What's Special About Special Podcast

If you are a TikTok stalker like me spending hours going down a TikTok rabbit hole, I guarantee you have seen our next guest. Jordan Toma is a motivational speaker and viral TikToker spreading words of inspiration and support to school-aged kids and beyond. He talks about the difficulties growing up with learning disabilities and the moment that changed his whole outlook and made him the successful man he is today. We really got into everything he was sharing and it hit so close to home for us in this house! Please enjoy our next episode with Jordan Toma. As always, if you enjoyed today's episode please take a moment to follow and review us on Apple Podcasts!https://www.specialaboutspecial.com/https://www.jordantoma.com/Sponsored by:Making Authentic Friendshipshttps://www.makingauthenticfriendships.com/Making Authentic Friendships is an app that enables individuals with special needs to make friends based on age, diagnosis, interests, and geographic location. It was inspired by the founder, Juliana, whose brother has autism. Making Authentic Friendships has thousands of users in all 50 states and 45 countries. They serve users with all types of special needs, both intellectual and physical. They have been featured on national platforms like Lifetime, Today, CNN, Forbes, and Entrepreneur Magazine. We hope you'll join us and them! Find them on the App Store and google play by searching Making Authentic Friendships and on all social media platforms @ making Authentic Friendships. Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

What a fun resource we have for you guys today. Mark Ostrom is the Executive Director of Joy Collaborative. Joy Collaborative is a non-profit partnership that connects designers, architects, and builders with donors, volunteers, and sponsors. By doing this they come together and create unique and personal spaces for the disability and special needs community. And these are not your ordinary spaces these spaces are beautifully designed and one of a kind, custom to each child's needs and interests. Please check out all of their beautiful work on their website that's linked in our show notes. You won't regret it! As always, if you enjoyed today's episode please take a moment to follow and review us on Apple Podcasts!https://www.specialaboutspecial.com/https://joycollaborative.org/Check out their latest room here:https://youtu.be/shFaG0ngo6AInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This week's guest is so fun and fantastic. We spoke with Julie Falcone, she wrote the book (literally) on creating positive relationships with those around you all while being honest and pure, with a little humor thrown in. For caretakers sometimes life can get lonely and support can dwindle fast, Julie talks with us about how she found a way to communicate with those around her and take some of the pressure off. This is a must-listen for any parent or caretaker. Parenting is tough, let's not make it any harder! Julie Falcone is a mother of four children ages ranging from 15 to 9 in the trenches. With one neurotypical daughter and three sons diagnosed with ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, depression, and oppositional defiant disorder, she has spent more than a decade educating herself on these disorders and the treatments that go with them. Julie advocates for mothers raising kids newly diagnosed with ADHD and high functioning autism as a consultant, is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for the Delaware County Family Court System to ensure children in the foster system are having their needs met, a contributor to numerous special needs blogs and podcasts as well as writes her own blog and runs a special needs Facebook page, as well as publishing her first book, DEAR LOVED ONES: An Honest Guide to Helping the Special Needs Family You Love.  She is open, honest, and real about what raising children with neurological disorders and mental illnesses is like and believes that by allowing people to meet her imperfect family, other mothers will feel less alone and more confident in their parenting journey. Julie has experienced the highs and lows of raising special needs kids and has made it her mission for fellow mothers to be valued, seen, and understood.www.specialaboutspecial.comwww.julie-falcone.comfacebook: @juliefalconeauthorInstagram: Julie.q.falconeEmail: Juliefalcone2@yahoo.comInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

What a treat this week everyone! Once upon a time before there was a Special About Special podcast, we were testing out the waters and testing all of our equipment. So, Eddie decided to interview our kids. OMG, what a cute experience. You're going to love it!www.specialaboutspecial.com

