Behind the Breakthroughs

Latest Episodes:

Autism Doesn't Discriminate Sep 12, 2018

Show notes

In this episode we follow a mother's journey with autism while living in the United States and then moving to South Africa. She talks about her son's diagnosis, her diagnosis with cancer, and her Visa not getting renewed as fuel to provide a better life for her son.

Meet Caz Collins, a mother, therapist, businesswoman, and advocate. When doctors told her she would never travel again because her son had autism, Caz traveled the next day. While living in the US Caz realized Autism does not discriminate and she wanted her son to have the same opportunities in South Africa as he did in the US. Her tenacity for life has allowed her to open and run a successful behavioral therapy business in South Africa. She also started the Blue and You Autism Run which is the first Autism Awareness Run in South Africa. Over the years Caz has lived a selflessly and has not only provided a better life for her son, but other children who have been diagnosed with autism as well.

IN THIS EPISODE:

This we chat with Caz Collins. She is a mother, a therapist, and a businesswoman.
She is the owner of Breakthrough Interventions in South Africa.
At 15 months Caz started to notice that her son wasn't talking as much as he used too and he wasn't connecting to others.
Doctors said, "Well he's a boy they typically develop later."
Caz lived in West Africa and worked for humanitarian organization where her son attended school.
The school said her son was aggressive, was not making friends, not talking, and keeping to himself.
She thought it was normal because of a language barrier.
Her family moved to the United States and they still saw those challenges.
She went to a check-up and doctors said her son needed a speech assessment. At the assessment he was referred to have a full psychological assessment. At the assessment her son was diagnosed with autism.
The doctor said, "Mrs. Collins your son has autism and you will never travel again."
Caz thought to herself… we are actually leaving the next day.
Her family life was spontaneous and so was her work and the children would have to travel, that was their norm.
What the doctor said did not compute with Caz. They were going to carry on.
She thought… No one tells Caz, " No." She always figures out a way.
In West Africa and there was no help, there were no resources and she didn't know how to assist her son. Google became her best friend.
She came back to US after 6 months and found out she had cancer.
Due to her cancer she couldn't continue work in South Africa because she needed treatment.
Malachi her son needed intervention and that is when she met Dr. Nunez.
After years of working with Dr. Nunez, their Visas expired and Caz and her family had to move back to South Africa.
Malachi was 8 years old. There were no services or no schools for him to go to.
A friend said, "Caz, South Africa is about 20 years behind America."
Caz thought, it can't be. I will not save up money and have Malachi go into an institution.
She couldn't accept that because she had already seen progress with her son and she couldn't stop there.
At a birthday party someone said to her "There is something wrong with your child." That was Caz's fuel to do something in South Africa and to start Breakthrough Interventions SA.
Nunez trained Caz and she went on to get her Masters.
Over the years Caz's business has grown.
Caz trusted her instincts. She is now working with over 30 children with a waiting list of about 20 kids.
She raised money to get a facility with 6 therapy rooms.
85% of her clients are mainstreamed. Those are parents who have started intervention early and ignored what the doctors had to say.
Two years ago Caz started the Blue and You Autism Fun Run. To educate people about autism.
In addition Caz linked up with the iAccept Campaign which is part of their run. The "iAccept Autism" Campaign helps build autism awareness and acceptance.
The first year 300 people attended.
This year they doubled their attendance and next year they are expecting 1500 people to attend.
Currently, they are registering the run as a non-profit organization.
The goal is to raise money for a center. Behavioral therapy is not covered by health insurance so if you have money you can afford it. If you can't there's nothing you can do.
Caz wants to open a center in which all children have access to behavioral therapy.
Things have opened up for Caz in ways she didn't plan.
The next thing that comes in front of her, she just does it! A true inspiration to all.

Mindshift (takeaways)

Allow yourself to cry. Your experience and heartache as a mother is real so allow yourself to go through emotions.
God made your child so accept him/her for who they are.
YOU have to be the active person for your child and take the steps to find the right help. Trust your feelings and intuition through this process.

