Mother's Guide Through Autism
Brigitte Shipman
This podcast is to inspire, support, and build community for mothers raising children with autism. Brigitte Shipman is the host and creator of this podcast and it has been inspired by her son Joseph who has been living with autism for the last 31 years. Together, Brigitte and Joseph hope to offer mothers of autistic children hope for the future. They will be sharing what they have learned in their journey as well as have expert guests on the show to give you knowledge, resources, insights, and inspiration.
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Top 10 Mother's Guide Through Autism Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Mother's Guide Through Autism episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Mother's Guide Through Autism for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Mother's Guide Through Autism episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Prepare Your Autistic Child for Employment & Independence | Crystal Y. Sanford
Mother's Guide Through Autism
10/20/24 • 29 min
Crystal Y. Sanford talks about how to support our autistic teens and tweens in transitioning into adulthood successfully.
Crystal is the owner and director of Sanford Autism Advocacy Group. She is an expert in the field of Autism and IEPs and she is also a mom to a teenage daughter who is on the spectrum.
Watch this episode to equip yourself with the knowledge to prepare your autistic child for employment and independence.
In this episode, she’s going to share:
- how to teach your autistic child the life skills they need for independence
- why observing your child is so important for future success
- steps you can take to prepare your child for employment
- and more!
Enjoy!
Sanford Autism Advocacy Group:
https://www.sdautismhelp.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sdautismhelp
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sanford_autism_advocacy
Purchase my book A Mother's Guide Through Autism:
https://amzn.to/3mO1fmS
Sign up to get news and updates from me: https://www.mothersguidethroughautism.com
Theme song: "Look at the clouds" by Tristan Lohengrin
tristanlohengrin.bandcamp.com
Transcending the Pain & Suffering of Autism with Lisa Joyce Goes
Mother's Guide Through Autism
03/19/20 • 66 min
In this week's heartwarming episode, Brigitte Shipman interviews Lisa Joyce Goes who is an autism mom, editor, and writer for The Thinking Moms' Revolution and The Age of Autism.
Lisa Joyce Goes is the mom of three wildly gifted children Mads, Noah, and Liam. Noah was diagnosed with autism in 2008.
Noah was nonverbal for quite a while and didn’t potty train until he was 7. Noah also had terrible rashes all over his body as well as up to 20 diarrhea filled diapers a day. His body was on fire and was uncomfortable and a lot of his behaviors had so much to do with his metabolic, gastrointestinal, and methylation issues that needed to be addressed.
Noah, now in puberty, is doing much better and greets Lisa in the morning with "Good morning, Princess" which brings Lisa so much joy.
Lisa candidly talks about the feeling of isolation, emotional eating, and the pain and suffering that resulted from the autism diagnosis and the end of her marriage. She was angry, reactive, and heartbroken.
At one point during a neurofeedback session, Lisa was asked if she had been a soldier because her brain scan showed signs of PTSD. She answered, "No, I'm an autism mom."
Lisa and Brigitte also talk about judgment autism moms experience from other people who don't understand autism and the importance of educating others and doing advocacy work.
Lisa says that challenges are real and difficult but she considers Noah 110% a blessing.
Lisa urges other autism moms listening out there to be as compassionate with themselves as they would with their closest friend or their children.
Tune in to this heartwarming episode and be filled with hope and solidarity.
Enjoy!
Resources/Links:
BMV Life Coach
https://bmvlifecoach.com/
BMV Life Coach Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/BMVlifecoach/
Mother's Guide Through Autism Private Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersguidethroughautism/
The Thinking Moms' Revolution
https://thinkingmomsrevolution.com/
Documenting Hope
https://documentinghope.com/
The Thinking Moms' Revolution Book
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CA15A7K/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
The Age of Autism
https://www.ageofautism.com/
TEAM TMR
https://teamtmr.org/
Warrior Mama: Creating Opportunities and Hope for People with Autism - Stella Spanakos
Mother's Guide Through Autism
12/04/19 • 62 min
In this week's powerfully inspiring episode, Brigitte Shipman interviews Stella Spanakos who is a co-founder of Spectrum Designs and The Nicholas Center.
Stella tells her story of how she started a t-shirt business that employs people with autism because she didn’t see a lot of employment opportunities for adults with autism like her son and she was concerned about her son's future.
Stella started Spectrum Designs in the barn of her backyard on Long Island, NY shortly after the tragic death of her husband Paul. After the success of Spectrum Designs, she created Spectrum Bakes and Spectrum Suds to provide more employment opportunities for adults with autism.
Stella's goal is that she should never have to see a parent come in her office, begging with tears in their eyes, for an opportunity for their child to volunteer or to be employed there. She wants to do everything in her power to keep growing businesses and coming up with ideas so that she can offer vocational training and employment opportunities to young adults with disabilities, on the autism spectrum in particular.
