Podcasts -

A Personal Account of Raising a Child with Autism

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“Our family collectively made a decision to start being more honest about some of the more challenging parts of this journey…because the more invisible I inadvertently made other families feel.”

It was such a joy to sit down with Bobbi Rogers, Director of Proud Moments Therapy & Founder of Families For Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT), to talk about the challenges that families with autistic children face in their journey.

Thank you so much for your honesty, insight and kindness Bobbi!

The Truth about Women & Autism

This week I am joined by bestselling author, international speaker and autism advocate, Jennifer Cook, to smash the stereotypes of what it means to be autistic and female.

Jennifer has dedicated her life to redefining the spectrum and informing the world about how autism impacts females, and how this differs from the impact on males.

Listen to learn more about the consequences of overlooking the diagnosis of autism in women.

Using Video Games to Teach Social & Emotional Skills

On this episode of The Illuminare Podcast, Vanessa Castañeda Gill, CEO & Co-Founder of Social Cipher, joins Dr. Ronit Molko to discuss her journey to an autism diagnosis, as well as advocating for women and girls on the spectrum, who have been largely misdiagnosed and underserved.

Vanessa founded Social Cipher to help neurodivergent youth navigate social-emotional learning through video games. She combined her own experiences and neuroscience research to create a platform to help youth navigate trust, communication and trying new things.

COVID-19’s Adolescent Mental Health Crisis

Thank you Dr. Anjani Amladi for joining me on this week’s episode of the Iluminare Podcast where we discussed this historic rise in adolescent mental health issues in the era of COVID-19 and how parents can start conversations and find resources.

“We’re becoming much more aware of how current events and our environment affect our physical and mental health because for the first time ever everybody is universally affected in some way.”

Advocating for our Edlers & Bridging Generations

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“The elders will teach you something that you cannot learn from the most famous bestselling authors or the most high-impact business coaches or the most polished self-help gurus.”

Countless professionals, parents, and partners have walked the earth before us. They’ve had triumph and failures…booms and busts…and have the advice we all need to hear…if only we would listen.

In this episode of the Illuminare Podcast, I sat down with David Romanelli to discuss why it’s so important to integrate younger generations with older people in order to gain valuable knowledge and build powerful relationships.

The History of ABA

What a thrill to talk with my undergraduate and graduate school professor, advisor, mentor and dear friend, Dr. John Lutzker.

Join us as we take a trip down memory lane and discuss the history, practice, and prominent figures in the research and development of applied behavior analysis (ABA),including Dr. Donald Baer, Dr. Montrose Wolf, Dr. Nate Azrin and many more.

John shares many personal accounts of his experiences with these pioneers as well as their contribution to the development of the field.

Dr. Lutzker is an esteemed child and developmental psychologist and leading expert in child neglect and maltreatment prevention.

It is always such a delight speaking with you, John. Thank you for sharing your expertise with our listeners.

Women, Sexuality and Autism

On this episode of The Illuminare Podcast, I sit down with Amy Gravino, an author, speaker, and autism sexuality advocate to discuss the importance of comprehensive sexual education for all individuals with disabilities, including individuals with autism, how sex can be a tool to reclaim independence, and how autism impacts women.

Amy is an advocate and relationship coach for those on the autism spectrum, whose mission is to empower those with autism to take agency of their sexuality.

Such a fun, meaningful and enlightening conversation that I’m honored to share with listeners. Thank you for joining me, Amy!

The Burnout Dilemma in Healthcare

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On this episode of The Illuminare Podcast, Shawn C. Jones MD FACS joined me for a conversation about the burnout dilemma among physicians in the medical community and providers in behavioral health, as well as his own personal journey with PTSD.

Tune in to learn tools to utilize when you experience burnout and more insights from his book – “Finding Heart In Art: A Surgeon’s Renaissance Approach To Healing Modern Medical Burnout.”