Should A Child’s Disability be Part of Their Parent’s Identity? w/ Author Emily Ladau and Amanda Griffith-Atkins, LMFT (Rebroadcast)
07/06/23 • 53 min
Like most other parents, my sense of identity forever changed with the arrival of my disabled child. And in many ways, it’s helped me to embrace (at least on good days!) a lifestyle I used to resent.
But I’ve noticed a pushback from the disability community in claiming our child’s disabilities as part of our own identities. So, of course, we had to examine this controversial and intimate topic with the best of the best.
In this conversation with famed disability activist, speaker, and author of Demystifying Disability, Emily Ladau and Amanda Griffith-Atkins guest from Ep. 81 and mom to a disabled teen, we tackle questions like: Is it ok for us as parents to find identity in our children’s disabilities? If so, where is the line? IS there a line? How can I respect both my child’s lived experience and my own? Can I share those experiences on social media? How can parents and disabled people soften towards each other and put down the proverbial weapons?
*This is a rebroadcast of one of my favorite episodes of The Rare Life for you to listen to while we work on production for season 8, coming in August! If you’d like to discuss this episode with other members of The Rare Life community, we’ll be holding three different meetings run by our amazing group facilitators every Tuesday at 8pm in PST/CST/EST. Fill out our contact form to get the Zoom link each week!*
Links:
Sign up to get an invitation for our community discussions every Tuesday during the off-season!
Purchase Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau via Penguin House or Amazon.
Listen to The Accessible Stall podcast
Follow Emily on Instagram.
Follow Amanda on Instagram.
Follow Madeline on Instagram.
Listen to Ep. 81: Health Anxiety w/ Amanda Griffith-Atkins, LMFT
Listen to Ep. 54: Disabled Adult Perspective w/ Erica Stearns
Listen to Ep. 77: To Those Who Cannot Say, “I Wouldn’t Have them Any Other Way”
Join the Facebook group Parents of Children with Rare Conditions.
Donate to the podcast via Buy Me a Coffee.
Contact me about sponsoring the podcast.
Follow the Facebook page.
Access the transcript on the website here.
And if you love this podcast, please leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcast app!
Like most other parents, my sense of identity forever changed with the arrival of my disabled child. And in many ways, it’s helped me to embrace (at least on good days!) a lifestyle I used to resent.
But I’ve noticed a pushback from the disability community in claiming our child’s disabilities as part of our own identities. So, of course, we had to examine this controversial and intimate topic with the best of the best.
In this conversation with famed disability activist, speaker, and author of Demystifying Disability, Emily Ladau and Amanda Griffith-Atkins guest from Ep. 81 and mom to a disabled teen, we tackle questions like: Is it ok for us as parents to find identity in our children’s disabilities? If so, where is the line? IS there a line? How can I respect both my child’s lived experience and my own? Can I share those experiences on social media? How can parents and disabled people soften towards each other and put down the proverbial weapons?
*This is a rebroadcast of one of my favorite episodes of The Rare Life for you to listen to while we work on production for season 8, coming in August! If you’d like to discuss this episode with other members of The Rare Life community, we’ll be holding three different meetings run by our amazing group facilitators every Tuesday at 8pm in PST/CST/EST. Fill out our contact form to get the Zoom link each week!*
Links:
Sign up to get an invitation for our community discussions every Tuesday during the off-season!
Purchase Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau via Penguin House or Amazon.
Listen to The Accessible Stall podcast
Follow Emily on Instagram.
Follow Amanda on Instagram.
Follow Madeline on Instagram.
Listen to Ep. 81: Health Anxiety w/ Amanda Griffith-Atkins, LMFT
Listen to Ep. 54: Disabled Adult Perspective w/ Erica Stearns
Listen to Ep. 77: To Those Who Cannot Say, “I Wouldn’t Have them Any Other Way”
Join the Facebook group Parents of Children with Rare Conditions.
Donate to the podcast via Buy Me a Coffee.
Contact me about sponsoring the podcast.
Follow the Facebook page.
Access the transcript on the website here.
And if you love this podcast, please leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcast app!
Previous Episode
The Parable of the Pain Scale | The Ways Bearing Witness to Our Children’s Suffering Calibrates Our Pain Scales to an Entirely Different Level w/ Libby Holley (Rebroadcast)
We are often asked to rate our pain on a scale of 1-10 for medical professionals. Sometimes for ourselves, other times for our children. And it is often so hard to know what number to give our pain.
In this episode, mom Libby Holley shares how this pain scale can also be used to rate our emotional pain, and the ways it calibrates according to our life experiences. So many of us experience pain on a level we’ve never felt before as we become medical parents. Suddenly, what feels like an 8 for our friend may seem completely trivial—a 2 at best on our own personal pain scale. It can be hard to relate and empathize. Libby offers a perspective shift that allows us to remain connected despite this isolating difference in pain scales.
We also discuss the heartbreaking ways we see this exceptional pain tolerance in our children and how important it is to give our pain the gravity it deserves and to seek help.
*This is a rebroadcast of one of my favorite episodes of The Rare Life for you to listen to while we work on production for season 8, coming in August! If you’d like to discuss this episode with other members of The Rare Life community, we’ll be holding three different meetings run by our amazing group facilitators every Tuesday at 8pm in PST/CST/EST. Fill out our contact form to get the Zoom link each week!*
Links:
Sign up to get an invitation for our community discussions every Tuesday during the off-season!
Check out adorable photos of Libby, Lennon, and fam on the website.
Follow Libby on Instagram.
Follow me on Instagram.
Follow the Facebook page.
Join the Facebook group Parents of Children with Rare Conditions.
Donate to the podcast via Buy Me a Coffee.
Check out our sponsor BetterHelp for online licensed therapy.
Access the transcript on the website here.
And if you love this podcast, please leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcast app!
Next Episode
The Sibling Perspective w/ Katherine Acton (Rebroadcast)
Katherine never knew a world without her big brother Jonathon. Their relationship has a lot in common with any other run-of-the-mill siblings—they have inside jokes, a whole lot of love, and a bit of resentment. So, why are we talking about Katherine’s experience growing up? Because Jonathon has rare syndrome that hugely affected their home life and every day.
In this episode, Katherine shares what it was like for her and gives us the DL on what we can do and be aware of to be the best possible parents to all of our children.
*This is a rebroadcast of one of my favorite episodes of The Rare Life for you to listen to while we work on production for season 8, coming in August! If you’d like to discuss this episode with other members of The Rare Life community, we’ll be holding three different meetings run by our amazing group facilitators every Tuesday at 8pm in PST/CST/EST. Fill out our contact form to get the Zoom link each week!*
Links:
Sign up to get an invitation for our community discussions every Tuesday during the off-season!
Ep. 40: Wendy + the Sibling Experience
Ep. 47: Siblings w/ Katie Taylor
Follow Madeline on Instagram.
Join the Facebook group Parents of Children with Rare Conditions.
Donate to the podcast via Buy Me a Coffee.
Contact me about sponsoring the podcast.
Follow the Facebook page.
Access the transcript on the website here.
And if you love this podcast, please leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcast app!
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