Advocacy for the Special Ones in Your Life

Why does music therapy work?Music is a whole-brain brain activity that generates physiologic responses. Its predictable and structured nature can improve attention, enhance learning, and expand communication. Music listening and creation are motivating social experiences that can access memories and express or alter emotions.

Prospect Music Therapy

What is Conductive Education and who benefits from its practice?

Center for Independence, Chicagoland, offers super affordable access for your child with motor needs. Jim Zwiefelhofer, PTA

Center for Independence 

Through Conductive Education-NW

23153 W. Miller Rd Lake Zurich, IL 60047

P-847-722-0386

F-708-588-0406

Laura Hernandez, mom of 10, talks about her life, her business and her family. Managing therapies and the needs of her family require systems....instead of just holding on and surviving until bedtime. How could they manage all of their logistics and have-tos and make time to intentionally instill the ideals that their family values?  It took her years to develop systems and life hacks to keep her family running and organized. But after creating systems that helped her family run smoothly, it reduced her daily workload and her house became a place of peace... yes, even with 10 kids!

How the brain processes what our ears hear! Is your child struggling with w oral direction, spelling difficulty, strain and stress to follow along, to understand what they are hearing, tired, tune out? Auditory processing interacts with all areas of learning, sensory, phonics, social emotional, functional, reading. spelling, math and attention! Dr. Donna Turetgen, Au.D and Dr. Christy Washkowiak, Au.D. educate us about Auditory processing, also known as Central Auditory Processing (CAP). Dr. Dr. Christy Washkowiak, Au.D.

Dr. Donna Turetgen, Au.D.

John Felageller is the Ministry Relations Manager at Joni and Friends Chicago. Previous to that, he  spent almost 20 years in education, working with children from Infants to Middle School, serving in a variety of roles including Teacher, Mentor Teacher and School Director. John lives in Highwood, IL and is a single father to his son Christopher (ASD). He is a public speaker, multiple podcast guest, and regular contributor to Key Ministry’s Special Needs Family blog, as well as other special needs blogs including Hope Anew and The Mighty. Connect with John on his website:

Let's talk about trusts, guardianship and POA!  Sara Riechert from the Chamberlin Riechert Law Group P.C. breaks down what parents need to know about future planning and protections.  She carefully and clearly breaks down the often confusing and often intimidating conversation about planning for the financial and medical needs of a child with a disability, and any child who turns 18.  

Sara Riechert

Jenn Haston is a dynamic professional presenter with 10 years of speaking experience who provides inclusive and growth-based presentations virtually or in person! A cultural leader who motivates and inspires teams with a collaborative spirit and focuses on meeting personal and professional goals and accomplishing great things with folks around the globe.

She is no parenting expert- and some of the items she would share with parents looking for resources and tools are as follows:

Lenora Edwards, Chief Knowledge Officer, from betterspeech.com talks about the benefits of virtual speech and language services. She explains that SLP service providers deal with "the neck up" when it comes to services. 

She also answers questions parents ask about speech and language, that includes pragmatic language and sequencing of stories. Lenora also covers the question parents often ask regarding when to ask for a screening, if you are really not sure about the developmental progress of your child and whether they are meeting developmental milestones.

Lenora Edwards. M.S. CCC-SLP

Chief Knowledge Officer, BetterSpeech

Board Certified and Licensed in 5 states.

Dr. Shlok Kharod joins me in a conversation about mental health, and encourages families to have conversations with their kids about their mental health.  Open up the avenues of communication and help kids feel less alone.   His company, Charlie Health, offers virtual outpatient services to children and adolescents needing more than once a week connection. #metoo #mentalhealth #IOP

Name: Dr. Shlok Kharod

Title: Clinical Outreach Manager, Illinois

Company: Charlie Health

Dr. Shlok Kharod joins me in a conversation about mental health. 

This is a snippet of a longer eposide still to come!  So Stay Tuned!!!

