Series: Future Panning

"Future Planning" with Wendy Smith

Welcome back to the podcast. Today we begin our Future Planning Series with Wendy Smith of Home of Guiding Hands. Wendy is an incredible resource. She is not only a parent of a 31 year old son with a disability, but has also been working with and advocating for people with developmental disabilities for more than thirty-five years.

Wendy has worked in residential, respite, independent living and recreation programs in three states. She has been with Home of Guiding Hands since 1996 and began providing Life Planning workshops in 2006.

Bio:

Wendy Smith has been working with and advocating for people with developmental disabilities for more than thirty-five years. She has worked in residential, respite, independent living and recreation programs in three states. She has been with Home of Guiding Hands since 1996 and began providing Life Planning workshops in 2006. Wendy is also the parent of a 31 year old son who receives services from San Diego Regional Center.

Contacts:

www.lifeplanninghelp.org

email

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Series: Kicking off the School Year

“Transition IEPs” with Crystal Sanford

Hey guys, as we continue on in our School Year Kick Off Series, today’s episode is going to be a huge help to those of us facing IEP Transition Planning.

If your child has an IEP, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA requires that students have an Individual Transition Plan or ITP in their IEP by the time they turn 16 years old. The Transition Plan should be based on the student’s strengths, preferences, and needs and all IEP goals must be tied into the 3 areas of continuing education or training, employment, and independent living.

On today’s episode we are happy to have Crystal Sanford of Sanford Autism Advocacy Group back on to explain all of this and more to help parents understand and feel more confident with the Transition planning process. So let’s get started.

Crystal Sanford, M.Ed., M.A. CCC-SLP is an Educational Consultant, IEP Advocate and Speech Pathologist. She is also a podcast, author, and mother to an autistic tween. Crystal's passion is advocating alongside fellow neurodiverse families, helping them to persistently pursue what their children deserve at school. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and spending time with her husband and two children in San Diego, CA.

www.sdautismhelp.com

www.facebook.com/sdautismhelp;

www.instagram.com/sanford_autism_advocacy

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Series: Kicking off the School Year

“Everything No One Tells You About” with Kelly Coleman

Welcome to today’s episode. As a parent of a child with special needs there is so much to know and do! There are school IEPs to advocate at for educational needs, there are insurance companies to haggle with for medical needs, and there are government programs to apply for and renew annually for resource needs. It’s an endless stream of paperwork and there's often not one clear road map to tell you where to go to find all the resources needed.

That’s why we’re so excited to introduce you to Kelley Coleman. Kelley has written a book called “ Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child: Your guide to the eccential systems, services, and supports”. We know you’re gonna love this informative episode.

Contacts:

www.kelleycoleman.com

@hellokelleycoleman.com

Facebook

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Series: Kicking off the School Year

“Kicking off the School Year Organized” with Angela O'Brien

Welcome to Season 4 of the Podcast! We hope you all enjoyed your summer. We know how crazy the summer can be with being off schedule. We hope you had a chance to enjoy time with family and friends.

You are going to love this episode. Angela Obrien from the Especially Organized Podcast is back to kick off the school year with us with a few tips for how to be more organized in a way that reclaims the calm for all of us parents. So lets get started with todays fun episode!

Bio:

Angela O’Brien is a wife, mother of two, professional organizer, certified Enneagram coach, and host of the podcast Especially Organized: Sensible Solutions for Special Needs Moms. After graduate school, Angela spent time at several Fortune 500 companies in various sales, marketing, and brand management roles. When her daughter was born with Down Syndrome, she made the switch to stay-at-home mom to focus on her daughter’s extra needs. In 2021, Angela started Your Space Reclaimed, a professional organizing business where she coaches busy women through their clutter so that they can reclaim the space, freedom, and energy to do the things they love to do. In early 2023, Angela presented to a group of moms raising kids with Down Syndrome. She was so inspired by the conversation and the organizing needs of this community that she started a podcast to help special needs moms get organized and has shifted her business focus toward helping caregivers of kids with special needs get more organized in their daily life. Angela lives in Dallas, TX with her husband of 26 years. She has volunteered in various roles at the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas since 2005, including as a member of their Board of Directors. Currently, she loves to hold precious babies when she meets with new parents at the Down Syndrome Clinic at Children’s Medical Center Dallas and serves on the Board of Directors at her daughter’s beloved school, the Notre Dame School of Dallas.

Contacts:

Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @yourspacereclaimed ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Your Space Reclaimed ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your Space Reclaimed Professional Organizing

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"Season 3 Sign Off" with Eric and Christen Freund

Today we look back at season 3 of the Podcast and reflect on all the fantastic stories and insights from our guests. We look at some o fothe high lights of the year so you can go back and catch some these episodes if you missed them or just wanted to hear them again.

Eric and Christen Freund are co-founders of Hope on the Hard Road Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to connecting, encouraging, and bringing hope to families on the special needs journey through a variety of tangible resources and faith-based encouragement. College sweethearts, Eric and Christen have been married for 25 years and live in Southern California with their son Caleb and their daughter Abbey who is diagnosed with Autism.

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David Robbins: Dads Series

"Ministering to Dads Part 2" with David Robbins

Today we are continuing our conversation with David Robbins as we wrap up our Dads series. David is the dad of 4 children. His oldest son Ford has cystic fibrosis, so he understands the challenges of raising a kid with special needs.

David is married to his wife Meg and together they lead FamilyLife where David is the CEO and president. David shares a wealth of knowledge in ministering to dads and husbands on todays podcast.

David is married to his wife Meg and together they lead FamilyLife where David is the CEO and president. David has a wealth of knowledge in ministering to dads and husbands. Today is the first of a two part series with David.

Contacts

Familylife

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David Robbins: Dads Series

"Ministering to Dads Part 1" with David Robbins

I’m so excited to have David Robbins on the podcast today. David joins us as we are continuing in our Dads Series. David is the dad of 4 children. His oldest son Ford has cystic fibrosis, so he understands the challenges of raising a kid with special needs.

David is married to his wife Meg and together they lead FamilyLife where David is the CEO and president. David has a wealth of knowledge in ministering to dads and husbands. Today is the first of a two part series with David.

Contacts

Familylife

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Steve Chatman: Dad Series

“Rising Above as a Dad Part 2” with Steve Chatman

We are so excited to have Steve Chatman back on to the podcast today. Steve is the Vice President at Rising Above Ministries, a nonprofit in Tennessee that is dedicated to lifting up the special needs community. As both a ministry leader and a dad with special needs children, Steve brings a wealth of insight and experience to share with us on the podcast today. This is part two of a two part series focused on dads. Let’s get started.

Steve is Vice President of Ministry Advancement & Pastoral Care at Rising Above Ministries. Steve is married to Lori Ann and they have 5 Children and 3 Grandkids. Steve has been ministering to families since 1993 and he loves to teach, counsel, encourage, entertain, and resource others. Before joining the staff at Rising Above, Steve and his wife Lori were active participants and volunteers for many years. As a dad with children with special needs (Steve and Lori have two daughters with Down Syndrome), he has a huge heart for the special needs community. As VP for Ministry advancement and Pastoral Care, Steve oversees our ministry to families as well as connecting with the local church and community organizations to help them better engage and serve the special needs community.

In his spare time he enjoys taking naps, watching movies with his family, eating donuts at the beach (or anywhere), playing fantasy football, and he hopes to one day play the banjo.

Contact

Rising Above Ministries

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