Inclusive Education Project Podcast

We’re so thrilled to have Dr. Whitney Casares (“Dr. Whitney”), creator of the popular “The Modern Mommy Doc” website with us for today’s interview! Join us as we dive into the topics around new parenthood and self-care, and discuss her newest book, https://modernmommydoc.com/books (The Working Mom Blueprint), which will be released May 11, 2021. Whitney Casares, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P. is a pediatrician and a mom to two young girls in Portland, Oregon. After completing her undergraduate degree in journalism, she completed her medical school training at the University of Vermont and her pediatrics residency training at Stanford University. She also holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from the University of California, Berkeley.  She cares for children and adolescents as a full-time, board-certified pediatrician in Portland, Oregon. She knows from experience what it’s like to welcome a new baby into the world and what it’s like to make sure those babies thrive in their first days,

We can’t wait to share our wonderful conversation with you today! Our guest is Renee Pena Lopez, an Early Childhood Learning Specialist, a Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT), and the host of “The Magic of Littles” podcast! Join us as we talk about advocacy, early intervention, the importance of play, and making sure each child receives what they need. Show Highlights: Renee shares her introduction into (and passion for) early childhood education. The importance of early intervention. Renee discusses her daughter’s challenges and abilities. How teachers and parents are getting more educated about what a child needs, and how there’s less stigmatizing now. How to avoid the fallout of carry-overs from one teacher to another, or from one school to the next. Renee relates a story dear to her heart, that is related to why she chose her profession. Play: there are many types of play and they all have a purpose. Tips and strategies to engage with your little. Connect with Renee! Visit her https://www.

In recognition of Autism Acceptance Month, we’re honored to speak with Nicole Ballingoff. Nicole is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and the Regional Director at Kyo, formerly known as Gateway Learning Group. Kyo has undergone recent rebranding and other exciting changes and continues to grow across the nation. Kyo’s focus is autism therapy and achieving results that matter to each child’s future. Today, Nicole discusses ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis), consistency, and the value of collaboration. She also shares some tips on easing a child through the “at-home” to “in-person” transition!  We hope you join us for this intriguing conversation! Show Highlights: Nicole describes the different ABA therapy options offered by Kyo. ABA is the science of using the principles of reinforcement to teach skills. Nicole shares common misconceptions around ABA therapy. Collaboration with all teams in a child’s life is essential in achieving the best possible outcomes for that child. Kyo’s services are

We’re so happy to have Kara Ryska with us today! Kara is local to SoCal and has her own podcast that we think you will find very helpful. In this episode, Kara shares how her journey propelled her to become a life coach to specifically help other special needs moms. We’re sure you’ll find encouragement and inspiration as you listen! Show Highlights: Kara relates the story behind her becoming a special-needs mom. Kara went from feeling ill-equipped to being a mom of a child with special needs to actually becoming a life coach for other special-needs moms. “The Special Needs Mom Podcast” is a combination of Kara sharing life stories, the things that she’s currently learning, and she also interviews other special needs moms. Kara shares the differences in challenges between what her son experienced as a toddler compared to what he experiences as an eleven-year-old. Building community with other moms or being a part of groups for specific diagnoses can be amazing support systems.   Connect with Kara!

If you’ve never heard of the Inclusive Digital Expression and Literacy (IDEAL) program out of Georgia State University, you’re in for a treat! IDEAL is an inclusive, post-secondary education program with a unique focus on creative and digital media.  We are so excited to bring you this conversation with Cara Davis, who serves as the Academic Access Coordinator for the IDEAL Program, and other members of the IDEAL team (Deriq Graves, Banji Bamidele, and Teymbi Toliver Tannis) for an insightful and inspiring look inside this empowering program. Show Highlights: IDEAL is a 2-year program where students specialize in their area of interest in the creative and digital media fields. IDEAL students audit Georgia State University courses in their areas. Internship is integrated into the program because the goal, upon completion of the program, is to become gainfully employed. Cara discusses their apprenticeship model. Team members share their individual perspectives on peer mentorship and support, social c

Among many other roles and accomplishments, our guest today, Robin Williams Evans, is a wife, a mother to a child with severe disabilities, an ordained minister, a coach to families with special-needs children, and author of the Washington Post best-seller, Living a Happy Life with a Special-Needs Child: A Parent’s Perspective.  As Robin explains, for the first two years after the birth of her son, Wyatt, she was in an emotionally dark place because she wasn’t prepared for the journey of being a parent to a special-needs child. Listen in to this inspiring conversation around the importance of self-care, and finding and keeping happiness and your peace of mind. Show Highlights: Robin shares the circumstances surrounding the birth of her son, Wyatt. Both Robin and her husband went through the process of grief differently and on different time-tables. There is no shame in seeking professional help when mourning the loss of your child’s abilities. As Robin attests, there is happiness to be found in the str

