What does life really look like when you’re raising a child with severe autism and lifelong support needs? Author and full-time caregiver Tracy Envernizzi shares her family’s journey with profound autism, caregiver burnout, respite care, and planning for the future. After more than 15 years of caring for her daughter, Tracy knows the challenges, fears, …
How can storytelling help families feel less alone? In this episode, Cari Noga shares her family’s autism journey, from her son Owen’s diagnosis to navigating special education, caregiving, respite care, and advocacy while finding purpose through storytelling. She explains how parenting a child with autism changed the way she sees the world and inspired her …
Could embracing your child’s strengths change everything? In this episode, Kari Baker shares her family’s autism journey, from the early days of searching for answers to embracing autism parenting, ADHD, and faith with hope and purpose. She explains how letting go of the need to “fix” her son opened the door to seeing the incredible …
Could trusting your instincts change your child’s future? In this episode, Cassie Enea shares her family’s autism journey, from noticing early developmental regression to fighting for the autism services, IEP support, and specialized school placement her daughter needed. Her story is a powerful reminder that parents are often their child’s strongest advocate. Cassie opens up …
What if the strongest caregiver is the one who asks for support? In this episode, Jessica Patay shares her family’s journey with Prader-Willi syndrome, caregiving, disability parenting, and caregiver support. She opens up about raising her son Ryan, building food security into everyday life, and creating hope for families through the nonprofit We Are Brave Together. …
Could autism be more than a behavioral condition? This is what Dr. Eric Weiss is challenging with this work. Dr. Weiss spent decades as a surgeon and is the father to a son diagnosed with autism at age two. After years of trying every therapy he could find, a 2019 Duke University study on umbilical …
What happens when a mom of two autistic sons becomes the resource she never had? Linda Galarreta is raising three boys, two of whom are on the autism spectrum, and she has learned to navigate a system that rarely hands parents a map. From her son’s early speech regression and diagnosis at age two, to …
What if the path to connecting with your child runs through a song instead of a script? Nancy Burrows joins Let’s Plant Houses to share her family’s journey raising her son James, who received an autism diagnosis at two and a half. A former Nickelodeon writer and producer, Nancy discovered that music and early intervention …
What happens when a child finds a community that truly believes in them? In this episode of Let’s Plant Houses, Jennifer VanSkiver shares her family’s journey raising her daughter CJ, who has an intellectual disability. Jen talks about early therapy appointments, navigating school systems, building friendships, and learning to trust her instincts as a mom. …
What if your child understood far more than the world ever realized? Autism, non-speaking communication, spelling to communicate, apraxia, and caregiving are all part of this powerful conversation with Liz Fiordalisi. Liz shares the story of raising triplets, navigating a high-risk pregnancy, and watching her son Christopher slowly lose spoken language after meeting early developmental …