Stella is a firm believer in seeing the glass half full. She shares how she keeps going as a warrior mama even when things seem extremely difficult and challenging because she knows she's already halfway to her goal.
Stella encourages all the warrior mamas out there struggling. Her passion, compassion, tenacity, and love will inspire all of us to believe in the impossible.
Tune in to this episode and be inspired by her powerful story!
Enjoy!
Resources/Links:
App “Speak It”: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/speak-it/amcnjejmdfilapnnfgnhnidhkififadk?hl=en
Welcome to Holland: https://www.pdx.edu/students-with-children/sites/www.pdx.edu.students-with-children/files/Welcome%20to%20Holland.pdf
This Business of Autism: https://thisbusinessofautism.com/
Spectrum Designs: https://www.spectrumdesigns.org/
Spectrum Bakes: https://www.spectrumbakes.org/
Spectrum Suds: https://www.spectrumsuds.org/
The Nicholas Center: http://www.nicholascenterusa.org/
BMV Life Coach: https://www.bmvlifecoach.com/
Sabita Finds Her Voice - One Mom’s Journey to Help Her Autistic Daughter and Others Alike with Dr. Stephanie Vavilala
Mother's Guide Through Autism
06/02/21 • 67 min
In this week's amazing episode, Brigitte interviews Dr. Stephanie Vavilala, a licensed mental health counselor, the founder of Awetism Wonderland, and a mother of a 9-year-old girl who has autism and is nonverbal. Dr. Stephanie has a mission to provide support for children on the spectrum, as well as their families.
Dr. Stephanie shares her story of struggling to conceive for 5 years with 6 rounds of IVF treatment and 3 miscarriages, and finally giving birth to Sabita who was her miracle child and an absolute joy to her.
Sabita was diagnosed to be on the spectrum after she turned one. Wanting to find solutions to help her daughter, Dr. Stephanie went back to school and became a Board Certified Behavioral Therapist.
Realizing how hard it was for parents to find services for their children in her county, she decided to add ABA Therapy to her existing company Therapeutic Expressions which offered mental health services.
She immersed herself in the work of helping other kids like Sabita, and that became her life focus for many years. Although she loved it, she lost herself along the way from neglecting to take care of herself. That is when she realized that she needed to create a community for special needs moms.
She then created Flamingle, a local support group for special needs moms to have fun and play and to support each other.
She is now very passionate about making life easier for special needs families through the use of technologies and with resources and support that she herself has found helpful in empowering her own daughter to unleash her full potential.
Dr. Stephanie recently pulled Sabita out of school to get her homeschooled because Sabita was not getting what she needed from the current school curriculums.
Knowing the needs of other children like Sabita, Dr. Stephanie decided to create Awetism Wonderland, which is an autism therapy center opening up this fall in St. Augustine, FL.
Awetism Wonderland is a comprehensive center with everything for autism therapy--OT, PT, ABA, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Play Therapy, Baking Therapy, and many more.
The center was created to give kids like Sabita a place of different types of learning environments with a strength-based approach that provides social interaction as well as functional academic skills and life vocational skills. This center will provide support for kids on the spectrum as well as their parents, siblings, and peers.
Dr. Stephanie has also recently published a beautiful children's book called Sabita Finds Her Voice which is about her daughter finding her voice through technology. She shares two of the communication apps that have been helpful for Sabita.
She leaves us with this advice: Trust your gut, take care of yourself, reach out to a community, and advocate wherever you go and educate others!
Resources/Links:
Dr. Stephanie Website
https://stephanievavilala.com/
Therapeutic Expressions
https://therapeuticexpressions.com/
Awetism Wonderland
https://awetismwonderland.com/
Sabita Speaks
https://www.sabitaspeaks.org/
Sabita Finds Her Voice
https://amzn.to/34ws0mp
Verbal Victor
https://bit.ly/3oYGd57
Proloquo2go
https://apple.co/3vyn24O
Mother's Guide FB Group
https://bit.ly/2R4J5kA
Brigitte Website
https://bmvlifecoach.com/
How to Reduce Daily Battles with Your Child with Madeleine Woolgar
Mother's Guide Through Autism
07/07/21 • 56 min
In this week's wonderfully helpful episode, Brigitte interviews Madeleine Woolgar, a speaker and parent coach to talk about how parents can reduce daily battles with their children.
Madeleine began to work with families with children on the spectrum over ten years ago. Her work focuses on shifting the moms' mindset so they can go from guilt-ridden and stressed out to creative and clear-thinking and better able to take care of all that they need for their child.