We had a fantastic time talking with Emily Pan from Aroma Haven Mindful Ambiance (AH|MA). Emily is a graduate of Boston University and received her Master's at Columbia University in Tech Management. Emily shares her journey of wellness and spirituality and how she found her calling. Emily is the creator and founder of AH|MA an augmented reality experience that helps relieve stress and anxiety in waiting rooms and wellness centers. Currently, Emily and AH|MA are crowdfunding on (our favorite crowdfunding site) iFundWomen. Check out the links in the notes below to donate to this amazing resource and find some great rewards!www.specialaboutspecial.comhttps://ifundwomen.com/projects/aroma-haven-mindful-ambiencehttps://linktr.ee/InsightofEmilyhttps://www.ahma.nyc/Links to Survey mentioned in episode! Win a case of Sweet Loren's Cookies!https://mailchi.mp/9bcc94741b05/ahmaInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This week we spoke with our good friend Kayleigh Martens about the journey of navigating through OCD as a child, young adult, and now an adult. She shared her experience with us and how she found a light at the end and is working on ways to be successful in her life and career while helping others. Kayleigh shares her journey in her blog The OT with OCD, giving inspiration to others as well. www.specialaboutspecial.comhttps://theotwithocd.com/https://www.facebook.com/kayleigh.mckitchenInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

We spoke with Matt Ney this week, Matt is Founder of Kakana, an accessible fitness experience. Kakana allows members to access live and recorded lessons on a streaming platform for individuals with and without disabilities. Designed to be completely inclusive. This is a great listen to hear about Matt's journey and his passion for Kakana. It's even got us ready to exercise!www.specialaboutspecial.comhttps://onekakana.com/Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hey listeners, Weeee'rrreee baaaaacccckkkk! We're so excited to be back and ready to bring you some fun new resources. Today we talked about what our Holiday break was like and we spend a little time chatting about relationships. We even butchered our Instacart promo but decided to leave it in because it was so funny! Fun episode to start off the New Year!www.specialaboutspecial.comInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

What an amazing season this has been! Thank you to all of our amazing listeners and fantastic guests! This experience has been more than we could have asked for. Don't go far, we'll be working hard behind the scenes to bring you some more amazing content after the New Year! In the meantime, catch up all on your favorite episodes...www.specialaboutspecial.comInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Accessible beach access is KEY for anyone that loves the ocean. Kelly Twichel from Access Trax created a way to do just that. We spoke with Kelly about her innovative design for beach access that has turned into a fantastic resource for multiple terrains. She shared with us her love for helping the community and where her design came from. We had such a fun talk with Kelly and she had fantastic energy. Listen now and enjoy it!https://www.specialaboutspecial.comhttps://accesstraxsd.com/Check out her Newsletter here-https://us3.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=4e649daab2e584596c4cec548&id=65c559ce62Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This week we spoke with Liza Huber, Founder, and CEO of Sage Spoonfuls, an award-winning cookbook author, a warrior momma, and actress. Liza wears many hats and does a fantastic job balancing them all. She spoke with us about how she became an entrepreneur after leaving her role in the daytime drama Passions and Eddie blew up my spot right off the bat by giving away that I was a big fan of the show in my high school years! We also used Sage Spoonfuls products with our kiddos to help make healthy eating habits a must in our house so they get the A+ approval from us and the kids! Creating Sage Spoonfuls gave Liza the freedom to be the best advocate for her son and family. Check out this awesome episode to heart more and check out the link below to grab snag some of her great products!www.specialaboutspecial.comhttps://www.sagespoonfuls.com/Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This week's guest is such a treat for us. I met Jorge at a Podcast Conference when we first started this journey and I was so concerned that this idea wouldn't work. He was kind and so excited to see it take off. He came right up to me to share the resource he was a part of and wanted to give me chance to share it with our listeners. Jorge, along with his family (and one superhero Mom) runs The Demoya Foundation. A non-profit that helps give young adults with developmental disabilities employment while making sure both the employee and the employer are fully supported. It's a bold and creative endeavor that we hope becomes adapted elsewhere! Check out their upcoming Virtual Gala on September 10th for a perfect opportunity to support them and listen now to hear all about it!https://www.specialaboutspecial.com/https://demoyafoundation.com/https://www.dmfresilient.com/Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

