Disrupt and L.E.A.D.

This week's episode is a real treat for me. My friend and colleague, Celeste Herron, interviewed me on my podcast! We discussed neurodiversity and the ways that the workplaces of today can better nourish all the ways that we are human. Fundamentally, cultivating the inclusive workspace is about knowing about and removing the barriers to full contribution for all team members. Because, let's face it, if your team members are performing in spite of the barriers, you are wasting money. Cultivating this workspace where human thriving isn't an exception starts with being curious about this question: What aspects of your work culture, workflow, systems, processes .. block team members people from showing up and contributing fully? More often than not, the most significant answers to this question dial down to difficulty tolerating differences. In our conversation, Celeste and I discuss this struggle using neurodistinctiveness as an example. We look at how our history contributed to this issue and how the workplace needs to chance to reduce and remove these barriers. As you listen, think of any aspect of difference that seems relevant to your workplace or team. Whether it's related to gender, ethnicity, personality, stage in life or anything else, the same principle applies. Get curious about the barriers to contribution. There's so much written about building an inclusive cultur ein your organization, yet very few organizations are doing this effectively. Instead of trying to force yourself to expertly know it all, do a team audit instead. Based on what you share with me, you will get 2-3 customized solutions that you can easily implement, so you can see tangible changes immediately. Visit FaithClarke.com or click here to schedule your quick audit. About Celeste: Celeste Herron, Brand Experience Designer, Strategist, and Mentor to visionary women, who build businesses and brands that change lives and are using their wealth to change the world. She is the creator of the Embodied Brand Method, a framework and a new way of thinking about branding and business development, where the personhood of the leader, the humanity of the company are paired with a brand experience that is exquisitely curated to create a feeling of trust, bravery, and wonder that deeply supports your buyers and clients. This is a transformational rite of passage for the woman who is ready to move beyond being just a business owner and become the leader of a highly profitable, high-impact brand. Book a consultation with Celeste to talk about your transformational brand or visit celesteherron.com to learn more.

Mia and I pulled back the curtains and looked at the innards of her team onboarding and staff supports practices. Since Mia is in a beautiful growth phase in her business, she's been expanding her team and is actively thinking through the most effective ways to connect her team members to Copy-Haus' unique approach to copywriting, while energizing their connection to the company and to each other. In a fast growing business, this has not been easy. You will hear us talk about figuring out what new staff need, your unique way of offering that and about integrating community connection rituals into the workflow to build a strong sense of TEAM. Onboarding is really about cultivating connection and shared responsibility for the work and for each other, to maximize productivity while everyone thrives. In other words, feel good and like you belong WHILE getting the job done. If you think you'll be hiring a new team member in the next 2 - 3 months, this might be the time to audit your onboarding processes. I'm doing a few quick audits over the next few weeks. Go to https://calendly.com/faithclarke/teamaudit to schedule one and I'll share the 2 - 3 simple things that your process needs so that it can be more effective for your new hire and less overwhelming for you! About Mia: Words are Mia Francis-Poulin's jam. A conversion copywriter, native New Orleanian, and Parks and Rec enthusiast, Mia helps impact-driven creators to find the right words to market their products authentically and confidently. She's the owner of The Copy Haus -- a boutique copywriting agency for course creators, consultants, and online business owners offering done-for-you and done-with-you sales page, email sequence, and website copywriting. Check out www.thecopyhaus.com/manifesto to see how The Copy Haus is doing copy differently. Connect with Mia: www.thecopyhaus.com/manifesto Facebook.com/thecopyhaus Www.thecopycommunity.com Instagram @thecopyhaus

Studies say as much as 70% of new hired don't think theirs companies onboarding processes helped them get up to speed in their new role. AND more than 50% of managers find their company's onboarding processes to be burdensome and overwhelming. No wonder we have so many values breakdowns in our teams. What's going wrong?? In this short episode, I discuss some ways to reframe the Onboarding experience so that it's a win win all round, and some essential ingredients of effective Onboarding that helps your team recreate itself to include the new members, while strengthening a healthy team culture and infusing team values. If you are about to start recruiting for your team, this is the time to do an audit of your current Onboarding strategy so you can leverage what's working and get rid of time wasting processes that frustrate new hires and overwhelm managers. Visit FaithClarke.com to talk about an Onboarding Strategy audit.