Autism Has No Limits Aug 15, 2018

Show notes

In this episode we take a look at a mother's journey with her son diagnosed with autism. From his initial diagnosis to where he is now, and all the bumps and triumphs that have made him into the confident and connected person he is today. Their journey is inspirational one and we hope that you will connect with aspects of it to help you on your journey.

Meet Michelle Lewis, a mother of a child with autism. She opens up and talks about how scary and lonely the process can be. She went from wanting to coddle her son to setting no limits and pushing him out of his comfort zone. It has been challenging at times because his stubbornness and strong will often impede his learning. However, this is now her favorite quality about her son and is what makes him so successful. His self-discovery, interpretation of situations, and perception of the world inspires Michelle and has taught her the true meaning of motherhood.

IN THIS EPISODE:

-- The guest for this episode is Michelle Lewis a mother who has a son who is diagnosed with autism.

-- Dr. Nunez and Maylene Visaya have been working with her with son for over 10 years.

-- Michelle is an amazing mother who has an amazing outlook on life.

-- Michelle talks about her journey from the initial diagnosis to where her son is today.

-- When Michelle received the diagnosis she cried for 3 days and felt lonely.

-- She asked, "Why us?" Her husband replied, "Why not us?" and that is where her journey began.

-- She talks about the road being very lonely and scary and the importance or reaching out to others.

-- She found Dr. Nunez and Maylene Visaya and felt very hopeful because their goals aligned with hers. Michelle's hope for other parents is to find people/ professionals to add to their village and become part of their family.

-- In the beginning, Michelle wanted to just coddle her son and send him to a special needs school in order to make things easy for him.

-- Her fear was that her son would be bulled, mistreated, and she was afraid he would feel bad about himself.

-- When she found Dr. Nunez she soon realized that her approach was "tough love" as she set high expectations high for her son.

-- Michelle expresses that in the beginning it was hard to trust others. You always think you know best. But once she accepted that Dr. Nunez knew best, which was not an easy process, she started to understand and "get it." It was a light bulb that her approach was the right thing to do.

-- Michelle allowed Dr. Nunez and Maylene to come in and build a relationship with her son.

-- They had some "battles" which always led to breakthroughs by the next day.

-- There was always an initial resistance then everything opened up once he got through the resistance.

-- Michelle's son has always been that way. She does not think that is autism, she thinks that is just who he is stubborn and strong willed.

-- This is now her favorite quality about her son and what makes him so successful.

-- She loves how he discovers himself and interprets situations and perception of school and friends and his world.

-- Michelle rejoices when her son wants to play video games with his friends and send texts to them.

-- He's doing everything a "typical" child does, however he does it on his own timeline.

-- He is excited to go to college, but 10 years ago Michelle thought he would never go to college.

-- You want to protect your children from the world. But they will get hurt anyway and have difficult relationships and challenging situations… that is life.

-- Michelle's husband has the right attitude and would say, "Well if we have to do it 100 times then that's what we will have to do."

-- Michelle's son is independent and takes care of himself and he likes being recognized for that. Michelle just tries to help him interpret the gray areas in life.

-- Her son is emotional and very in tune with people and she is so grateful for that.

-- He's connected to people and has a great sense of humor.

-- There have been some bumps and not so great experiences but overall her son is confident and sure of himself. She hopes he never loses that innate confidence.

Mindshift (takeaways)

Be open to all types of therapies and programs. Have an open mind, listen and ask a lot of questions to find a therapy/program that works for you and your family.
Set high expectations for your child.
Unconditionally love your child. Find parts of your child that are amazing and beautiful and focus on that.

Identically Different Aug 08, 2018

Show notes

In this episode Dr. Nunez shares her experience of working with her new clients who are identical twins. She talks about how each twin reacts differently to the same scenario. Although these twins share the same diagnosis and look exactly alike, they could not be more different from one another.

This episode serves as a reminder to parents, teachers, and other services providers not to put children with autism in a box. There is not one size fits all approach. When you have met one person with autism you have met one person with autism.

IN THIS EPISODE:

-- This summer Dr. Nunez has had the opportunity to work with some new clients.

-- In this episode she shares her experiences in working with these new clients.

-- She shares these stories to remind parents, teachers, and providers that when you meet one person with autism you meet one person with autism.