Madeleine talks about the common daily battles that parents engage in with their children like tantrums and control battles and how important it is for us to understand why these battles occur in the first place. She urges us to get into the head of the child to understand what they need in the moment.
In addition to understanding our child's why in doing what they do, Madeleine says that it's important to understand why you’re having the kind of reaction you’re having to your child’s behavior so that you can uncover hidden thoughts and beliefs that may be causing you to be more reactive.
She explains why parenting strategies often don’t work and why working on your mindset is key to reducing battles with your child.
She tells us to become aware of our thoughts and ask, “What was I thinking about myself in the difficult moment?”
She also says that we need to give ourselves as much grace as we can in these moments of difficulty. She says to start with yourself in giving compassion because if you’re stressed, you cannot stay calm in challenging situations.
She leaves us with this advice: Reach out for help if you're struggling.
Enjoy!
Resources/Links
5 Ways to Reduce Daily Battles
www.mumswhothrive.com/dailybattles
Heartled Mums for Strong-Willed Children Facebook Group
www.facebook.com/groups/heartledmums
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/mentormadeleine
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/mentormadeleine/
Private Mother's Guide Through Autism Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersguidethroughautism/
Brigitte Website
https://bmvlifecoach.com/
Transitioning Our Kids on the Spectrum into Adulthood with Patricia Lemer
Mother's Guide Through Autism
07/30/21 • 59 min
In this week's episode, Brigitte interviews Patricia Lemer, an author of three books including Outsmarting Autism, to talk about transitioning kids on the spectrum into adulthood.
Patricia Lemer is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and practiced as an educational diagnostician in the Washington, DC area for over 40 years. She was a co-founder and served as Executive Director of Developmental Delay Resources (DDR), an international, non-profit organization for 20 years.
Ms. Lemer and Brigitte talk about the estimated 800,000 adults that are entering adulthood needing support services and how we as a society need to prepare for a very wide range of kids with different abilities entering post-secondary education and employment.
Ms. Lemer says that transition is a huge team sport that involves schools, government, social service agencies, parents, and the child and we need to look at the developmental level of each child instead of their chronological age by giving them a functional assessment to see where the child is in many different areas including nutrition, finances, personal hygiene, sensory skills, and social skills.
She tells us about the alternate options to traditional college and employment that include internships, college-like programs, day programs, colleges with monitored apartments with “house parents,” farm programs, and multigenerational communities with jobs.
She talks about the innovative businesses that parents of kids with autism are creating to employ adults on the spectrum like Rising Tide Car Wash and The Chocolate Spectrum.
Ms. Lemer says to help kids find ways to use their obsessions and passions in a productive way and to harness their technical skills to make a vocation out of it.
Finally, she addresses the slightly controversial topic of the neurodiversity movement and its positive and possibly negative aspects.
You can find Ms. Lemer's books Outsmarting Autism: Build Healthy Foundations for Communication, Socialization, and Behavior at All Ages , Outsmarting Autism: The Ultimate Guide to Management, Healing and Prevention (now available in Italian), and EnVisioniong a Bright Future: Interventions that Work for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders wherever books are sold.
You can also listen to her biweekly webcast radio podcast, "The Autism Detectives" on www.HealthyLife.net.
Enjoy this episode!
Resources/Links:
Patricia Lemer Website
https://www.patricialemer.com/
Patricia Lemer Email
[email protected]
Outsmarting Autism
https://www.outsmartingautism.com/
Autism Detective Podcast
http://www.healthylife.net/
Private Mother's Guide Through Autism Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersguidethroughautism/
Brigitte Website
https://bmvlifecoach.com/
3 Reasons for Challenging and Defiant Behaviors with Sandra Kwesell
Mother's Guide Through Autism
08/06/21 • 48 min
In this week’s episode, Brigitte interviews Sandra Kwesell, a child development expert and the founder of the Pillars for Success® parenting program, to talk about the parenting principles that can bring out the positive responses in our children.
Sandra has worked with children and families in just about every setting on Earth, ranging from preschools and public schools to day treatment and residential settings, to youth prisons and everywhere in between.
She has degrees in Elementary Ed., Special Ed., and Counseling and has combined her knowledge and experience to create the Pillars for Success® parenting program, designed to empower and support families with the insights, rules, and tools to move from a journey of heartache and frustration to a journey of solutions and celebration.
Sandra shares the tragic story of her brother’s suicide at a young age which lead her to pursue a career in human health and development. This devastating and shocking event has pushed her to dedicate her career to help in any way to prevent similar tragedies from happening in other families.
With over decades of research and experience in education and counseling, Sandra has developed her parenting program based on effective parenting principles she discovered.