Jane Rosenzweig and I had a beautiful, vulnerable, courageous conversation about her experiences as a white DEI practitioner, wrestling with helping majority white organizations integrate their DEI values into the daily behaviors of all associates. Jane has spent her career developing corporate DEI strategies anchored in social justice foundations. Through her 20+ years experience in this industry, Jane formulated a support and racial literacy program for white leaders and corporate stakeholders loosely framed 'make better white people'. This program grew out of her own experiences as a practitioner, noticing that white associates in corporations needed a different type of education and accountability than their BIPOC counterparts and these differences must be identified within the DEI implementation plan. Listen as we talk through a specific intervention that Jane participated in and what she leaned as a result. If you want to your values infused into every aspect of your team's work, let's have a virtual coffee (schedule at FaithClarke.com) to brainstorm some strategies specific to your team. About Jane Rosenzweig: As the first Head of DEI (CDO) at W.L. Gore & Associates (www.gore.com), Jane developed a philosophy and strategy that built on Gore's humanistic values and innovative business model. Relying on culture change and social movement methodologies, Jane galvanized the involvement of thousands of Associates from around the world. Using curiosity and conversation, teams deepened their understanding of identity differences and committed to disrupting bias in day-to-day life. Jane's approach is rooted in her belief that empathy and dialogue can solve most things. (Along with a strong focus on systems and structures!) Prior to Gore, Jane spent 11 years at J.P. Morgan Chase in NYC. As part of the Corporate Diversity team, she was responsible for the employee engagement and communication strategy. She began her career at the US Attorney's Office in Washington, DC, where she had her fist formal DEI role: EEO Investigator. Contact Jane by email: janerosenzweig1@gmail.com

In this episode I talk about one of the 3 C's that help me figure out the best intervention strategy for teams. I gave an overview of the 3 C's in episode #6 and then about Communication in episode #8. CRAFT is an artist's analogy for the team's WORK. Craft has 3 components and I talk about them with a triangle in mind so you can visualize the 2 foundations to the team behaviors that you want. As you you listen, think about the analogy that makes the most sense for you, and, if you want to personalize this for your team, schedule a virtual team chat and coffee at FaithClarke.com

Why did we have that meeting??? I've heard that complaint from BOTH team leaders and team members. It's tempting to think that meetings are the problem and that they should be avoided at all costs. But avoiding them would be a mistake. Team meetings are synergistic powerhouses, when we get them right. So if your meetings feel like a drag, fix them. This episode has 3 suggestions for more productive meetings, including tips summarized from earlier interviews with Celine Williams (episode #7) and Nikki McKnight (episode #15). Enjoy and let's not have any more meetings that could have been emails!

Grab a notebook and get ready! Nikki McKnight and I have a fast paced, totally authentic conversation about what businesses need to do to build spaces that make it easy for people to contribute. Nikki shares strategies and practices that help the culture to become more explicit and meetings more productive. She's a systems and processes guru and has so much insight into the little practices that makes everything work better. And we got real, since the cobbler's kids might not have the best shoes. So we talked about how much the medicine (or support) we give others is the very thing we have to protect in our own businesses.  About Nikki: Nikki McKnight has over a decade of experience working with companies to improve processes, drive communication and performance, and build a rockstar team. She's worked with multi-billion dollar retailers, million dollar entrepreneurs, and startup boutiques looking to start off on the right foot. Nikki loves working with the artistic, creative, and spiritual personalities because she truly believes they will be the ones who will change the world for the better. Nikki loves cycling, pop culture podcasts, romance novels, and hanging with her dog, Riesling. Yes, like the wine Connect with Nikki and ask her about the templates! Instagram: @Nikki_mcknightmoc  Website: mcknightoc.com  Join her email list at mcknightoc.com/news

