Inchstones with Sarah | Autism Advocacy & Caregiver Stories

For parents raising children with profound autism or significant disabilities, planning a vacation can feel overwhelming before anyone even packs a suitcase. Airports, TSA, sensory overload, unfamiliar hotel rooms, food restrictions, elopement risks and disrupted routines can make families question whether traveling is worth attempting at all.
But what if the goal isn't to eliminate every risk? What if it's to prepare well enoug...

There are parts of profound autism that rarely make it into public conversation. Severe self-injury. Medical complexity. The fear of not being able to keep your child safe. And the isolation that comes when the world has no idea what life inside your home actually looks like.

Jillian Eisloeffel, founder of Bobby's World Profound Autism Advocacy, joins Sarah Kernion for an intimate conversation between two mothers raising children w...

What does disability inclusion look like when nobody is trying to make a statement—they're simply helping someone fully enjoy the moment?
Nashville singer-songwriter, Navy veteran and former physical therapist Brooks Herring joins Sarah Kernion after a video of him singing a young woman's favorite song directly to her reached millions of people.

Brooks shares how his relationship with disability was shaped by his young...

Who will care for my child when I can't? For parents raising children with profound autism, the question of adulthood can feel impossibly far away—until suddenly it isn't.

Nicole Milo's son Caleb entered residential care at five and spent 17 years living hours from his family. As adulthood approached, Nicole confronted the disability-services cliff and realized the existing options didn't match the life she envisioned for him...

Parents of neurodivergent children become extraordinary observers. We notice what happened before the meltdown, how our child slept, what changed at school, which transition was difficult and what worked last time. The problem? We're also exhausted...and much of that knowledge lives entirely inside our heads.

Allison Dickin, mother, UX researcher and founder of Neuraparent, joins Sarah Kernion to explore how AI can help parents rec...

What should good ABA therapy actually look like in 2026? Leah Gross, founder of Circle Care Services and an occupational therapist and BCBA, joins Sarah Kernion to discuss how ABA has evolved and why autism therapy should be individualized, collaborative, compassionate, and built around the whole child.
Leah brings sensory regulation, environment, play, communication, and behavior into the same conversation.

She and Sarah discus...

When a nonspeaking autistic child can't reliably tell you their stomach hurts, they're exhausted, or something feels different, how do parents make sure everything happening in their body isn't simply attributed to autism?

Greer McGuinness, registered dietitian, functional medicine practitioner, founder of Biomedical Healing for Kids, and autism mom, joins Sarah Kernion to explore that question. Greer shares her son's developme...

What if the goal isn't to make your child's anxiety disappear? Jennifer Cohen Harper, founder of Little Flower Yoga, joins Sarah Kernion to explore childhood anxiety, nervous system regulation, sensory overwhelm, mindfulness, and what children actually need from us when they're struggling. Jennifer reframes anxiety as information rather than an enemy and explains why reassurance like “you're okay” or “take a deep ...

Can one autism diagnosis adequately describe people whose abilities, challenges, communication, independence, and lifelong support needs may be radically different?

In this episode of the INCHSTONES Podcast, Sarah Kernion sits down with fellow autism mother Laurie Dove for a candid conversation about the autism spectrum, diagnosis, profound support needs, parenting, nervous system regulation, advocacy, and what happens when fam...

What happens when the autism services your child needs simply aren’t available where you live?
Danielle Fields knows the answer because she moved across four states trying to find them.
In this episode of the INCHSTONES Podcast, Sarah Kernion sits down with Danielle, mother and fierce advocate for her 19-year-old autistic son, Paul, to talk about the extraordinary decisions families make when their children’s educ...

What happens when a father whose career is built around managing risk is handed something he can’t plan his way out of? In this episode of the INCHSTONES Podcast, Sarah Kernion talks with autism advocate and corporate risk management professional Mike Hanner about raising his eight-year-old son Kingston, who is nonspeaking, autistic, and has apraxia. Mike spends his professional life anticipating what could happen, assessing ...

What if the behavior you’re trying to change is actually telling you something?

In this episode of the INCHSTONES Podcast, Sarah Kernion talks with developmental psychologist and learning support specialist Dr. Amy See about nonverbal autism, special needs parenting, behavior, nervous system regulation, and learning to see the whole child before deciding what their...

Special needs parenting can keep a caregiver's nervous system on high alert long after the immediate crisis has passed. In this episode of the INCHSTONES Podcast, Sarah Kernion talks with Stacey Uhrig, founder of Flip Your Mindset, about caregiver burnout, nervous system regulation, chronic stress, and what happens to parents after years of caring for children with significant support needs. Autism families spend enormous amounts o...

What if one of the most powerful things you can do for your autistic child is stop waiting for someone else to have all the answers? In this episode of INCHSTONES, Sarah Kernion sits down with Len Arcuri, founder and host of the Autism Parenting Secrets podcast, for an honest conversation about special needs parenting, nonverbal autism, caregiver stories, root causes, and learning to trust what you observe in your own child. After ...

Who gets represented when the government decides the future of autism research? In this episode of INCHSTONES, Sarah Kernion is joined by advocates Tyler Hudson and Olivia Rojo for an urgent conversation about profound autism, caregiver stories, special needs parenting, and the families asking federal autism research to better reflect people with the most significant support needs.

At the center of the conversation is the Interagen...

What can fiction reveal about special needs parenting that facts and statistics sometimes cannot? In this episode of INCHSTONES, Sarah Kernion talks with author Jacqueline Friedland about Breathing Underwater, her new novel exploring autism, caregiving, adolescence, independence, identity, and the extraordinary power of having one person who refuses to stop believing in you.
Jacqueline was raised by a professor of special educat...

What happens when families know a treatment could help their child—but can't access it? In this episode of Inchstones, Sarah Kernion sits down with pediatric neurologist Dr. John Gaitanis to discuss autism advocacy, autism therapy options, and why Meadow was created to help families access individualized care beyond a diagnosis.

For many families, an autism diagnosis is only the beginning. The harder question often com...

Castos Description
Episode Summary
What happens when a special education teacher spends years working with profoundly disabled students—and then realizes the biggest lesson wasn't about teaching at all? In this episode of Inchstones, Sarah Kernion sits down with former special education teacher and Unspecial Podcast host Zack Ponder to explore caregiver stories, autism advocacy, neurodivergent parenting, and why presumi...

Can you tell the truth about disability parenting without losing hope? In this episode of Inchstones, Sarah Kernion sits down with caregiver advocate Elyse Davis to explore caregiver stories, neurodivergent parenting, grief, resilience, and why honest conversations help families feel less alone.

After years of feeling like she didn't quite fit anywhere, Elyse Davis decided to stop softening her family's story.
Instead of repeati...