She talks about 3 major reasons why challenging and defiant behaviors occur in our children and explains that in almost all cases, children are trying to satisfy the needs of these 3 categories.
She goes over the principles and concepts behind the Pillars for Success® parenting program that can give us a better understanding of our children’s challenging behaviors and how we can empower ourselves to support our children’s needs.
Enjoy this episode!
Resources/Links:
Pillars for Success
https://www.pillarsforsuccess.com/
9 Pillars of Successful Parenting
https://amzn.to/3iHQWhJ
Pillars for Success Course Workbook
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1725977702/
Mother's Guide Private Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersguidethroughautism
Brigitte Website
https://bmvlifecoach.com/
Put the Oxygen Mask on Yourself First
Mother's Guide Through Autism
07/20/22 • 25 min
Putting the oxygen mask on yourself first is #3 on my top 10 list of essential advice on the autism parenting journey.
This journey begins with you, and the practice of nurturing yourself will not only benefit you but also your child on the spectrum because you will have more resilience to meet the daily challenges.
I share my practice of self-nurturing in this episode.
Sign up to get news and updates from me: https://www.mothersguidethroughautism.com
They Raised Over Half a Million Dollars for Charity with His Art | Julie Coy and Grant Maniér
Mother's Guide Through Autism
10/28/24 • 47 min
This mom-and-son team, Julie Coy and Grant Maniér, will inspire you with their extraordinary journey of creativity, advocacy, and success.
Grant's art sells for tens of thousands of dollars and Jullie and Grant raised over half a million dollars for charities with his art.
Grant, who lives with autism, is an exceptional eco-artist known for creating unique and meaningful works of art using recycled materials. Julie is the author of children’s books featuring characters with disabilities inspired by the art her son Grant created.
In this episode, they share:
- how focusing on strengths empowers people with special needs
- how they went from "can't do" to "can do"
- their secrets to success
- and more!
Enjoy!
Website:
https://www.jigsawgrant.com/
Voiceover:
https://grantmanier.icanvoice.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JigsawGrant
Check out his video with Temple Grandin:
https://www.mothersguidethroughautism.com/podcast/episode-165
Purchase my book A Mother's Guide Through Autism:
https://amzn.to/3mO1fmS
Sign up to get news and updates from me: https://www.mothersguidethroughautism.com
Theme song: "Look at the clouds" by Tristan Lohengrin
tristanlohengrin.bandcamp.com
How We Used Block Therapy and Fast Forward to Improve Language Abilities and More.
Mother's Guide Through Autism
10/22/19 • 29 min
Brigitte shares her inspiring story of how she followed her own intuition in deciding to work with a neurologist with a not-so-stellar reputation in her small town.
Though considered unconventional (and inconclusive to this day), Block Therapy with this neurologist was worth a shot to try since it wasn’t going to hurt her son Joseph. It ended up helping Joseph with understanding of directions, processing of the language, and so much more. Brigitte shares what she monitored and recorded in her journal.
Brigitte also shares the story of how she pleaded with the Fast Forward Therapy founders to expand the program so mothers in the rural areas can use this program with their children. 6 Months later, they offered the software program people could use at home. Brigitte started administering Fast Forward Therapy at home with the new software and it greatly improved Joseph’s speech, focus, and social interaction with others.
Resources:
BMV Life Coach Website: https://bmvlifecoach.com
AIT- Auditory Processing Therapy - https://www.aithelps.com
Fast Forward: Fast Forward Home website - http://www.fastforwordhome.com/
Scientific Learning website - http://www.scilearn.com
Wilbarger Therapeutic Pressure Brush- http://www.sutismcommunitystore.com/wishlist/
Block Therapy: To remind when we did this therapy with Joseph it was experimental. The only resource we had at that time was a Neurologist who did brain injury research. There is no exact method that we did that I could find a website for this therapy. This is recent research to take a look at today: Neuroptimize-Reward, Strengthen, Rebuild- neuroptimizeco.com
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FAQ
How many episodes does Mother's Guide Through Autism have?
Mother's Guide Through Autism currently has 166 episodes available.
What topics does Mother's Guide Through Autism cover?
The podcast is about Mom, Parenting, Kids & Family, Podcasts, Mother, Autism, Children and Child.
What is the most popular episode on Mother's Guide Through Autism?
The episode title 'Calm and Connected Kids with Meditation - Lorraine Murray' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Mother's Guide Through Autism?
The average episode length on Mother's Guide Through Autism is 42 minutes.
How often are episodes of Mother's Guide Through Autism released?
Episodes of Mother's Guide Through Autism are typically released every 7 days, 19 hours.
When was the first episode of Mother's Guide Through Autism?
The first episode of Mother's Guide Through Autism was released on Aug 30, 2019.
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