I'm sooo excited to share this conversation with Karlee!  She represents the beginning of everything since I met her in the early days of being trained by autism to be present and settled, even when life was crazy. She was teaching yoga and I was learning to care for myself and build my home support team. Fast forward 12+ years and we are talking about the beautiful integration of business, holistic nourishment, leadership and boundaries. I had fun on Karlee's Messy and Magnificent podcast (go check it out!) and needed to have more so here we are!  Listen as Karlee and I talk about how her leadership and her team has needed to change as her business matured. Karlee talks about how stressful it was to NEED her business to meet her all her needs and affirm her value as a person, and how that impacted growing her team and finding the right people for her mission. She realized that she can't be the emotional support person for her team members and is now figuring out how to support her team as whole people while focussing on the needs of the business. We wrap up with a conversation on the power of healthy boundaries to help us see and know ourselves well and live our own lives, a core pre-requisite to leading without co-dependency.  About Karlee: Karlee Fain is a celebrity business and boundary coach, author, speaker and founder of The Boundary Academy- all from her quiet small-town home. She shows career motivated folks how to upgrade their boundaries and tap into their deepest wisdom so they can stop people- pleasing and start prospering while having far less to do. Karlee Fain is a celebrity business and boundary coach, author, speaker and founder of The Boundary Academy, all from her quiet small-town home. She shows driven career-motivated folks how to leverage nourishment as the professional growth strategy that will make them leaders in their career without sacrificing their bodies or spirit again. But she didn't start out that way. At nine years old Karlee's parents moved her to a yoga ashram so she could live and train with world leaders in the the fields of healthy living. These foundations are central to her ability to clear busy work off her client's plates so they have the time and energy to thrive in their career, health and relationships that has made her the sought after live-in coach to a-list celebrities. That said, she calls career driven women the real rock stars - because while they don't have an entourage, they possess the wisdom and courage to create careers that uplift both themselves and others. Karlee's Website: https://www.karleefain.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlee_fain LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlee-fain/

Marissa and I had a blast talking about the unique ways that our differences show up in the work place and on teams. From rocking and hand flapping to introversion and hating cold calls, we explore the various ways leaders can support ALL members of the team and help find the middle ground, where we understand each other and work together synergistically. We also talked about the upcoming Spring: Changing the Face of Business conference, an online event committed to true connection, collaboration and community with a uniquely diverse collection of business owners. I've hardly ever seen such a diverse speaker line-up as Marissa has put together! About Marissa: Marissa Loewen is a Transformational Business Coach, Community Catalyst and Creative Entrepreneur. Marissa works with business owners, political leaders and radical changemakers to create the rules in order to create thriving, resilient, prosperous businesses that fuel the business owner. In addition to a signature system for creating profit and ease in businesses, personal coaching and an online digital profit planner, Marissa also is launching her first podcast called The Little Podcast of Big Questions. Find more about her at createtherules.com and on Instagram: Http://www.createtherules.com Http://www.instagram.com/createtherules Get tickets to Spring: Changing the Face of Business at https://spring.createtherules.com/

Cultivating inclusivity on your team will positively affect every aspect of your team's life and effectiveness. Inclusion alone will massively increase your team's engagement, and this will have a ripple effect within the team, the organization and outward to the wider community. Yet, this state within a team may not be easy easy to create and sustain. This episode reviews the basics of successful inclusion and suggests 3 simple (though not necessarily easy) ways to improve inclusion in your team and organization. The slides for this episode and a checklist of team experiences that can help you assess the health and development of your team are available at PeakPerformingTeam.com

Anuradha did not spare any punches in this episode! We started off our conversation with a reflection on our humanity, and the wisdom that comes when we honor that humanity. Then Anuradha went straight into the core message: Equity and Inclusion is impossible within capitalist and colonialist systems. As much as we try, our organizations produce the results that their founding systems were based on, unless they are radically reengineered. "Indoctrination from capitalism and colonialism has made us cookie cutter", Anuradha says, and we are missing so much of the richness and innovation that humans can contribute to many of these spaces. Listen as we discuss Anuradha's experiences with racism and disability, inclusion, accessibility and some possible solutions to cultivating spaces that overcome these issues. Connect with Anuradha and register for the upcoming session of Sowing Post-capitalist Seeds, an experiential journey into the practice and praxis of creating post-colonial communities. Mention the podcast for the discount Anuradha mentioned in this episode!  Anuradha Kowtha, a catalyst, educator, and Business Liberation Strategist, who works with small businesses and organizations to liberate their essence so they can meet these uncertain times with resilience and courage. Anuradha's journey working across both public and private sectors has led me to see systemic issues like hierarchy and exploitation and find ways to address systemic issues at their root cause. The thread that runs through Anuradha's work is illuminating and liberating individuals and small teams from the indoctrination and cookie-cutter thinking that comes from capitalism and colonialism, so they can provide bold and innovative solutions rooted in justice to their clients.  Connect with Anuradha:- https://www.sowingpostcapitalistseeds.com https://www.thekowthaconstellation.com/  https://www.facebook.com/TheKowthaConstellation  https://www.instagram.com/thekowthaconstellation/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuradhakowtha/ 

It’s been a doozy of a year! In this episode, I share my yearly birthday reflection ritual with you! The big questions for me when things feel hard are 1) what motivated me? 2) What’s the thing I want to change in the world? I share my thoughts on the revolution I’m championing and my why (my kids) and some ways you can share in the revolution if you want. And if you are a social impact business leader who is committed to fully delivering in your brand values by eliminating the practices in your organization that may have come from other values that aren’t what you hold any more, and that your organization’s real values are reflected in every team member’s hearts and feet, let’s talk. I can help. Happy birthday to meeeee!! Visit FaithClarke.com or PeakPerformingTeam.com to be in touch.

Cultivating inclusivity on your team will positively affect every aspect of your team's life and effectiveness. Inclusion alone will massively increase your team's engagement, and this will have a ripple effect within the team, the organization and outward to the wider community. Yet, this state within a team may not be easy easy to create and sustain. This episode explains what inclusion is and discusses the negative impact of not including YOUR OWN differences. We cannot include differences in others that we reject in ourselves.

Communication is the life blood of every team. The tasks don't fit together to meet your team's goals without it. This quick episode shares 3 isses that may be slowing the communication flow in your team. Which one resonates the most for you? Get a detailed checklist to help you figure out exactly what you need to do to help your team become even more effective, engaged and efficient at PeakPerformingTeam.com

Beautiful time connecting primarily as humans.Céline and I talked about the wide range of business and community structures that we clearly not built for humans. Céline is a leadership and culture design maverick that truly helps businesses unearth THEIR way, that works for them. Céline is relentlessly authentic and leads a diverse team of people who have the freedom to show up in their own way, and who approach things with curiosity. But her team wasn’t always this way. We reflected on the idea that we are often leading people through growth that we are also doing, and the importance of having self-coaching tools that help us notice, become more curious and challenge our assumptions. We talk about what a team is and the primary way we can differentiate team members from other people who support us. We thought about our businesses as a playground, and our need to define boundaries as well as creating a space where humans can thrive. Communication is the life blood of this playground, and Celine closes with her key advice for all business leaders who want healthy team communication that include all the humans on the team. About Céline: Céline Williams (ACC, CCUG) is an international speaker and the founder of reVisionary, an award winning boutique consulting firm providing executive coaching, leadership development, and culture services to people-focused businesses around the world. Céline has almost 20 years’ experience working with growing organizations to help them navigate change and build leadership capacity, and is the trusted advisor to leaders and executives in a variety of industries. She is sought after for her expertise in accelerating team performance, designing culture, navigating change, and facilitating effective communication. Connect with Céline! www.revisionary.ca linkedin: celinewilliams IG: revisionary_celine FB: revisionary_ca

I call it the 3 C's. Craft.Communication. Capacity. They help me focus on the fastest way for a team to get relief from some of the tiny fumbles, squabbles and exhaustion that results. If you know that things on your team are just a little off, the first step is to know where the problem is. Is it the team's craft, communication or capacity? Of course, they all affect each other, but picking a starting point that will cascade improvement and relief into the other areas is key!

The only thing that we know for sure is that things will change. In this final episode of this miniseries, I discuss Murphy's law and some strategies and resources for helping your team continue to practice effective teamwork, allowing your business to grow in stable ways, even when everything feels crazy. If you’ve already listened to the episodes and are ready to practically apply this in your team, go to FaithClarke.com to do the Team Performance Audit. It will help you know exactly what your team needs to work on next to become more efficient, effective and engaged.  Your business will only be able to survive these disruptive times if your teams consistently adapt and perform. Your business depends on this.

High performing teams often run out of steam and find it difficult to keep meeting deadlines, especially during hectic and stressful periods in the business. In these chaotic times, employee well-being is more important and ever. In this episode, I talk about some of the causes of team burnout and a 4 step practice that will help protect your team from burnout while helping them maintain their performance. If you’ve already listened to the episodes and are ready to practically apply this in your team, go to FaithClarke.com and schedule a Team Performance Audit. It will help you know exactly what your team needs to work on next to build this team superpower. Your business will only be able to survive these disruptive times if your teams consistently adapt and perform.

