: https://rebeccaguez.com/podcast/

    1h 4m
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About

Welcome to The Play Date - a podcast where heart meets science, play meets purpose, and conversations build connection. I’m your host, Frances Fishman, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, educator, mom of three, and founder of The Play Base.Each week, we invite you to pull up a chair and join us for real conversations with experts, parents, therapists, and educators who are passionate about helping children thrive. From mental health to ABA, from the classroom to the therapy room—we’re here to learn, laugh, and grow together.Whether you're a parent, professional, or just someone who cares deeply about kids, this podcast is your invitation to explore, understand, and support the beautiful complexity of childhood.So grab your coffee... and let’s have a play date.

Information

  • Creator
    PodPopuli Media
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean