A Postcard From Holland
We are still here, and we have both missed you all.
Embracing Holland
en-usMarch 08, 2024
Building a Bridge to Inclusion with Dee Sapp
en-usMarch 14, 2021
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About this Episode
This week we chat with Dee Sapp, Executive Director of Accessibility Bridge Corporation, mother of three including an olympic swimmer with an intellectual disability. Dee shares with us how her passion for community inclusion lead to great things for her son and to the birth of an organization that serves to encourage people with all disabilities to integrate into the larger society and connect them with resources.
We talk about:
- Raising a son who is a competitive athlete with an intellectual disability
- Getting a proper, accurate diagnosis before the age of 18 to get appropriate services
- How support decreased after elementary school
- Pushing for inclusion in order to have success
- Getting the IEP team to think outside the box
- Exploring college options for students with intellectual disabilities
- Discovering the Think College resource
- Building the college wish list: social inclusion, academic inclusion, competitive sports
- Finding recognized and accredited programs
- Switching from public school to home school to prepare for college
- Creating a movement to rethink what people with disabilities can do
- Company programs targeted for people with disabilities
- Redefining the end goal, and thinking beyond graduating from high school
Links
Accessibility Bridge Corporation
Recent Episodes from Embracing Holland
Finding Hope in the Desert with Christina Adams
Christina Adams, journalist, writer, disability advocate, and camel milk investigator, shares with us her powerful early intervention story of her son with autism and how she was able to help him through diet and camels. She outlines what she calls her “crazy camel journey” and how her research and travels to Isreal took her to a place of healing. She shares her website with us as a resource that details how camel’s milk can help several conditions, from allergies and gut issues to neurodevelopmental issues. Join us as we learn about the amazing qualities of camels and how their milk can be a part of your healing journey!
Embracing Holland
en-usJanuary 11, 2023
A Cure for Austin with Hannah Lowe
Join us as we talk to Hannah Lowe, founder of the L-CMD Foundation and mother to Austin, who has LMNA-related congenital muscular dystrophy. Like many rare disease families we've talked to, her son's condition was caused by a random genetic mutation. There is no treatment or cure, and given how rare it is, they are unsure about his prognosis or life expectancy, making the mission even more urgent. The L-CMD Foundation she started inspires hope for a stronger tomorrow by seeking treatments and, ultimately, a cure. We talk about balancing grief with action, and Hannah exemplifies this in her graceful and determined approach to saving her son.
Hard Landings with Cammie McGovern
If you’ve ever worried about what adulthood might look like after high school or you’ve ever been inspired to create a meaningful space for your child to spend adulthood, tune in to our interview with critically acclaimed author, Cammie McGovern.
Cammie McGovern was awarded a creative writing fellowship at Stanford University, and has received numerous prizes for her short fiction. Her stories have appeared in many magazines including Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook and Seventeen , and she is the author of another novel, The Art of Seeing. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with her husband and three children, the eldest of whom is autistic. She is one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs.
Embracing Holland
en-usJuly 24, 2022
Enjoying Your Child with Leylani Cardoso
This week we chat with Leylani Cardoso, warrior parent, and mother of Sophia, her daughter with Down Syndrome. Leylani and her family helped Sophia bring her passion for food and entertaining to life by creating the YouTube Channel Cheeky Sassy Me
Embracing Autism with Lia McCabe
For this episode, we share with you another Maryland parent and fellow autism mom, Lia McCabe, who started AutismWish.org which seeks to fulfill the wish lists of families across the country without all of the red tape of government programs. She and her husband also host a podcast called Embracing Autism, which is child focus and helps parents to understand and embrace their neurodiverse children. Give it a listen, follow, and subscribe to support their mission of helping families in the face of fear and the unknown.
We talk about:
Neurodivergent parenting
Empathizing with sensory needs
The formation of Autism Wish and the Embracing Autism Podcast
Accepting behaviors that are harmless
How IQ testing is not designed for children who are non-verbal
Maintaining a positive perspective
Growing to understand that a diagnosis doesn't mean future dreams are gone
Lia’s website
Lia’s Recommended Books
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
Other books mentioned
Embracing Holland
en-usMarch 08, 2022
Caring for the Caregiver with Rory Lawrence
This episode is all about taking care of the caregiver. Rory Lawrence, mother of a child with complex medical needs and staff member with David’s Refuge, talks with us about the organization she works for that pours into parents turned caregivers, and how she and her husband have found meaningful respite. We also talk about practical ways to weave in self-care that don’t require a sitter but can actually make a difference.
Links
The Intentional Family: Simple Rituals to Strengthen Family Ties
Mae Bae Fan Club - Unique Apparel for Special Kids and Those Who Care for Them
Rory’s Email - rorylawrence@davidsrefuge.org
Embracing Holland
en-usFebruary 09, 2022
A Few of Our Favorite Things Year 2
Despite ending the year on a turbulent note for our families, we are ending season two of the podcast with our awesome finds that brought us joy this year! We share with you gift ideas, sanity savers and problem solvers that we hope will bring a little joy and make your life a tad easier.
Best wishes for a healthy, uneventful holiday season free from meltdowns and a bright new year sans trips to the ER and calls from your child’s school!
XO XO
Angie & Meg
NillyNoggin Caps - To Improve the EEG Experience
Buzzy Personal Vibrating Ice Pack for painless injections
Hand Tally Counter - Best Fidget Ever!
Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser Necklace
Plant Therapy Kid Safe Oils - Tummy All Better
Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock and Bed Shaker
The Libby App - listen to books for free!
Books Angie loved this year
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Books Angie didn’t love, but a lot of other people did, so you might!
And if you can only read one book, read this one - Underestimated - An Autism Miracle by J.B Handley and Jamison Handley
In case you’re interested, here’s more info on Spelling to Communicate
Family Devotional - Angie’s weekly ritual and current version of Sunday worship
Foundations - 12 Biblical Truths to Shape a Family
Zenni Optical Affordable Glasses
Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine - Not the Nest - that's an entirely different device we also love
Olive and June - The Winter Collection
Embracing Holland
en-usDecember 15, 2021
Circling the Drain: A Postcard from a Darkened Alley in Holland
Have you ever seen the meme about a special needs parent who fell in a hole? Well, that's where Meg and I find ourselves. When we started this podcast journey our mission was to highlight families with disabilities doing innovative things but to also share the reality of the ups and downs of raising children with disabilities, so this episode is a life update and a peek into where we are in the metaphorical Holland. We hope this brings someone some comfort who may also be in a hole.
Embracing Holland
en-usNovember 12, 2021
Smearing 102: From Devastation to Innovation
We continued our chat about smearing with our guest, Jennifer Sheppard, who created an adaptive clothing line out of a dire need for an alternative to wet suits for her own son who struggles with the behavior. We also shared a bit more of our chat with Genevieve, and our own lessons learned from dealing with poo.
We talk about:
- How we've become desensitized
- What we've found to be helpful in the aftermath
- Ways to clean up the mess
- Specific products and strategies that have been helpful
- Finding adaptive clothing solutions for when you can’t watch your child 24/7
Jennifer’s Adaptive Clothing Line - The Wild End of the Spectrum
Life on the Wilder End of the Spectrum
FB page - The Wilder End of the Spectrum
Products We Reference (not sponsored or affiliate links, just products we’ve purchased and found helpful)
Clorox Healthcare Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaners
Bissell Pro Heat Pet Carpet Cleaner
Book