Have you ever hired the perfect person for your team and seen them struggle to be as productive as they were on other teams? In this episode, I talk about  the problems with how team tasks are usually broken down and  how job descriptions may be blocking team productivity I share an inclusive strategy for creating the team's tasks and workflow that maximizes experiences and skills. If you’ve already listened to the episodes and are ready to practically apply this in your team, go to FaithClarke.com and scheduled a free Team Performance Audit. It will help you know exactly what your team needs to work on next to build this team superpower. Your business will only be able to survive these disruptive times if your teams consistently adapt and perform.

Now that you've heard the fundamentals of building an effective business team in episode 1, this episode will focus on a simple process for helping the right team member become a team player! This transition is not automatic, but the right ingredients in your onboarding strategy and your team meetings will set the stage for every team member to be productive and efficient. If you are ready to cultivate this energy and adaptability in your team, go to FaithClarke.com to do the Team Performance Audit. It will help you know exactly what your team needs to work on next to build this team superpower. 

In the first episode of this special miniseries, I share the foundations for building effective business teams. I discuss the importance of focusing on these foundations, instead of on strategies like popular teamwork tools and performance reviews. This focus will create the right conditions for the team to meet business goals without team burnout. If you want to personalize this to your business team and figure out important next steps, go to FaithClarke.com and schedule a free Team Performance Audit.

In this episode, I close the podcast season with a reflection on 2020 and the invitation that it gave me to step FULLY into my calling. I talk about inclusion, systemic racism, neurodiversity and tokenism and how my children challenged me to make the workplace safe for kids like them. This is a fireside chat about disrupting business as we know it and creating businesses where humans belong and feel like they can thrive. I hope you sign up for the challenge. If you want to talk about this more, connect with me at FaithClarke.com or email faith@melodyofatutism.com.

Sarah is known as the resident extrovert whenever she's out and about. She's the one who sees who's on the outside and pulls them in. She's the person I needed to have at high school parties! Connection is her superpower and she helps people connect in nourishing ways. She is a mom, wife, business owner, podcast host, disability ministry specialist, just to name a few. This superpower helps her navigate her own emotional journey as a special needs mom and disability inclusion advocate. Her business, The Virtual Visionary, her work as a speaker and advocate and her passion for ministry in the local church all showcase her beautiful way of connecting through empathy, engaging in relationship and truly hearing where people are at and what they need. Visit her website at https://thevirtualvisionary.com/ Check out her podcast, A Special Hope, at https://hopeinautism.com/aspecialhopepodcast/

Angie and I had this conversation in 2019 and the world has changed so much since then! Back then, she had 3 kids, now she has 4. Her journey through her photos is breathtaking! Her journey as a parent and business woman, nourishing the complex medical and developmental needs of her kids inspires me to deeper trust in these chaotic times.  Angie, I look forward to catching up and hearing what you are disrupting now! Visit her at https://angiesperspective.com/ and check out her photos on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/angiesperspectivephotography

What to do when you don’t have a model for what you need? Autumn says: - Start with what works for you. - Prioritize peace. - Create the environment that helps you be your best self. - Be an active participant in life. These beliefs lead Autumn to completely change where and how she lived, to give her son the best opportunity to learn and grow. We talked about how far (literally) she was willing to go to help her entire family regulate. She’s separated her kids, bought a farm and moved there with her son with autism, created Thriving He’Art acres and shares her farm and her art with special needs families. She’s wrapping up her book of art meditations that guide readers towards conscious community - connect with self and others. Connect with her at Thrivingheartconnections@gmail.com and visit her at www.thrivingheartconnections.net.

Meet Emma Eppard, a beast at relentless implementation as she homeschools, creates curriculum and supports other moms. Emma has no middle ground. She’s either all in or all out. Her mantra is ‘Let’s do something about it’. She’s integrated her problem solving superpower with her background in education and her husband’s graphic design background into a beautiful curriculum design business, which has lead her to the book she’s currently writing to help parents build crucial skills in their kids. We talk about - the disruption of childhood as an American in Bolivia: she was never the child that fits - Her first born with autism and the intervention approach that she took - How the Rapid Prompting Program helped her son integrate into typical community/family activities and the neurological homeschool group that they participate in - Her guiding principle ‘You can do, dabble or decline’ and how that helps her anchor to her priorities - How to stop ‘shoulding’ and ditch perfect and stay in the moment. - The magic of 5 mins in the bathroom - Her upcoming book, Motor Matters that will help your child build independence. Emma Eppard is a passionate homeschooling, with a degree in education. She loves scheduling, lesson planning, curriculum design. Check out her lesson plans for RPM at Autisticable.com

Edlyn is a catalyst of positive change in the autism community. We had a beautiful conversation about believing what others can't believe, advocating for our kids voices and presence on a world that does not (yet) fit them. Edlin Peña loves integrating and connecting with autistics and celebrating their voce. Her core philosophy is that communication is the foundation of connection and she advocated for alternative communication for her son Diego, so that he could be included in age appropriate educational settings. The emergence of Diego's voice revealed his personality and wit, and opened the doors for his own advocacy, as he emerged as a writer and self-advocate within the autism community. If you haven't already, get a copy of his book, the Anatomy of Autism where he talked about the three areas that autism affects him. Edlyn co-founded and is the Director of the Autism and Communication Center at California Lutheran University. She released her new book, Communication Alternatives in Autism, this week, and it's already become an amazon #1 new release! This book is filled with research based approaches to facilitating communication, as well as powerful stories of 10 autistic self-advocates who share deeply personal insights from their stories. Professionally, she is Dr. Edlyn Peña, an Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership and Director of the Autism and Communication Center at California Lutheran University. As an award-winning researcher, public speaker, and appointed member of the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, Dr. Peña is highly active in national conversations about autism and disability. Connect with her at @autismresearcher, www.edlynpena.com or email: epena@callutheran.edu.

I’ve known Rachel for years... Seriously! There are yearbook pictures of Rachel and I together as pre-teens. Although her son has an undiagnosed neuromuscular disorder, Rachel is committed to 'squeezing every ounce out of life', and has built a practice of finding at least 3 gratitudes every day. Our conversation is full of her wise tidbits that she got from her mom growing up, and other wise mentors in her life. We talk about watching her mom care for her critically ill grandparents, traveling hours into rural Jamaica with Rachel in tow the experience of her sister's meningitis diagnosis her transition from computer engineering to stay at home mom how she stumbled upon her passion for fundraising and volunteered for catholic charities the combination of action and coincidence that brought her success as a fundraising executive Rachel describes herself as a nurturer at her core. As a certified fund-raising executive she helps non-profits raise money for their organization. Take some notes while listening to this one! Connect with Rachel at https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitplusteam/

Sometimes autism interventions are culturally incentive. As 2 mamas of black children, Maria and I talk about a little of what that means.Maria, this amazing mother of three, wife, author, speaker, therapist and America's number one autism advocate for black families - as she likes to call her self- shows us how she created a solution to that problem through Autism in Black, LLC, a business that supports black families in their autism journey and train professionals on being culturally competent within the black disability community. We talked about: the struggle to get the autism diagnosis and the 'god complex' that can get in the way the need for speedy diagnosis and the loss of time and energy while trying to get it the struggle with labels her fears for her daughter, because of the reality of being black, female and autistic. the importance of culturally sensitive interventions. not 'Fixing' our kids her approach to supporting black families with ASD kids More about Maria Maria is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in the state of Florida. She graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors of Science in Sociology and went on to obtain a Masters of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. Fun facts: Pick me up song: anything Cardi B signature color: pink word for the listeners: YOU are the team captain Maria’s passion is being an autism advocate with her mission being to bring awareness to the impact culture can have regarding an ASD diagnosis. You can go to www.autisminblack.org to subscribe to the monthly newsletter and check out all the other great resources on the site. Get her free self-care guide for special needs parents here:-> www.autisminblack.org/selfcare Connect with her: Facebook: @autisminblk; Instagram: @autisminblack; Twitter: @autisminblack www.autisminblack.org; email: info@autisminblack.org

Lacey and I are kindred. She jokingly suggests that it's my glasses but I think it's the way she embraces her story; how she joyfully accepts the difficulty in her life instead of resisting. What I appreciated most about our talk was Lacy's honesty. Most things most people would hide away until packaged neatly and topped with a bow she was open about. But as Lacey says, her disruption is the manure she uses to fertilize what matters to her. A little about Lacey: she's a mom of five teen boys who are all on the autism spectrum (her logical male brains as she likes to call them.) she' an author, a coach, a business woman. she is an overcomer, navigating life with complex chronic illnesses her favorite song at the moment is Do Something by Matthew West. If I had to guess I'd say her favorite color is lavender. Lacey loves, loves, loves to help women heal their hearts from self-destructive and compulsive love-based relationship patterns and heal their marriages and families. Connect with her:-> lacy@herrecoveryroadmap.com, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAHuwohvSrbgTSBET2YZMxg/

