Episodios

  • What People Don’t Understand About This Life (Even When They Try) with Anika Atkins
    Mar 18 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    This episode is a real-life conversation about what support actually looks like and where it still falls short for special needs moms. Kara and Anika talk about advocacy, friendship, community, and the quiet weight so many of us are still carrying.


    Read the full show notes here.


    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    57 m
  • Learning to Live Inside the Life You Didn’t Choose with Joy Shaw
    Mar 11 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    Transformation guide and stroke survivor Joy Shaw joins me to talk about healing through the lens of the hero’s journey and what it means to become the author of your own story. In this thoughtful conversation, we explore grief, witnessing pain, and the shift that happens when we stop trying to return to the life we expected and begin living the one we have.


    read the full show notes here.


    Connect with Joy Shaw:

    Instagram

    TikTok

    YouTube

    Website


    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    50 m
  • The Hidden Cost of Being The Strong One
    Mar 4 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    In this episode, Kara re-shares a deeply personal story about the aftermath of a medical crisis with her son and what she calls the “fallout zone” that follows survival mode. This conversation about the shadow side of strength is one many caregivers will recognize, and it’s one worth revisiting.

    Read the full show notes here.


    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    11 m
  • Digging Deep Without Trying Harder: A Different Kind of Healing with Erin Popp
    Feb 26 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    What happens when everything you intellectually understand still doesn’t help you survive the hardest seasons of motherhood? In this episode, I talk with Erin Popp about complex grief, chronic uncertainty, and what it really means to dig deep when control stops working.


    Read the full show notes here.


    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    46 m
  • The Emotional Cycle of a Special Needs Mom
    Feb 18 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    This episode explores the emotional stages many special needs moms move through, from survival and self-sacrifice to restoration and possibility. Kara shares a personal moment of heartbreak and why community changes everything.


    Read the full show notes here.


    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    21 m
  • Medical Mistakes, Ethical Repair, and How Caregivers Rebuild Trust with Anika Atkins
    Feb 11 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    Ethics educator and special needs mom, Anika Atkins, joins me for a conversation about medical mistakes, ethical repair, and what it looks like to rebuild trust after hard experiences in the healthcare system. We talk about apologies, advocacy, and how caregivers can communicate clearly without losing themselves in the process.


    Read the full show notes here.


    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    50 m
  • The Power of Letting Be: Why Being Held in Community Changes Everything
    Feb 4 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    In this episode, I reflect on the power of being held inside a safe community and what becomes possible when you stop trying to fix yourself. I share a moment from inside the Pathway to Peace community that beautifully illustrates what I call the power of letting be.

    Read the full story and details.

    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    24 m
  • A Mindset That Can Handle Uncertainty: Learning How to Be Okay Even When You’re Not
    Jan 28 2026

    Send us a text (Note: we are not able to respond but LOVE to hear from you!!)

    A powerful reflection on uncertainty, resilience, and learning how to trust yourself in seasons where you cannot control the outcome. This episode explores what it really means to be okay even when life is not okay, and how to build a mindset that can hold uncertainty without losing your footing.

    👉 Read sthe full show notes and resources here.


    Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
    Website: https://www.kararyska.com/


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    26 m