Forever Home for our kids with disabilities.
Formerly Special Needs Moms - Circle of Strength. This podcast has begun a shift in focus... Hey, I’m Valerie, mom to two with disabilities (one visible, one invisible). We came up with housing solutions for our children. This space has been created to help you navigate the journey of creating a secure, sustainable forever home for your child. We’ll chat with parents on this path, realtors, financial planners, and other experts who can make the process easier. We'll be dropping an episode twice a month. Seeing my eldest thrive living independent of us was a gift I didn’t always know I could give. I'm excited for you to have the opportunity to explore giving that gift to your child. Keep building your child’s future! Music acknowledgement: Audio Coffee - Denys Kyshchuk
Episodes
In this episode of Forever Home for Our Kids with Disabilities, Valerie welcomes Griffin Simony, co-founder of Shift Projects (formerly Shift Accessibility Contractors). Griffin shares how a desire for more meaningful work and his grandparents’ experience with aging and accessibility challenges inspired him to create a company focused on helping people live more independently and comfortably in their homes.
Tog...
In this powerful conversation, Valerie welcomes disability life-planning coach Eric Goll to discuss how families can proactively create meaningful futures for their loved ones with developmental disabilities.
Eric Goll is a certified coach from Royal Roads University and founder of Empowering Ability. Eric shares his deeply personal journey of growing up alongside his sister Sarah and the pivotal moment when his moth...
In this week’s episode of Forever Home for Our Kids with Disabilities, host Valerie welcomes longtime friend and dance educator Telisa Dubasov for an inspiring conversation about the transformative power of dance, movement, and community for individuals with disabilities.
Telisa shares her journey from volunteering in disability summer camps as a teenager in Saskatchewan to founding Bloom Wellness Collective &m...
In this eye-opening episode, Valerie sits down with Lakshmi Rao Sankar — Executive Director and Co-Founder of Crimson Rise — to explore the transformative impact of communication access for non-speaking autistic individuals.
Lakshmi shares her personal journey as the mother of a non-speaking autistic son and discusses how the groundbreaking “motor sensory paradigm” is changing the way families...
In this inspiring and heartfelt episode, Valerie welcomes Jennifer Buchanan, certified music therapist, author, and founder of JB Music Therapy.
With more than three decades of experience, Jennifer shares the powerful impact music can have on the brain, nervous system, emotional regulation, memory, connection, and belonging — especially for children and adults with disabilities.
Jennifer opens up about the deepl...
In this final episode of our series with estate planning lawyer and disability advocate Gordon VanderLeek and disability advocate Annie VanderLeek, we explore a critical shift in understanding the Disability Tax Credit (DTC).
The DTC is often misunderstood as “just a tax credit.” But as Gordon and Annie explain, its real value lies in what it unlocks.
This episode reframes the DTC as a gateway benefit&mdas...
What if the homes we build today are the very thing limiting our independence tomorrow?
In this eye-opening episode, Valerie sits down with builder and entrepreneur Adam Arsenault to explore the critical gaps in accessible housing—and why so many homes still aren’t designed for real life across the lifespan.
Adam has always been interested in building. He started at the beginning with how to read a red tap...
In this episode Ron shares his perspective: accessible, universal, and inclusive design isn’t specialized—it’s simply good design. But when designing for neurodivergence, the focus shifts toward creating calm, choice, and sensory-aware environments that support regulation and well-being.
Calm is Foundational
Designing for neurodivergent individuals often means reducing overstimulation. This inclu...
In this episode, Valerie continues her conversation with estate planning lawyer Gordon VanderLeek and disability advocate Annie VanderLeek about an important support available to Canadian families raising children with disabilities: the Disability Tax Credit (DTC).
Gordon is the founder of VanderLeek Law, and Annie leads the firm’s Disability Advocates division, helping families navigate disability-related prog...
In this episode, Valerie sits down with architect, author, and accessibility advocate Ron Wickman to explore what it truly means to design homes that support independence, dignity, and lifelong connection.
Ron brings over 30 years of experience in accessible architecture—and a deeply personal perspective. His father became paraplegic in 1964 at just 23 years old and was told he would likely live in an instituti...
In Part Two of this informative conversation, I sit down again with estate lawyer Gordon VanderLeek, founder of VanderLeek Law, to unpack the legal and practical realities of securing a forever home for our children with disabilities.
If you think buying the right house is the hard part — think again.
Gordon walks us through the integrated planning that must happen behind the scenes to truly protect your child&r...
Episode Overview
In this episode, Valerie sits down with Al Neary, a mobility and rehabilitation expert with nearly 40 years of experience, to discuss how thoughtful equipment choices and home planning can support dignity, independence, and long-term quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
Al shares practical insights for families navigating wheelchairs, seating, bathing, transfers, and home modifications&m...
Episode Summary
In this powerful and deeply validating episode, Valerie is joined by Dr. Theresa Lyons—international autism educator, Ivy League scientist, and autism parent—for an honest conversation about the hidden toll of parenting a child with autism, the emerging science around parent PTSD, and the hope found in evidence-based supports.
Dr. Lyons shares her personal journey following her daughter&rsq...
In this episode, Valerie sits down with Gordon VanderLeek, founder of VanderLeek Law and a nationally respected voice in estate planning and disability advocacy. As both a lawyer and a father of five adopted children, three with long-term disabilities, Gordon brings rare professional expertise grounded in lived experience.
They explore what it truly means to plan for a child’s future when lifelong supports are ...
As we close out 2025 and step into the Christmas season, Valerie offers a reflection on gratitude, hope, and the quiet, steady work of building a forever home for a child with disabilities. Through a beautiful allegory of a lantern maker, this episode reminds listeners that secure futures are not created overnight — they are built layer by layer, with clarity, consistency, and love.
This episode weaves together...
In this episode, Valerie sits down with Katie Hall—wife, mom, Gigi, mentor to teens and young adults with disabilities, and founder of Secure Your Hive. Katie shares her journey into mentoring, how this work has shaped her life and business, and how she now helps families save on essential services and create flexible, sustainable income streams—something especially meaningful for caregivers who cannot w...
In this episode Valerie sits down with special guest Dr. Elisabeth (Betsy) Woolner — an 'almost' retired family physician, university clinical lecturer, and mother of two adult children, one with developmental disabilities.
Betsy shares her 30-year journey of raising her daughter Scarlett, discovering her needs beyond diagnosis labels, and navigating three failed attempts at independent living before finally fi...
Episode Overview
In this powerful and heart-opening episode, Valerie is joined by father–son duo Mark and John Cronin, founders of John’s Crazy Socks, the world’s largest sock store with a mission to spread happiness and create meaningful employment opportunities for people with differing abilities.
- Mark X. Cronin – Social entrepreneur, policy leader, advocate for disability inclusion, co-f...
Episode Summary
A forever home isn’t just a physical space—it’s a lifelong foundation of love, care, and possibility. In this episode, host Valerie Arbeau, mom to two children with disabilities, author, and life coach, guides parents through the essential first steps in creating a secure and sustainable forever home for their child.
Through the analogy of building a house, Valerie walks listeners thr...
In this powerful and eye-opening episode, Valerie reconnects with Ishan Manerikar — a witty, fiercely independent 24-year-old student living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2. Diagnosed at 18 months and raised alongside a younger sister who also has SMA, Ishan grew up with a family who encouraged independence at every turn — even when it required a little ruthlessness.
At just 18, Ishan made the bold de...
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