I've been super grateful for Ridvan's presence in my family's life. I found her on google! I was looking for a diverse musical theater program that would honor my kids and give them space to grow into themselves. And I found CTC - Peekskill and met Ridvan! She's an occupational therapist, parenting expert, bodywork practitioner. Ridvan Foxhall, occupational therapist, certified parenting educator and, entrepreneur. Guided by the belief that every individual has a unique contribution to make, Ridvan Foxhall supports, encourages, and empowers children, youth and their families to discover and work towards their highest potential by providing opportunities to engage in creative and therapeutic programs and workshops. Ridvan created CTC & NECS because she was looking for a creative program for her children that valued the process more than the product and was more about developing life skills than just another gimmick to entertain children and make money. In this heart to heart conversation, Ridvan and I talk about how creating a life mission to help you step away from overwhelm and stress growing up in Nigeria and India, and then moving to the US helped her grow into the person she is today ignorant she was that she was racially profiled by the police officer that stopped her judgmental we were of parents until we have our own kids her high energy son helped her learn and grow up embracing the questions that your life prompts you to ask clarifies your missions creating space for other people to grow can help you create energy and can gain even more than you give Contact Ridvan by email at info@ridvanfoxhall.com. Learn more about her at www.ridvanfoxhall.com, www.facebook.com/RFoxhallOT/, https://twitter.com/RidvanFox

Meet Sharon Hijik: Business Leader. Problem Solver. Coach. Mentor. Web Developer. Public Speaker. Teacher. Student. Mom. Wife. Sharon and I met at a conference, recognized our similarity where it mattered: in our hearts. As fellow homeschoolers and entrepreneurs who coach entrepreneurs, we understood the rhythm of life that's our day to day reality. I caught up with Sharon in this episode of Disrupt and LEAD, and got right into the guts of her story, with a few tears as we reflect on how hard the special parenting journey can be, and how much this is WORTH. We talked about: - being a transracial family and supporting African descent children as a Caucasian woman - acknowledging privilege and navigating a culture where we have different types of privilege in our story - being adaptable in our lives instead of being stuck when faced with discomfort - handling the trauma induced developmental needs that her children deal with - seeing opportunity in chaos, and figuring out solutions on the go - combining emotional intelligence with technical skills as a business women and how she uses her strategic, technical strengths to connect the dots in the complex landscape of her life. Sharon realized that many of the challenges/experiences her children go through (fear, anxiety, need for security) are very similar to the challenges that face entrepreneurs. Working through those both for herself and with her clients has been a powerful experience that gives her coaching a unique flavor. Sharon's Background Sharon is a Business Coach, Award Winning Sales Expert and Public Speaker who has one goal... seeing YOU succeed! Working together to harness strategic expertise with the right technical tools so that you can be unstoppable! Sharon is known the “the secret weapon that transforms entrepreneurial dreams into reality.” She's currently jamming to Urban Doxology and her favorite color is red. Continue the conversation with Sharon at: https://www.sharonhujik.com/ https://www.facebook.com/sharonhujikcoaching/ This month is Mental Health Awareness Month and Mother's Day just passed. I’d like to get a copy of my book into the hands of as many special needs mamas as possible this month. If you know one, could you get a copy and give it to her? ParentingLikeaNinja.com *** Jaedon tried to join the conversation several times! Ninja Mamas are adaptable and go with the flow. I loved that Sharon didn't even blink while J was trying to DISRUPT the podcast recording!

Black Eyes Peas! Mumford and Sons! N Sync! The color green! All things Tamara loves! We had a fantastic time discussing Tamara's passion to disrupt the stigmas associated with mental illness. Listen to Tamara share her journey with mental illness, her parenting journey, when she broke up with her son with mental illness and how that transformed their relationship, and how all this fuels her business. Tamara is the two-time international bestselling author of The Magical Business Method and My Kid Is Driving Me Crazy! Her third book, The Blind Leap will be out in June, 2019. Tamara shows struggling entrepreneurs how to clear blocked chakras and discover their “stardust” — that unique gift that too often gets suppressed by parents, early educators and years of grinding out hours at jobs they hate. Check out her podcast Own Your Intuitive. Connect with Tamara on her website, on her Facebook Page and on Youtube.