-- The clients she talks about in this episode are twins and are on the spectrum and they are so different from one another.

-- This summer they went on vacation and traveled to a different state.

-- While traveling Brother #1 was calm and transitioned from activity to activity very well.

-- On the other hand, Brother #2 had several "mental meltdowns" (as he likes to call them) on the trip.

-- Brother #1 gets annoyed with Brother #2 when he has these meltdowns, especially in public.

-- Brother #1 does not want anyone to know that he is diagnosed with autism.

-- However, Brother #2 doesn't care if people know about his autism and is very comfortable with whom he is.

-- It's refreshing to be around individuals with autism because of their honesty. Although we have to work on filtering, there is no ill feelings, intentions, or malicious intent.

-- Dr. Nunez shares how much fun she has when working with these twins because she can use different therapeutic strategies.

-- This has taught her how to be versatile as a therapist and serves as a reminder to respect their individuality.

-- Therapists should always keep the individuality of their clientele in mind and to use approaches that are appropriate and tailored to meet their needs.

-- If you have a child with autism let them figure out how they want to identify with it.

-- Present the information and take the child's lead on what questions he or she wants to ask, if they want to research it or not.

-- Going back to the quote… ultimately you have to be comfortable with yourself and your identity in order to be happy in life.

-- We want to build confidence within our clients.

MINSHIFT (takeaways)

Allow your child with autism decide for themselves if they want to identify with the diagnosis or not.
Never let autism be an excuse of why you can't achieve a goal. Be proud and confident with YOU!
Help your child find activities that make them happy.

Annette's Vignettes III Jul 26, 2018

Show notes

This is the third vignette that Dr. Nunez shares. In this vignette Dr. Nunez talks about going back to school and the importance of acceptance and inclusion in the classroom among peers and teachers.

In this episode Dr. Nunez shares many examples of past client's and talks about the evolution of social skills from Pre-K through High School and how it impacts the acceptance and inclusion of children on the spectrum. The idea is to create inclusive school environments. Creating inclusive environments is a two way street and while we are teaching our kids who may struggle socially how to socially interact it is as equally important to teach their peers how to socially engage with them as well.

IN THIS EPISODE:

-- This is Dr. Nunez's third vignette series and in this episode she talks about going back to school and highlighting acceptance and inclusion among peers and teachers.

-- The idea is to create inclusive school environments.

-- Creating inclusive environments is a two way street.

-- While we are teaching our kiddos what socialization is about, society and their peers need to meet them half way.

-- It is important that we teach classroom peers how to interact with our kiddos that may struggle socially.

-- Nunez's shares many examples of past client's and talks about what acceptance and inclusion looks like from Pre-K all the way through High School.

-- Social change is constant and continuously evolving.

-- Nunez talks about the evolution of social skills and how it impacts the acceptance and inclusion of our kiddos.

-- It is really important to consider your child's developmental level each year they start school and where their peers are developmentally.

-- Every year will be different, so at the beginning of each school year you may have to start from scratch to develop and foster new friendships.

-- Just think of how you have evolved and have changed friends.

-- It is not so much teaching our kiddos to have one best friend.

-- It is teaching them the skills of how to make friends.

-- Teach them how to evolve and find like-minded friends. An awareness of who is more "like" you.

-- We teach our kids how to recognize similar interests.

-- Kids interest constantly change, especially at a young age.

-- It is important to find what your child is good at and focus on that because then your child will start to feel good about themselves and this is what helps to build a positive self-esteem.

-- Then it is important to find peers with similar interests.

-- This provides a common interest and that is how kids become connected and form meaning friendships.

Learn to Mindshift… Below are the three Mindshifts from this podcast:

Be engaged with your child and know what is going on. Do things like interacting with peers in your child's class, get involved with activities that interest your child, be social with other parents to set up play dates, and talk with your child's teachers.
Find age appropriate likes and interests. If your child does not have age appropriate interests discover ways to turn their interests into age appropriate ones.
Building relationships and friendships is on going throughout your child's development, it is not stagnant. Your child is continuously changing, so use these changes to help them develop their social skills and develop meaningful friendships.