September is Suicide Prevention Month and this week we got real and personal, we chatted a little bit about Eddie's struggle with his own self-care. Dad's need that too sometimes you know! Shocker! We talk about ADHD and Anxiety and Eddie's struggles with it and his recent steps to help manage and take care of himself so he can take care of us! Join us this week and take care of yourselves as well! www.specialaboutspecial.comhttps://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention, and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. 1-800-273-8255Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This week we spoke with Prakash Radhakrishnan, Creator of the award-winning  "This... Is... Me" Docudrama. A film about being a sibling and about how life can be different as a sibling. We speak about the "caretaker" role of a sibling as well as the loneliness that can come with that. Prakash spoke some wonderful words of wisdom for us this week and was such an inspiration. Please take a moment to watch This... Is... Me link below.www.specialaboutspecial.comhttp://www.officialthisisme.com/https://www.sibs.org.uk/https://youtu.be/r42rhvs-a3YInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This week we chatted about what return to school looks like in our household. It's a little different this school year thanks to COVID. We've decided to opt into a Virtual Homeschool and leave our brick and mortar system for the year. Adding some new challenges and systems to the household and to Kristin's routines. She's now working at home making her a full time at home employee and a full time at home mom with 2 kids schooling at home! This should be interesting! We're sharing with you what's working and what's not! We also recapped last week's episode with Todd Lemay from Terrain Hopper and praised how much we loved this product and this interview! Enjoy the episode and can't wait to share what's to come!Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

What a fun treat we had this week. Our guest Todd Lemay is the President of Terrain Hopper USA and if you haven't seen this amazing resource than you are in for a treat as well. Little Eddie was able to try it out last year at the Abilities Expo in Boston and LOVED IT! This isn't the typical mobility device you see. It's such an opportunity for freedom. Terrain Hopper is an Off-Roading Mobility Vehicle. It's the Rolls Royce of mobility vehicles. This week we spoke with Todd and heard his personal story and how he became a part of Terrain Hopper family and how others with disabilities and without are using the vehicle.Please enjoy this week's episode, and please share this episode with a friend, it's an amazing resource for all!www.specialaboutspecial.comhttps://www.terrainhopperusa.com/Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

This week we didn't have anything planned for our minisode but we decided to record anyways and see what happened. I wasn't my best self going in and you know what, that's OK. Being a special needs parent can be hard sometimes. Being a parent can be hard, you know what, being a wife can be hard. It's all just hard sometimes.  This day, I was burnt out and had very little energy for the whining and “parenting” needed from me. So, I was a bit bratty towards everyone. I had no excuse. As we started recording I figured I should just fess up on record. So to all the mothers and parents out there having a bad day, it's okay. It does NOT make you a bad parent or a bad spouse. It's just that, a bad day. Plus, and this IS going to be an unpopular opinion but embrace it.  Sometimes, we need to lean into it for a day or two as long as we are remembering to be as kind as we can. I'm still reminding myself of that. Sometimes I lean in a little too much, so, here's to learning.We also recapped our awesome guest last week and how much fun we had speaking with him. We also made some recommendations for some great binge-worthy TV and films that we've been watching lately that have great representation. Please check out the list below! We'll be adding to the list on our instastory highlights as often as we can and are looking for more recommendations! So let us know!TV and Movies we Recommend - Crip Camp - NetflixDesign for All - HuluSpecial - NetflixThe Speed Cubers - NetflixWampler's Ascent - Amazon PrimeLove on the Spectrum - Netflixhttps://www.specialaboutspecial.com/Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

When we first started this journey we created a "dream guest" list as a goal of guest that we really wanted to interview. This week's guest was one of those guests. Jim Lebrecht from the Sundance award-winning Netflix Documentary Crip Camp. We felt like we met a rock star. Not only did the documentary speak to us as parents, but as we mention in the episode Jim has Spina Bifida just like our Little Eddie and it was awesome to connect there too!  What an eventful episode to record as well, during this recording we had tornado warnings here in New England, and our power and internet kept going out. We actually had to finish our episode the next day. Jim was so kind as to jump on a second call with us. This week we encourage EVERYONE to listen to this episode and share it as much as you can. It is one of our favorites. Jim brought so much great insight into his experience into Camp Jenad and the 504 sit-ins as well as his influence in the film industry. In honor of this week's episode, we will be recommending tv episodes and films that have fantastic representation. Please keep a close eye on our social media and watch ALL our recommended episodes obviously starting with Crip Camp.https://www.specialaboutspecial.com/https://cripcamp.com/https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/https://www.amazon.com/Being-Heumann-Unrepentant-Disability-Activist/dp/0807019291Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to our first minisode. Where we'll be discussing a variety of topics, most importantly a more personal look into our lives and a chance to discuss previous episodes and hot topics. These will be shorter episodes without guests and a more intimate opportunity to share with you our listeners. www.specialaboutspecial.com

