Healing The Spectrum Podcast

Stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior can help a person to regulate themselves. It can help them "tune out" other input when they are overstimulated or make them more comfortable by providing extra input if they are understimulated. It can help regulate intense emotions. Some believe that even things like headbanging serve a purpose by releasing endorphins, the chemicals our body produces to help us relieve pain. Learn more about what may be causing stimming and how you can help.

Starting off Season 2 with a bang! In this episode, we got to sit down with Dr. Dane Fliedner and talk about a new care facility Lighthouse Complex Care and their unique approach to treating autism and other complex disorders. You may have heard Dr. Fliedner speak at TACA or seen him at Dr. Rossignol's office where he practices in addition to his time at Lighthouse. We know you're going to appreciate this valuable, enjoyable conversation with Dr. Dane!

Join us as we welcome Connor Heering from Camel Milk Co-Op back to the podcast this week to share some exciting news about a unique, high-quality new camel milk product! Connor mentioned the last time he was a guest on the podcast that he was working on a top-notch freeze-dried product and it's finally ready to ship. Learn how this can make using camel milk so much easier and save you money too. He also generously shares a coupon code just for our listeners. Tune in for all the details!

Is your child just a picky eater or do you have a problem feeder? Learn the difference and how you can help in our interview with Shandy Laskey, an SLP, nutritionist, and mealtime and feeding coach. Discover the things that can cause picky eating and strategies to support yourself and your child on the road to happier, healthier meals and a better relationship with food.

Should you be worried about glyphosate? Last week we sat down with Jessica E, (@momcologist_on_a_mission) a mom who is a fierce advocate for toxin-free living. After her daughter got sick, she started learning everything she could about glyphosate and she's here to share her story and her vast knowledge with you about this important topic. Learn how it can harm, and what you can do about it in the second part of our two-part conversation about this pervasive chemical.

Should you be worried about glyphosate? We sat down with Jessica E, (@momcologist_on_a_mission) a mom who is a fierce advocate for toxin-free living. After her daughter got sick, she started learning everything she could about glyphosate and she's here to share her story and her vast knowledge with you about this important topic. Learn what it is, how it can harm, and what you can do about it in our two-part conversation about this pervasive chemical.

After such a huge response to our YouTube vid on PANS/PANDAS last week, we knew we had to do more for you guys. Alexis gets candid and shares her journey from how she knew, to working with providers, to the steps she took to help her son start to recover. She shares tips for parents just starting this journey (or struggling through it) and hope for positive outcomes. Check out our accompanying blog post at https://www.healinghopetribe.com/blog/pans-pandas/ or our episode page at http://healingthespectrum.com for resource links.

Want to learn more about how to choose products that are safer for you and your family? In this week's interview, we dive into that and so much more with Cleaner Stephanie, a special needs mom and oncology nurse who increased her own health and her family's through learning about cleaner products. She is committed to educating other moms about safe products and shares her best tips and resources with us! She also tells about her advocacy efforts from local all the way up to the national level. Truly an inspirational, amazing mom and a great conversation!

Early intervention has been shown again and again to improve outcomes for kids on the spectrum. Two companies have developed tests in an effort to help create objective measures for diagnosis and in this episode, we tell you what you need to know. Even if you don't want to get these tests done, they demonstrate the validity of the biomedical approach and the medical underpinnings of autism symptoms in many children.

Acetaminophen is doctor-recommended and generally considered one of the safest things you can give for fevers and for the vast majority of kids that's absolutely true. Most parents give acetaminophen products without a second thought. What we didn't understand is that the way it functions in the body can be problematic for some children on the autism spectrum. In this episode, we dig into the science and some alternatives because we wish someone had shared it with us sooner.

If you are a mommy who has ever felt overwhelmed or a man who loves an overwhelmed mommy, this podcast is for you <3 So many moms struggle with feelings of overwhelm and having a special needs child adds an additional layer to that which we sometimes don't talk about. Dr. Sheryl Ziegler addresses these issues and so many more with both research and compassion in her book Mommy Burnout and, to our great joy, in this week's podcast.

Camel milk is gaining popularity with many families across the world.  There are so many health benefits to camel milk and we couldn't be more thrilled to share this episode with you. Lily was able to interview Connor from Camel Milk Cooperative about how Camel Milk Co-op is different than other farms currently in the market.  They also review some frequently asked questions about camel milk products and processes.

We have gotten so many questions lately from you guys about homeopathy and how it can help kids on the autism spectrum! If you're one of those folks, this is the episode you've been waiting for. Lily got the opportunity to interview Naomi Zeskind, a homeopathic educator, and ask her all the questions you've submitted and more! We are thrilled to share this deep dive into homeopathy from this month's expert.

Join us for just a few minutes for a quick announcement! We are excited to share our news and will be back next week with an awesome expert interview with a classical homeopathy practitioner.

In this second part of our two-part series on sleep, we go deeper into some things you may need to address to solve sleep issues. We also offer 5 strategies other parents have used to improve and support healthy sleep.

Falling asleep and staying asleep can be difficult for those on the autism spectrum. Many parents live in a state of constant sleep deprivation.In this first episode of our two-part series on sleep, Lily shares her own experience with her son waking for 2-4 hours every night for 2 years and what she did to resolve his sleep issues. She offers some relevant research and covers 5 common causes of sleep problems to give you a better understanding of what may help your child find sleep.

After a little holiday break, we are back with our next expert interview! Alexis had the opportunity to sit down with her son's ABA therapist, Lauren M., and discuss some misconceptions people might have about ABA and the kinds of things ABA can help with. She even shares some ABA methods you can apply now to help with potty training or any other behaviors you are working on with your child. We hope you enjoy this week's episode and find the discussion helpful, especially if you are on the fence about ABA or unsure about what to expect. Not all families have access to ABA and Lauren shares some resources that might help.

Parenting is hard sometimes and parenting kids with unique challenges can add another layer of difficulty. Then add in the holiday season or a job change, a move, or any other stress and it can all be overwhelming. Lily and Alexis discuss what helps them cope and offer some insights and tips to help you the next time you are feeling overwhelmed. 

There are a lot of things which can be more challenging for our kiddos and one of them is definitely toilet training. Get eight potty training tips and recommendations as well as the wins and woes of Lily's potty training journey with her little guy. We affectionately refer to this one as the "poopisode" ;) NOTE: Since this episode was recorded Bear has actually fully potty trained for both pee and poop with no accidents for two weeks so far! We started asking him whether he wanted to wear a pull-up or underwear to school and he started choosing underwear more and more often until he was finally wearing underwear consistently. The only other thing we did differently was we started working with a Classical Homeopathy practitioner again so although that tip is not discussed in the episode it's definitely one to consider!

It's an unexpected side effect, but after your child receives a diagnosis some of your friendships and even your relationship with your partner might change.  Some might fade away altogether. In this episode, Lily and Alexis discuss their experiences and share some ways to cope and the importance of making new connections with other parents on the same journey.