We’re excited to get to speak with Rachel Lissy, an educational consultant for the podcast series, “Nice White Parents”! Listen in to hear the inside scoop on how the podcast came about, the role she played in it, and what her own research and experience reveal about the intersection of integration and the discipline gap. Show Highlights: Rachel details her background and how she became interested and involved in integration. The “discipline gap” is disproportionate racialized discipline, which are ways in which students of color are suspended and expelled at higher rates. Rachel works for https://ramapoforchildren.org/ (Ramapo for Children), an organization that started in 1922. Rachel shares how she hopes to see education in schools going forward. Integration and inclusion is hard work for everyone, as Rachel explains. How we learn from the past gives us hope that we will have the tools to build a more integrated and inclusive future. Every school has a story to tell! Connect with Rachel! Rach

We’re so pleased to talk today with Lee Lombardo from the YMCA of Orange County. She has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 1996 and has been in the fields of social services and mental health since the mid-80s. Lee has always had a heart to serve vulnerable populations in the community. The programs that Lee currently oversees are two that focus on those with developmental disabilities. One program is for adults and the other one that is our focus today is for children ages 3-17. Join us for this incredible glimpse inside their children’s program and be sure to stay tuned for information on an upcoming event organized by the YMCA of Orange County, in honor of Disabilities Awareness Month! Show Highlights: Lee describes some of the varied programs offered by the YMCA. One program that she oversees is for children with developmental or intellectual disabilities, whose parents work and need a place to be after school. This particular program provides one-to-one aides for children with special n

We are so very pleased to share this enlightening conversation we had with Andrew Edwards, the author of three books, including the memoir,  I've Got a Stat For You: My Life With Autism. Listen in as Andrew opens up with us about his life with autism, what inspires him, what he does to maintain his positive outlook, and the legacies of determination and strength that his beloved mother left behind. Show Highlights: Andrew describes his experiences and ensuing opportunities leading up to writing his first book. Andrew shares a compelling story about his mother, Hazel Davies, and her gift of persuasion. What a person is able to accomplish is often clouded by pessimism and negativity. Andrew explains some of the lesser-known traits associated with autism, such as eating disorders. Andrew addresses discrimination and how last summer’s events enabled much-needed conversations. How exercise training helped him manage his autism was the inspiration for Andrew’s latest book, https://amzn.to/3rxgGRc (A Vision

We’re excited to share this enlightening conversation with you today. It will give you a whole new meaning of the term “good schools” and it will give you a reason to consider the benefits of an integrated school. Our guest, Andrew Lefkowits, is part of the leadership team at Integrated Schools and is the host of the Integrated Schools Podcast. Integrated Schools is a grass-roots organization started back in 2015 with the focus on parents with the racial or economic privilege to engage in the education system in a different way than they have in the past, in the hope that all kids are learning together and strides toward true, multiracial democracy are being made. Show Highlights: Andrew explains why he has trouble with the traditionally-understood meaning of “good schools”. Integrated Schools started out as a blog by Courtney Everts Mykytyn, and Andrew shares how their lives intersected. Desegregation and integration: defining the differences. Children have to be a central part of the difficult conver

Our guest today is Will Butler, Vice-President of Community of the Be My Eyes app. If you haven’t heard of this app yet, we think that you’re going to be blown away when you learn how a small act of kindness can have such a big impact in the lives of blind and low-vision people. Listen in to learn more about this app, the people behind it, who it reaches, and how it stretches across a global community with a bold, yet simple, mission in mind. We hope you come away with the same sense of “wow” as we did! Show Highlights: Will shares the compelling beginnings of the Be My Eyes app., which launched in January 2015. Overnight, more than 10,000 people signed up to volunteer. Today, there are 4.5 million volunteers supporting about 300,000 blind and low-vision people in 185 languages. Most calls only average 2-3 minutes. Will explains the simple process of signing up to volunteer and what an actual call is like from a volunteer’s perspective. Will describes users of the app, which extends far beyond what we

Our guest for this episode is Leah Moore, a high school English teacher and a 2009 recipient of the prestigious, “Teacher of the Year” award, which is presented to ten New York City Teachers annually.  She also teaches adaptive theater to mostly non-verbal students, which gave her an opportunity to learn a whole new way to approach a curriculum that she knows and loves. Leah is passionate about storytelling and getting your voice heard, whether that voice is in a traditional, general education classroom, a non-traditional theater. or a non-traditional, special-education theater class. We can’t wait to share this interview with you! Show Highlights: Leah reveals how her daughter’s diagnosis of Cri Du Chat has shaped her own understanding of what education, access, and inclusion looks like for her. Leah also has twin sons, one of which has special needs. Advocacy and connecting to other parents have become very important to Leah. #explodethenarrative - Leah shares her thoughts on this hashtag and what i

Today we’re joined by fellow podcaster, Janice Scholl of “Money, Career, and Motherhood Podcast”. You’re in for a treat (and some reflective moments!) as our conversation centers not only around the intersection of money, career, and motherhood but the wild cards that appear in our lives, at times! We hope you join us! Show Highlights: Janice shares her background and her experience when her family lived overseas. Living in foreign countries gave Janice a new perspective on what really mattered to her, much as the Covid-19 pandemic has. Going from a full professional identity to a full motherhood identity is not easy. It’s better to blend the two. Janice relates the challenges she and her husband had with their first daughter and the realization that they had to advocate for her. Taking career breaks can lead to entrepreneurship! The ‘a-ha’ moment when Janice realized she wanted to help other mothers navigate the blending of money, career, and motherhood. Even if your husband takes care of the famil