This week we spoke with Robin Wearley Founder of ADAPTS.org a portable transfer sling that is changing how the disability community is able to advocate for itself. Robin didn't only create a new resource that is helping the community, she is also empowering a community! Listening to everything Robin and ADAPTS are doing was so exciting so tune in because we know you're going to love it. Plus, for all of our special listeners, ADAPTS.org is offering 15% off if you enter code SAS15 at checkout.https://www.adapts.org/https://www.allwheelsup.org/https://www.abilities.com/

This week we spoke with Juliana Featherman from the Making Authentic Friendships App. She has created a fantastic app that helps individuals with special needs of all ages find friends to connect with at home and on the go and matches them based on location and interests. She was inspired by her own brother and we got to speak with her about her unique situation as a sibling and a caregiver. https://www.makingauthenticfriendships.com/https://www.instagram.com/makingauthenticfriendships/

This week we spoke with clinical therapist Teanna Diggs. She specializes in Perinatal Mood Disorders. What a fantastic conversation we got to have, you won't want to miss it! Check out her podcast, "The Well: A Mother's Journey", it's inspirational!https://open.spotify.com/show/6FjzOlzcAWfyybAVuBjYzc?si=GdOSBVfTS7S__RMMTQm8mghttps://postpartumwell.com/

Join us today as we speak with Bobbi Rebell from Financial Grown Up and Money with Friends as she speaks with us today about being a special needs parent herself and gave us some great insight for financial management.http://www.bobbirebell.com/

Today we welcomed two very special guests, our amazing and insightful daughter Annabella as well as our beautiful loving friend Janyce Carroll (or to our kids Auntie Janyce). This week's episode strayed a little from our usual content but we felt it would be a disservice to our community not to address what's been going on in America right now, and bring a conversation as well as resources. Having conversations with our children about what's going on in America is so important, our children are smarter than we give them credit for and have a voice too. Let's listen to them! This is an episode you won't want to miss. After listening please check out these resources and join their fitness challenge! https://www.instagram.com/omgitsjaepre/https://www.instagram.com/brittanylizstrong/https://thelovelandfoundation.org/

Bringing dance to everyone, Lauren Beasley created Move Inclusive Dance. She talks with us about how she created the studio, her journey and inspiration behind it. Lauren isn't stopping there, she has big goals and it's clear to see her dreams of bringing inclusion to everyone aren't far away! https://moveinclusivedance.com/https://www.instagram.com/moveinclusivedance/https://www.facebook.com/moveinclusivedance/

Changing the landscape of fashion, Mindy Scheier spoke with us about her experience as a special needs mother as well as how she created her foundation, Runway of Dreams and her new venture Gamut Management. She gave us some insight on her must need to see TED Talk and her perseverance when deciding to fill a need for this community that is quickly becoming the largest minority.https://www.runwayofdreams.org/https://www.gamutmanagement.com/https://youtu.be/a17Z5Sk2XJYhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_C7m74gQDCNgRI8vzks0ug

Fostering, Adopting, Special Needs Parenting.... OH MY! Today we talk to Eric Voltz-Benoit about his experience navigating the foster/adoption system as a special needs parent. Eric shared some FANTASTIC resources with us that you won't want to miss! It's a long episode but totally worth it!  A lot of our resources in this episode are Massachusetts based but please use these as tools to find resources in your area as well.https://www.adoptuskids.org/https://www.mareinc.org/https://www.mass.gov/foster-carehttps://fcsn.org/https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-public-health

Meet Ashley Robinson parent of Colton Robinson. Colton is a Diversity Model, up and coming influencer and inspiration to all! On this episode Ashley gives her unique perspective on parenting as well as navigating the adaptive modeling world with Colton.www.specialaboutspecial.com https://www.instagram.com/colton_robinson_official/

Here is the first of many opportunities to hear us! Can't wait to share so many great interviews with you to come in the next few week!