The Grit and Grind of Autism- Finding Light Along the Journey

Honey Rinicella is the Executive Director of the Medical Academy of Pediatrics and Special needs (MAPS), and proud parent of 23 year old twins with autism. Prior to her onboarding with MAPS, Honey spent nearly two decades working leadership roles for Non-Profits, supporting families and parents in the Autism/Special needs community. She has seen the lives of her children transform under the care of a MAPS physician, which in turn h...

 Hi, I’m TJ, or Tiffany, creator of the social media platforms, Nigh Functioning Autism. I am a single mother of three neurodivergent teens. I live and work in and around Maryland and Virginia, in the Washington DC area.

 
I am Autistic, diagnosed in my late teens. However, I was diagnosed with other conditions when I was in elementary school, like central auditory processing disorder and ADHD. I also have had epilepsy and OCD s...

Holy freaking cannoli… the last month has been a mixed bag of all things emotions. 

The lows: betrayal, defensiveness, anger, resentment, failure, and forlorn to name a few. 

The highs: gratitude, happiness, peace, amusement, pride, enjoyment and love.

Then slipping into the black hole our families with complex needs tend to slide back into. Accompanied by anxiety, defeat, depression and overall PTSD. 

A new podcast released bi-monthly.  I am having honest, raw and authentic conversations with caregivers, family members, friends, service providers, practitioners, legislatures and people with a diagnosis of autism. There are no boundaries, no shame, no judgement... just a safe place for our community to support one another and create collective, positive change.  Autism is an epidemic.  There is a place for everyone to better unde...

Justin Valenti is an artist and author who currently lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He graduated from the Project SEARCH internship program and now works as an Office Clerk at the National Institutes of Health. Justin graduated from Partners in Policymaking in 2019 and he is a strong advocate. Justin also does a lot of fluid painting and digital artwork. He is also involved in self advocacy groups like The ARC Maryland and People...

Meet Jen, Claudia, Peyton and Max.  We all know that you don't have to be related to be family.  They are my extended family whom I love to do life with. 

Thank you for allowing me to record this lovely discussion and for being the beautiful humans you are.  I loved our time together.  My heart is full. 

Time and actively listening without judgement is one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. I hope ...

Kelly lives in Maryland with her husband of 25 years and two teenagers. She has been a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant for 27 years and currently works in home health.  She also works for Baltimore County Health Department as a Community Navigator for families that have children with special health care needs.

Kelly is a Reiki Master and animal lover. Kelly considers herself a fierce advocate for her children and wil...

Pam Villeneuve is a Somatic Coach & Intimacy Practitioner who founded The Heart of Pleasure Project to help individuals and couples connect to themselves and each other through their heart and body. Her nurturing enthusiasm guides clients to gain somatic awareness, listening to the wisdom of the body and connecting through intuitive energy to heal relationships and embody pleasure in new and vibrant ways. In this work, Pam allo...

Josselyn Ensor is a licensed Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Special Educator with over 20 years of experience working with individuals on the Autism Spectrum. She has worked in various settings and held leadership roles in healthcare companies as well as nonpublic and public school sectors. Josselyn has trained and supported countless professionals and caregivers to deliver high-quality ABA and special education services, wit...

Neal Lichter, Program Director, joined Pathfinders for Autism in October of 2013.   As a trainer, Neal has provided an Understanding of ASD training since 2014.  Audiences include students from Kindergarten-college, educators, police, first responders, medical personnel, and many others across the state of Maryland.  Neal is also responsible for helping to plan many of the workshops that Pathfinders for Autism collaborates on aroun...

It’s been 23 days since my sons last seizure. It was awful. It was traumatizing. You never get use to epilepsy. This one was by far the worst one yet. I felt deep in my soul that I needed to share this experience. Very thankful to my dear friend Juliet Gilden for talking with me so I could tell this part of our story.

Resources from our discussion:
Pathfinders for Autism
MD Advisory Stakeholder Group on Autism

Dr. Shayna Stoogenke is a pediatric Occupational Therapist with over 18 years of experience in evaluating and treating children with varying needs.  She has extensive training in sensory integration and has spent the last 10 years supporting families by conducting evaluations and making recommendations for children entering school for the first time.  She is passionate about her work and helping children learn through play- and eve...

Angie Noppenberger is just a person trying to get by day by day and navigating what life brings to her.  She is a mother of two special needs children who light up the world, a mental health therapist with 20 years of experience, and a  wife married for 20 years to a wonderful and supportive husband. She is also a sister, a niece, an aunt, a daughter, and a friend.  

References from pod discussion noted below:

Podcasts

Huberman Lab (f...

Join us for a discussion about early intervention, the battle to secure services, nutrition and affirmations. Lemlem Kentiba-Paige was born to Eritrean parents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, went to high school in Dallas, Texas, and attended undergrad and graduate school in Maryland. A cyber security engineer with a master’s degree in information technology, Lemlem resides with her family in Maryland.

Lemlem is the loving mother of two k...

Katie Eschleman is a music therapist serving primarily kids who have differing needs.  She holds a  Masters Degree from Drexel University and has been in the field for 20 years.  Katie brings a great source of fun and creativeness to her therapy sessions.  She is loved so much by all of her students (and their families).  In her spare time Katie enjoys running, kick boxing, spending time with her daughters and playing gigs.

Dave is the father of two special needs teens.  He has spent his career in the engineering field, analyzing difficult technical problems.  Recently, he has focused a lifelong passion for numbers and personal finance into becoming a financial coach.  As a coach, he helps analyze individuals’ and families’ budgets, spending and income to move towards their short and long-term goals.  Special needs personal finance is at the intersect...

Susan is back and something's been eating at her.  We have another wonderful conversation about breaking patterns, unschooling, Spell2Communicate, belief systems and her Get Moving Challenge. 

Sign up for free:
Rise Up with Susan May

Resources:
Underestimated - J.B. and Jamison Handley

I-ASC (International Association for Spelling as Communication

Big Book of Unschooling - Sandra D...