What would you do if doctors told you your 7-year-old would “never progress past second grade” and belong in a group home?

Mike Knox thought his world was ending when his 2-year-old daughter Vivian had her first seizure and flatlined at the hospital. What followed were years of failed medications, schools that refused to help, bullying from classmates making fake seizure videos, and doctors who said she’d never progress beyond second grade. But Mike refused to accept that future for his daughter. After five grueling years and a leap of faith with a vagus nerve stimulator—a device the size of a silver dollar—everything changed.

Today, Vivian is 18, seizure-free for eight years, and preparing for college with dreams of film set design. But Mike’s fight isn’t over. He’s working to change state laws because epilepsy affects 3 million Americans yet has virtually no legal protections. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or advocate, this episode will open your eyes to a community that desperately needs support.

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How might having a child on the autism spectrum change a marriage?

On this episode of Let’s Plant Houses, I sit down with Paul Carroll, founder of Autism Dadvocate, a podcast and community he’s built for autism dads. Paul opens up about parenting his 18-year-old son Vaughn, who’s on the autism spectrum.

He walks us through those early “micro moments” like playground movements, Vaughn’s fascination with Arabic alphabets, tough sensory moments with hand dryers. It’s these smaller observations that eventually helped him understand his son’s beautiful neurodivergent mind.

Paul and I also get talk about how special needs parenting reshapes marriages. How roles can become entrenched, why communication becomes absolutely critical, and how parents find themselves juggling being both partners and co-therapists. We also dig into the overlooked perspective of fathers in the autism community and how Paul’s own feelings of isolation drove him to create this supportive online space for dads.

Come hear Paul’s story!

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