Name: Dr. Shlok Kharod

Title: Clinical Outreach Manager, Illinois

Company: Charlie Health

Andi and Joe have two children with disabilities. Andi shares her Band-Aid story and how a simple request for a Band-Aid from a child with autism made the parents realize the staff really did not “get” their child. After peers told her child with autism she had no friends and should just die the student with autism went to the lunch mom, teacher, and principal and all 3 dismissed her. This school had a pattern of not understanding autism and parents escalated this to the district office to get autism training for grade level peers and school staff. Andi tells about her relationship with her spouse and shares her story about loving her children and letting them know that even Superman needed help as a child to become a functioning adult!

Reference of Superman video clip

One daughter was diagnosed with Moyamoya which led to the whole family getting genetically tested. Angelica was having mini strokes. As a mom, it was hard to convince doctors her 5-year-old was having mini strokes. There had to be a series of tests before the one test that confirmed Moyamoya. Mom says to trust your gut feeling don’t stop fighting. Don’t give up.

Trust your mother’s instinct. Nothing is wrong but something just isn’t right.

Second daughter, Marjorie,  has a genetic duplication, 22q11.2

Eye shape and hairline were indicators and additional genetic testing was suggested.

Later, there was an ADHD diagnosis along w a report with recommendations. However, getting her evaluated by the school, for services other than her current speech services was harder and longer than expected. Once Marjorie got more services, she became happier, less frustrated and reports from school and home are better.

Laurie McDevitt, Founder of Advocacy for the Special ones in Your Life,  talks about her work, her clients and the “Why” behind hiring an advocate to partner with you in school meetings. 

Laurie McDevitt, founder of Advocacy for the Special ones in Your Life,  talks about her work, her clients and the “Why” behind hiring an advocate to partner with you in school meetings. 

Paula cried at IEP meetings. They made her sad, and reading her son’s IEP was heartbreaking. She trusted the school team and has felt gut punched more than once.  She has become stronger and has developed mantras to live by, including: “Comparison is the thief of joy” and “A life lived differently is not a life less lived.” She wants to remind us that kids with special needs are still kids, deserving of being included to play with, to laugh with, and to be known.

Find out more about Laurie and her advocacy business here! 

Marie is a mom of an only child and shares her story of betrayal and why she listened to her gut when determining placement for her child.

She refers to the story of David and Goliath as stood up for herself to the  school which she believed was retaliating by making  multiple DCFS calls about the family. She believes some children have different ways of learning….One size doesn’t  fit all. She believes schools expect your child to fit in a box, and when they don’t, schools try to steer the direction of IEP meetings to get the outcome they want. Schools have hundreds of meetings a year and she got the feeling it was like a well oiled machine, not an individual plan. If your Mom gut is saying something is not right, it’s probably not. Marie talks about her beautiful  child and how she was able to get the help she needed, but decided not to stay with public school education.

Annie is a mom who insisted on the least restrictive environment (LRE) when the school wanted to put her daughter into a self contained life skills class early in her schooling.  The family wanted their daughter to have an LRE school experience with general education peers. The family wanted their daughter to have life skills, and believed they can be learned in the general education settings and within the family community.  When the school district wanted to place her daughter in a one size fits all transition program, Annie wanted a more individualized plan, even if it had never been done before!

Jennifer is a parent of two boys who were diagnosed on the autism spectrum.  She tells her story that includes different states, different school districts, different advocates, different neuropsychological assessments- not all are created equal. She shares her story about grief and how spouses may experience and process the diagnosis differently.  She also refers to outside evaluators: developmental pediatricians, neuropsychologists, and licensed psychologists whose reports and evaluations have been helpful along the journey. Plus, she gives other helpful tips and encourages parental self care!

Michelle Season 1 Episode 1

Michelle is a mom of two boys who were diagnosed with disabilities.  After her struggle to get pregnant it was hard to accept and hard to hear anything negative about her son.  She admittedly lived in denial and eventual regret. However, another mom shared her story with Michelle and that was pivotal.  Michelle is here to share her story to hopefully help another parent move past denial into hope and action.