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Finding Common Ground

Finding Common Ground

De: ROC Vox Podcast Network
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Many families feel like they're treading water, especially those living with autism and other developmental differences. As your hosts, we get it, and we know this frustration all too well.

In response, we've created tried-and-true strategies that help everyday people achieve extraordinary things. Even those who might have doubted themselves can borrow our confidence, follow one of our "blueprints," and with a supportive community cheering them on, make the impossible happen.

Each success inspires those coming up behind us, creating a ripple effect of positive change—Which is why we'll never run out of content!Our podcast tackles tough issues head-on with unfiltered conversations focused on solutions.

We won't avoid "the elephant in the room"—in fact, we'll invite it to dinner! Our unique format appeals to people from across the globe, offering strategies that turn efforts for one into advocacy for the greater good. We breakdown topics like innovative housing, effective self-advocacy, and healthcare complexities, guided by our audience on what to cover next.

Each episode offers fresh perspectives, featuring many guests you won't find on mainstream platforms. We intentionally invite differing viewpoints because finding common ground with those we see as obstacles is the surest way to create new and innovative solutions.

Join our Supporter's Club and check out our merch. Let’s ensure the A/I/DD community's voice is heard. If you want to dig deeper, schedule a session with us. We happily work one-on-one, develop trainings, and offer public speaking engagements to assist individuals and organizations in promoting things like inclusivity and equity.

Join our community, plant seeds of positive change, and before you know it, you'll be moving mountains with us! Want to support our mission and access exclusive content? Join our Supporter's Club and check out our merch.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.©2026 ROC Vox Recording & Production Higiene y Vida Saludable Psicología Psicología y Salud Mental
Episodios
  • Stuck and Spinning? Call the IDDO

    Stuck and Spinning? Call the IDDO
    Mar 26 2026
    When you know your child needs help, but every phone call leads to more confusion, where do you turn?

    In this DadAbility episode of Finding Common Ground, Steve sits down with Flor Ramirez, Supervising Attorney of New York’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Ombuds Program (IDDO), to talk about a resource many families still do not know exists, and why it matters more than ever.

    Flor pulls back the curtain on what an ombudsman actually does: helping families navigate complicated disability systems, ask the right questions, and get unstuck when nothing seems to move forward.

    “We help you navigate a system that is meant to help you… even when it doesn’t feel that way.”

    As both a leader and a mom of a child with autism, Flor brings something rare to the table, professional expertise and lived experience. She shares how her team listens first, connects the dots, and is not afraid to push when something isn’t working.

    “We’re not afraid to knock on doors and say, ‘This isn’t right… can we fix it?’”

    Steve and Flor also dig into what families are really experiencing right now, the confusion, the delays, the missed connections, and why so much of it comes down to a system that is complex, not always clear. Together, they explore how better education, stronger collaboration, and honest feedback can start to shift that experience.

    This conversation is real, practical, and quietly powerful. It is for parents who are tired of hitting walls, tired of being told “no” without explanation, and ready to understand where help may actually begin.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    41 m
  • Her Mother Refused the Institution… The Rest Is History

    Her Mother Refused the Institution… The Rest Is History
    Mar 19 2026
    They told Loretta Claiborne’s mother there were places for children like her.

    Her mother said no.

    Instead, she raised Loretta with grit, dignity, and sky-high expectations. Even when Loretta struggled with motor skills and had to crawl to the table and pull herself up, her mother insisted on good manners.

    No elbows on the table.

    Why? Because someday, she said, Loretta might be eating with the president.

    She ended up meeting six of them.

    In this unforgettable episode of Finding Common Ground, Loretta shares the kind of story that makes people rethink what is possible. From the moment her mother refused institutionalization to the breakthrough that changed everything, when little Loretta called out her mother’s name for the first time, this conversation is filled with the moments that prove what can happen when someone believes in you before the world does.

    Loretta takes us through the tough love that shaped her, the counselor who pushed her toward Special Olympics, and the path that eventually led her to become a globally respected athlete, advocate, and speaker.

    Today she has met six U.S. presidents, and in this episode she even tells us which one she enjoyed spending time with the most.

    But what makes Loretta remarkable is not just what she achieved. It is how she lives. Helping neighbors shovel snow, pushing cars out of icy streets, knitting for babies and women she will likely never meet. Still showing us what persistence, dignity, and community look like in action.

    As Loretta reminds us:
    “Never let nobody underestimate the power of you.”

    And one lesson her mother made sure she learned early:
    “If you quit today, you’ll always be quitting.”

    This is an episode about refusing to accept limits, setting the bar high, and the life-changing power of expecting more.


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    35 m
  • Can the System Catch Up Before Parent Shot Clocks Run Out?

    Can the System Catch Up Before Parent Shot Clocks Run Out?
    Mar 12 2026
    Families are often expected to hold everything together, yet too often they are treated like outsiders instead of experts. In this episode of Finding Common Ground, Steve sits down with OPWDD Commissioner Willow Baer for an honest conversation about what happens when families are carrying modern challenges inside a service system still shaped by outdated rules.

    One of the most powerful moments in the conversation comes when Willow reflects on the role families have always played in driving change:
    “Families are the largest unpaid workforce in the disability service system.”

    Steve presses on the urgency many parents feel every day, asking the question that sits in the back of so many families’ minds:
    “What happens to our kids when we’re not around anymore?”

    Together they explore the tension families face every day. Housing uncertainty, healthcare access, dual diagnoses, and the challenge of building flexible supports in a system that was never designed for today’s level of need.

    At the center of the conversation is a bigger truth. Families are already doing the work. The real question is whether systems can evolve quickly enough to meet them where they are.

    If you have ever felt like families are carrying the system while waiting for it to evolve, this episode will resonate.


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support.

    Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com.
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    42 m
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