Parenting – Isaac's Autism in the Wild

Episode #29 | Pepping Kids with ASD for College

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | January 14, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

15 years ago, college opportunities for individuals affected by autism spectrum disorders was practically unheard of. In the few cases I came across, the opportunity was made possible by a dedicated parent who attended each class with their loved one to help provide the one-on-one support their child needed. Thankfully, this is no longer the case. There are many universities within Washington and throughout the United States that are either specifically for students with special needs or universities who have added programs that support these individuals.

In this podcast episode Doug Piehl, retired national director of college planning for Thrivent Financial, joined me to discuss the options he saw in his position with Thrivent and things parents can be doing to help prepare not just their child with ASD but also their neuro-typical child for post secondary education. Believe it or not – you can start planning as early as 8th GRADE!

Doug Piehl, while retired, may be reached at Piehldouglas@gmail.com for specific college planning questions.

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Episode #27 | Parent Strife

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | December 30, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

As parents, it is difficult to agree on every single decision when raising children. It becomes even more difficult when you raise children with special needs. In this episode, we discuss:

Root causes that seem to cause the most parent strife;
How parents have found compromise;
When divorce is a factor; and
What happens when compromise cannot be reached.

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Episode #26 | Long-Term Care Estate Planning Discussion

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | December 23, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

I believe that one of the most difficult conversations that a parent must have is on the topic of planning for a life-long special needs dependent upon your death. In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild, a group of parents joined me with our special guest Randi Johnson, Attorney at Law, to discuss a variety of issues such as:

Structuring special needs trusts for life-long dependents
Protecting assets for your special needs child so that they do not compromise edibility with social security.
The benefits of choosing an outside representative to oversee the special needs trust rather than a sibling or other family member.
Differences between guardianship and limited guardianship
Age when guardianship process should be initiated
When a special needs trust should be created

As promised, our guest Randi Johnson of Lilac City Law may be reached for further questions or to schedule a consultation at (509) 624-1610.

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Episode #25 | Adulting with ASD – a self-advocate’s perspective

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | December 16, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the wild, I had the pleasure to sit down and interview Clara’s (episode 23, Perspectives Over Time) daughter, Sophie Strom, who was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder as a young girl. Sophie, now in her twenties, tells us what it was like growing up in a time when very little was understood about ASD. Sophie shares her experiences overcoming sensory processing challenges and insights that parents raising young children will not want to miss. There is no way that you will walk away from this podcast NOT feeling absolutely inspired.

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Episode #24 | What advice would you give a new parent or your younger self?

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | December 10, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Two common sayings you might here me say are: hindsight is 20/20 and wisdom is wasted on the old. There are so many times that I have looked back at a moment or phase in my life wishing that I could change my response to a situation or that I could somehow share some of my current wisdom with my younger self. In this podcast a group of parents joined me to share some advice and words of wisdom that they hope might help other parents along their autism journey.

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Episode #23 | Perspectives Over Time

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | December 6, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

In this weeks podcast, I was very fortunate to have an autism mom veteran join me. Clara’s daughter Sophie, now in he early twenties, was diagnosed in a time when there were very little knowledge and resources available to families. It’s moms like Clara that helped pave the way for better services and inclusion for the younger generation of children diagnosed with ASD. In this podcast you will learn about her journey and advice she wish she would have had when Sophie was younger.

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Episode #20 | Stages of Grief

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | November 15, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Many parents experience grief after an autism diagnosis. These stages of grief mirror the same stages that grieving parents experience after the physical death of a child. In this podcast, we talk different stages of grief and its impact in our lives and relationships around us. We also talk about how we circle back to grief phases at different stages of development.

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Episode #19 | Autism Bloopers

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | November 4, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Over the years, my friends and family have enjoyed reading many of my hysterical stories that I affectionately call my Adventures of Sockpants & Super Heroes. In this episode, a group of parents joined me to share some of their personal autism bloopers from months and years past.

This is an topic that we will continue to record. There are just so many bloopers that will help you feel even more connected to your autism tribe of parents.

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Episode #18 | Sleep Issues

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | November 4, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

I don’t know about you, but I’ll do just about anything to get a decent night of sleep. In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild you’ll find that you’re not alone if you have unconventional strategies to encourage sleep as well as hear more about:

How anxiety effects sleep
The pros and cons of Melatonin
Discussion of prescription sleep aids
School conflict regarding missing school or arriving late
Pros and Cons to strict sleep routines
Possible sleep triggers you may not have thought about
Successful sleep strategies

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