Note: Recorded 7 June 2023

Originally Scheduled for September 2023

Sarah Stelmach-Brown is a caregiving advocate with a major focus on autism and Alzheimer’s disease and the host of the podcast “Caregiver Chronicles.” She is the mother of two boys on the autism spectrum.

Sarah worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant and Certified Medication Technician at assisted living facilities, nursing homes and in-home care before leaving in July of 2021 after experiencing caregiver burnout. She is raw and passionate as she speaks
about her experiences as a caregiver in both personal and professional settings.

Sarah is not afraid to tackle serious topics but also uses her wit to bring levity to almost any situation. She uses her podcast to help caregivers from all walks of life connect to others and gets their messages out about making the world a better place for those we care for and those who care for us.

https://thewholecarenetwork.com/caregiver-chronicles-podcast/

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sarah4903

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/caregiver-chronicles/id1527943242

The Autistic Me:

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/neurodiversity
• https://autisticme.libsyn.com/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme

Normal life has made it difficult this fall to maintain the podcast, my blogs, and my social media accounts. I have no idea how other working parents with podcasts and blogs manage to produce any content during a school year.

Trying to produce episodes at least monthly proved beyond my stamina.

After months like November, I find myself envying full-time creators who earn a living producing quality podcasts, videos, blog posts, and social media. They have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of subscribers and followers. Their podcasts have sponsors. Many of them have small teams or they outsource editing and transcription of content.

And then there are the dedicated hobbyists. That’s me: a slightly insane, certainly overwhelmed, and sometimes on-schedule hobbyist.

Podcast 0111; Season 07, Episode 04; 4 December 2023

The Autistic Me:

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/neurodiversity
• https://autisticme.libsyn.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme

David Villec is the neurodiverse father of Tiger, a 10-year-old autistic savant. Dave discusses his personal challenges and those of Tiger.

The Autistic Tiger is 10-year-old Tiger Villec and his namesake character, also known as “TAT.” Tiger is a world-renowned artist with the unique ability to draw upside down and draw with incredible detail. You may have seen him on TV or your favorite comic-cons.

Recorded in late May 2023.

• https://www.instagram.com/tigervillec/?hl=en
• https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092294232399
• https://www.facebook.com/theautistictiger/
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjXeGSMLbX4pFQHpG4A1szA
• https://www.tiktok.com/@theautistictiger
• https://linktr.ee/theautistictiger

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme

How can parents support their disabled children into adulthood? Will our children find meaningful places in society? Sadly, workplaces don’t always accommodate differences.

Mark Lyons and his wife are former teachers. With their son Samuel, they operate SammySocksEtc, an online store offering cozy socks, coffees, and teas. Like many disabled adults, Samuel struggled with traditional employment. The Lyons sought to provide Samuel with a safe and supportive work environment.

SammySocksEtc is online at:

• https://www.sammysocksetc.com  
• https://sammysocksetc.com
• https://www.facebook.com/SammySocksEtc
• https://twitter.com/SammySocksEtc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXzwTs8IU9o

The Autistic Me

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme

Podcast 0108; Season 7, Episode 1; 15 August 2023

It’s back-to-school season again, which also marks a new season of this podcast. Unfortunately, the new school year might be the busiest our family has experienced. I anticipate challenges producing new podcast episodes on a regular schedule.

What little free time we will have might be on weekends, and I don’t wish to give up family weekends for anything else.

My impulse, whether from autism, ADHD, or something else, is to be productive. Yet, I constantly feel anxious because my to-do list grows faster than I complete the tasks. If I tell myself a podcast “must” be produced weekly, I feel horrible when that goal isn’t met. Therefore, I am aiming for monthly episodes of Perspective on Neurodiversity. I believe that a single episode per month is what I can reasonably produce in the time available.

The Autistic Me:

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/neurodiversity

https://autisticme.libsyn.com/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme

Dr. Bibi Pirayesh is an educational therapist and learning rights advocate based in Los Angeles, CA. She has spent the last 15 years working with hundreds of children, parents, teachers, and schools to enhance the lives of children with learning disabilities. She regularly speaks on neurodiversity, educational therapy, and learning disability as a social justice issue on podcasts and stages and as a university lecturer.

As a first-generation immigrant and English language learner, she draws on a unique multicultural perspective, years of specialized education on these topics, and over a decade of community experience and advocacy. Helping parents, students, and teachers recognize the power they hold is shifting our systems toward equity and inclusion is her passion. Outside of work, she is an avid traveler and dog mom to "Booboo," everyone's favorite therapy dog.

• https://www.oneofonekids.org/about/
• https://www.oneofonekids.org/community/

In 2020, in response the school shutdowns and the isolation and mental health crisis of the pandemic, Dr. Pirayesh launched the Difference is Not Deficit Project. This project aims to build community through the power of sharing stories

The Autistic Me:

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme

Elizabeth Bennett, Life Coach for Families

With over 35 years of teaching, administration, and coaching experience, Elizabeth offers a unique blend of leadership, vision, and vast knowledge background. She is a retired award-winning school principal with a relentless passion for empowering people to take on their lives with joy and love.  Elizabeth is dedicated to sharing her desire to create positive and connected relationships, focusing on community and business leaders, educators, and especially parents.  (and yes, I even work with teens to help them see alternative perspectives.)

https://www.courageousnetwork.com/

Book: Courageous Conversations: A Guide for Parents to Understand and Connect with Their Teen, by Elizabeth Bennett 

The Autistic Me:

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme

From Marinda K Dennis:

I wanted to share my story in hopes of helping others who are struggling with grief right now, especially those on the spectrum. My 15-year-old daughter took her life this past year. She was bright, vibrant, and full of life.

Her 12-year-old brother, Andrew, is autistic. It has been quite the journey attempting to navigate my own grief while helping him through his. She was his world. He was her little shadow who followed her everywhere and wanted to be just like her in everything he did. He is now lost without her.

I want to share what I have learned, what we have been through, and what has led us on this journey of trying to help others heal from pain.

Andrew was in a fatal car accident with his father five years ago, and Andrew sustained multiple life-threatening injuries. We had to ensure that he was stabilized before we could even tell him that his father did not make it. It has been a long and hard journey for him through the years, and yet he's thriving right now despite it all.

Links and books:

Website: www.energy-threads.com
Grief Anthology: https://a.co/d/32mFIW5
Suicide Book Recommendation: Aftermath https://a.co/d/cvQq7eF

Marinda K Dennis

Energy Threads LLC, Owner, Author, and Editor

MA, MFA, Adjunct Professor of English,
DA Student of English Pedagogy, MA Student of Publishing

The Autistic Me:

• Blog: https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/
• Podcast: https://autisticme.libsyn.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CSWyatt
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autisticme