Safe Spaces Jul 18, 2018

Show notes

In this episode we meet a mother who took her own personal "chaotic" experience with autism and created an inviting and friendly space for children and their families. She took her "what if" idea and opened one of the biggest autism community stores in the country. This store is designed to be accepting and inclusive of all abilities.

Meet Shannon Sullivan, the owner of the Autism Community Store. Her grass roots store has grown over the past seven years and continues to evolve and change to meet the needs of its community. It is a place where families feel safe, "normal, " and where people get it. Everybody deserves that!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Meet Shannon Sullivan, owner of the Autism Community Store in Denver, CO.
Shannon is an amazing woman, mom, and entrepreneur.
The Autism Community Store started because Shannon has a daughter on the autism spectrum and she wanted to create a store where parents could get all the things they needed to buy for their kids.
There is always a balance between money and time when it comes to raising a child with autism.
When you are in the thick of it, it becomes hard navigating what you need for your child.
She wanted to create a space where parents could go and get the things they need from, toys, games, books, stimuli, and resources all in one place.
It started as a grass roots business and now it has grown.
Each year the store hosts an annual resource fair.
The resource fair is in its 7th year and it grew from 10 people attending it its first year to 1,500 people attending it this year.
It is the largest resource fair in Colorado.
It takes a very dedicated person and sense of wanting to provide for others to make an event like this grow.
Shannon talks about autism being isolating and the resources are scarce.
There are three legs of a stool that make autism challenging for families and Shannon wanted to create a store that addressed these three legs:

The store provides resources.
It gives people a place to go when they need a break.
It is a place that is safe for parents and their kids.

It's the little things that give a family a sense of feeling "normal."
They can say, "I'm with people who get me." It's a place where everyone gets it. You are with your people.
Everyone deserves that!
Simple environmental changes allow our families to be included.

MINDSHIFT (takeaways)

The most important takeaway is to try to find what you are grateful for everyday. Find something that you can appreciate in your child, life experiences, etc. The lens of gratitude is a powerful tool.
Continue to evolve as a parent and as a person. Understand that in life and you evolve, there's no linear path, no grand finale.
Be grateful for things your child does. Staying in the moment and seeing your child as individual and celebrating who they are and their strengths.

Like Father Like Son Jul 11, 2018

Show notes

In this episode we take a look at a father's journey with his son diagnosed with autism. From his initial diagnosis to where he is now, we discuss all the highs and lows that happened along the way. Their journey is inspirational one and we hope that you will connect with aspects of it to help you on your journey.

Meet Terry Ruth, husband of Tina Ruth (episode 2) and father of a child with autism. Terry talks about his journey from a father's perspective. From the initial diagnosis Terry talks about how not to push your child into a role YOU want. Instead your child needs to find their own path and parents should be there to support and encourage them. He lives by the philosophy of you have lived your life, now its time to foster theirs. His son would not be where he is today without the love, support, and involvement of his father.

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Meet Terry Ruth. His wife is Tina Ruth who was our guest in Episode 2.

- We are excited to talk to Terry Ruth because we love to hear from dads. Usually you hear from moms, so it is great to hear from a dad's perspective.

- Terry explains that when JR was diagnosed he said, "No he doesn't have autism," and he had a long convo back and forth with himself.

- He said you go through your 7 emotions and luckily he went through them quickly.

- In his mind he would love his son no matter what.

- Unfortunately the world isn't going to change for his son, so he has to teach him to adapt to the world.

- That's hard to do because you don't want to take away his personality.

- JR didn't even know he had autism until he was 8 years old. We just didn't talk about it.

- Terry says that there can't be limitations and that's the whole reason they didn't tell JR right away that he had autism because he may use that as a way of not trying new things.

- Terry shares different examples of how they fully immersed JR in different activities.

- The Ruth's also do a wonderful job of embracing JR's interests.

- JR is really happy go lucky. He can get angry, but most of the time he is just happy.

- Now JR is obsessed with football.

- The Ruth's have used this obsession to socialize JR in high school.

- The first year JR wanted to check out the team and be the manager.

- Terry threw himself in had JR become apart of the team.

- Terry became the strength and conditioning coach for the high school.