“Ma’am, i just want to say, to warn you that he will never say mommy again to you. Prepare your self to put him in an institution. You can’t fix this. There’s nothing you can do” - Lorina's son Zander's autism diagnosis meeting. Meet Lorina - Warrior mama, educator on healthy & holistic wellness and Keto lifestyle. Lorina runs a successful business, Remedy Blends - Healing with Hope and encourages anyone on their healing journey with a wide variety of tools and strategies. Lorina and I had a beautifully vulnerable conversation about how our families shape us, her family's struggle to get her son Zander's autism diagnosis and the devastating prognosis that they were given, her journey with PTSD and how she is healing herself and her family. She gives tips on how to handle the disruption you are facing right now and how to change your energy so that you can create space to hope again. Today, her son Zander is an outgoing, funny, empathetic teen. Check out his book to help other kids like him! Connect with Lorina on Facebook or by email RemedyBlends@gmail.com. Speaking of flipping the disruption, here’s a free copy of Parenting Like a Ninja — and autis mom’s guide to professional productivity, for strategies to increase your energy so you can powerfully navigate your parenting journey AND have a healthy professional life.

Meet Dr. April J. Lisbon: mama, coach strategist, empowerment speaker, author. April and I had a fantastic, vulnerable, intimate conversation one Saturday morning, right in the middle of autism mommy life. We talked about dealing with childhood trauma and her determination to advocate for and protect anyone who needs her help. Her years of experience as a school psychologist and her deep understanding of the parent, child and educational system makes her a powerful advocate and warrior mama for all in need. April helps career oriented autism moms go from feeling mentally overwhelmed and financially helpless to teaching them how to leverage their economic power in order to create a sustainable lifestyle for their autistic child long after they are gone. She has authored three books, “Stretched Thin: Finding Balance Working and Parenting Children with Special Needs”, “Autism in April: A Mother’s Journey During the Tween Years”,and most recently “Unmasking the Trauma: School Bullying & Children with Special Needs”.  Find out more at: www.advocacycoaching.com  info@advocacycoaching.com  www.facebook.com/autismcoachstrategist  www.instagram.com/autismcoachstrategist  www.twitter.com/raiseurvisions  www.linkedin.com/in/askdocapril Bookstore Launch Celebrations! www.ParentingLikeaNinja.com

"Life is really about trust. Make a choice to do the thing that you are passionate about and trust that you will be successful, just like you trusted when you first went to work" - Claudine Allen In this episode of Disrupt and LEAD, Dr. Claudine Allen shares her journey from college professor to homeschooling entrepreneur with her 3 kids, ages 9, 7 and 3. I'm pretty excited to share Claudine with you because we have history. Both island girls, I met Claudine in a few programming classes that I taught at the college level. Fast forward several years and she's working at the same university, and has a son with autism. I felt humbled as we swapped stories and shared passions and embraced a deep sense of calling that our families have helped s to see. We talk about the autism diagnosis, self-care, health and the myth that there's nothing we can do about 'it'. Claudine shares her weightloss story and uses it to help women create the space for transformation. Find out more about her free 5 step weight loss program here->https://www.trueyouservices.com or email Claudine@trueyouservices.com.

In this episode of Disrupt and LEAD, I share the disruption that started it all (in this phase of life, anyway), Jaedon's diagnosis. I talk about the 'shock and awe' of the experience, and the devastating aftermath, and the gradual rebirth that occurred because of this experience. As you listen, think about a disruptive experience you've had. Is there an invitation in the disruption for you? If you enjoyed listening to this episode, join the conversation in the Autistic Biz Tribe. Connect with me. I'd love to hear your story! Email: faith@melodyofautism.com On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ActivateCatalyzeTransform/

There's a movement happening and it's exciting to watch! Many families caring for loved ones with a disability have decided to create life on their own terms by starting businesses that make sense for their lives and support them financially. I'm calling these people, the Autastic Biz Tribe, and this podcast will introduce you to the tribe, and help you join the tribe, when you are ready. I first heard the word autastic on a video by Autastic Tom, and I fell in love. When I asked Tom about using the word, Autistic, he graciously said, "The word autastic should be used as many times as possible". But what does it mean? Well, the obvious is the combination of autistic and fantastic. But, on a deeper level, I think it's the celebration of the amazingness of determination and resilience in the face of struggle. So much beauty is born from that place. I look forward to sharing the Autistic Biz Tribe with you! May you navigate your crazy chaos with courage and step out to create more of what you want in your life. Join the conversation in our Disrupt and LEAD community!