This week, we welcome Nicholas and Stephen from On The Spectrum podcast. We had such a great time learning more about their backgrounds, origins of their podcast, and the dynamics of their improv comedy and other performing arts. Steve and Nick share their personal experiences growing up undiagnosed with autism, discuss the challenges they faced in the education system and the misunderstandings that arose from their behaviors. They reflect on their journeys towards diagnosis, the impact it had on their lives, and how it helped them make sense of their past struggles. Great laughs, new insights, and unique perspectives from autistic adults, what more can you ask for? Listen here and then go check out their podcast.

Warning: there’s some swearing in this episode, so if you don’t want the kids hearing/repeating, go grab those headphones.

Holiday reflections, winter break highs and lows, and everyone’s favorite: back-to-school transitions, hooray! (insert sarcasm here)

There are some good things happening, we promise. We’ve got some updates on trying new foods, small victories with holiday gatherings, and some routine breakthroughs. 2025, here we come!

We are so happy to offer video for ALL of our 2025 episodes! Join us on Patreon HERE. Sign up and enjoy all of our episodes:

1. Exclusive early access to episodes 24 hours in advance
2. Ad Free- no skipping ahead required
3. Unedited (real life, real swears, extra sassy banter)
4. Our “messy hair, don’t care” smiling selves
5. Extra bonus content, episodes, and ways to connect ONLY on Patreon

Today you get Jean, Brit & Tash, and we are talking all about the importance of allowing our kids to struggle, finding a balance between support and independence, AND teaching them coping skills & resilience! We share some of our personal experiences and how we adapt our parenting styles. Come and chat with us!

"Where there is water, I will wait!"

Dayna Harvey is a water safety educator and swim instructor, specializing in teaching neurodivergent swimmers the importance of safe water play and exposure. She breaks down her program and gives real, tangible examples of things we can all do with our kids today to start teaching about water safety in all scenarios, not just around pools.

Check out the links below and please email her directly if you have further questions or concerns. She genuinely cares about the neurodivergent community and wants to help everyone be safe and have fun around water in appropriate ways.

http://www.watersafetywithmissdayna.com

What is Functional Neurology and how does it apply to autism and other neurodivergence?

On this week’s episode, Dr. Brandon Crawford discusses his journey into functional neurology, emphasizing the importance of understanding neurodivergence, particularly in children with autism. He explains how sensory processing affects motor skills and cognition, and how neuroplasticity can be harnessed to create positive changes in the brain. We all agree that tailored treatment plans for our kids is so important, along with our role as caregivers in supporting our neurodivergent children.

Website: https://www.drbrandoncrawford.com/

Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/bcrawforddc/

Dr. Crawford’s podcast: https://www.drbrandoncrawford.com/podcast/the-longevity-formula

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Functional Neurology and Dr. Crawford

10:41 Understanding Neurodivergence and Autism

20:53 The Role of Sensory Processing in Neurodivergent Children

29:11 Neuroplasticity and Treatment Plans for Autism

31:10 Understanding Brain Function and Neuroplasticity

34:14 The Role of Care Plans in Autism Treatment

37:30 The Importance of Caregiver Well-being

40:36 Self-Care Strategies for Caregivers

44:46 The Impact of Light on Neurochemistry

51:01 Grounding and Its Benefits

55:39 Grounding Techniques and Cold Plunge Benefits

58:44 Managing Stress and Cold Exposure

01:01:05 Post-Cold Plunge Recovery Strategies

01:05:06 Starting Small: The Importance of Gradual Change

01:11:58 Never Accept Never: A Call to Action for Caregivers

It’s a new year and exciting new content for Moms Talk Autism! This is going to be a big year for our families as some of our kids transition from elementary to middle school. Scary, exciting, and most likely a few bumps along the way.

Big changes for the podcast as well: a brand new merch collection is almost ready. We are NOW also offering ad-free VIDEO recordings of every episode via Patreon! We can’t wait to connect with you on this platform! We can comment along with you and create chats.. Come and join the fun!!! You can find us HERE on Patreon!

Exciting collaborations, professionals, guests, community member interviews, guest hosts, and new topics coming our way this year. As always, we’ll have honest, real conversations about caregiving and disability. Connecting, commiserating, crying, and laughing at ourselves are all included, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Thanks for being here.

You don’t want to miss our last segment on this episode. We read some of your funniest “I’m That Mom” story submissions. Send us more, they are our favorite emails!

An autism diagnosis can be life-changing for your child. It can also greatly impact your family and what the future holds for family planning. In this episode, we tell our personal stories of when we decided to have or not have more children after diagnosis. It's a very personal decision and we hope hearing our stories will help you along your family's autism journey.

Instagram: @momstalkautism

Email: hello@momstalkautism.com

Today we had the opportunity to sit down with Katja Piscitelli and chat all things gestalt language processing! Katja, also known as @BohoSpeechie on Instagram, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist. She owns her own practice called Total Spectrum Speech. We talked about what gestalt language processing even MEANS, how it applies to our kiddos, and ways that we as parents, teachers, and providers can help our exceptional children. This was such a great episode and we are so excited to share it with you! If you don't already follow Katja on IG, be sure you go find her! Her content is so helpful!

In addition, we mentioned a few apps: TD Snap, Proloquo2go, Touch Chat, and Nova Chat.

We also mentioned a few other notable items/people/websites:

Katja Piscitelli - www.totalspectrumtherapy.org - @bohospeechie

Marg Blanc - www.communicationdevelopmentcenter.com

Lisa Baskin Wright (@lisabaskinwright)

Meaningful Speech (@meaningfulspeech) - Meaningful Speech Course