- JR sees that his dad is apart of the school so sees he throws himself in it.

- JR excels in peer modeling so weight training with his peers is great!

- JR will be playing football this year.

- Terry told JR that there are two things you can do in life (he is very black and white) you can work or go to prison.

- JR would rather work. School doesn't come easy, but we also want to make it fun. So they didn't want him to just do academics. Both Terry and his wife agreed to go through with football since that was his interest.

- School was very supportive.

- JR wants to go to college in Austin. So this summer they are going to visit it.

- Terry has a special relationship with his son.

- He doesn't want to be his friend he wants to be his parent.

- It's a good example for fathers out there. You will always have a relationship with your child. The take away is to just to be involved, find what they like, support them.

- Have the philosophy of you have lived your life, now its time to foster theirs.

- Terry explains that he can't push JR into a role he wants. JR has got to find his own path and Terry is just there to support whatever path he chooses.

- Terry is an inspiration to kids, women, and men.

- Terry is always positive and doesn't like anything negative because negative is a useless emotion.

- If you can think it you can do it.

- It's a good mentality for parents. You don't want your kids to fail so get in there, do the work, and do whatever it takes.

Learn to Mindshift… Below are the four Mindshifts from this podcast:

Be patient
Wife is always right. Happy wife, happy life. That is one to live by.
Take the expectations away.
Put in the work and you will get the results.

Just Believe Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

In this episode Dr. Nunez begins by reading an inspiring letter written by a principal of one of her clients. This letter is positive and encouraging and will bring a tear to any parents eye who has a child on the spectrum. However, you will soon find out that the journey to get to this letter wasn't so positive. Dr. Nunez and Maylene talk about the journey of this client and how he was able to change the minds of people who doubted him.

When we hear the word autism we often create ideas in our mids of what autism looks like. In this episode we address this and how it impacted one of Dr. Nunez client's. Through a year of coaching the client, parents, teachers, and school administrators everyone learned to NEVER judge a book by its cover.

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Dr. Nunez begins the episode by reading a tear jerking letter written by one of her client's principals. - In this letter the principal expresses how proud she is of this client and how he had such an amazing school year. - However, Dr. Nunez quickly explains that this principal did not feel like this a year ago. - A year ago the school administration thought this kid was a severe "behavioral problem." - They questioned if he would be able to comlete the school year. - Dr. Nunez and Maylene talk about the highs and the lows of the school year. - Dr. Nunez explains that she never stopped believing in this client. - She knew that he was truly a good kid. - She coached him to believe in himself. - She taught him how to react to others who didn't believe in him. - She also told him that he was in an environment in which everyone expected him to fail. - Maylene and Dr, Nunez talk about the strategies that were implemented. - They involved coaching the parents, teachers, and counselors. - And coaching the client to stay positove and to focus on the positive instead of the negative. - By the end of the year this client was feeling good about himself and was not a "behavioral problem." - In return, the school started to see this kids potential and all of his positive qualities. - This kid believed in himself and others started to believe in him too.

Learn to Mindshift… Below are the two Mindshifts from this podcast:

Believe in yourself
Parents… Teach your children to believe in themselves

Annette's Vignettes II Jun 27, 2018

Show notes

This is the second vignette that Dr. Nunez shares. In this vignette Dr. Nunez talks about the importance of setting the goals high for your child. However, these goals will not happen overnight. She explains that parents need to break big goals down into smaller steps in order for their child to feel positive and successful about reaching these goals.

In this episode Dr. Nunez introduces everyone to Jon and his family. She talks about how their first trip to the park was a complete disaster. After six months of hard work and dedication by the entire family, Jon goes to the same park they had the disastrous experience with. You will have to listen to see what happens next…

IN THIS EPISODE:

This episode is an Annette Vignette where Dr. Nunez and Maylene highlight and talk about a situation of what goes on "Behind the Breakthroughs."
They share these vignettes in hopes of inspiring other therapists and women.
This vignette focuses on the transition from school to summer and Dr. Nunez talks about working on skills that are not practiced during the school year such as play and socialization.
In this vignette Dr. Nunez explains how she was working with a client Jon, his mom, and his sister Betty (real names are not used for confidentiality reasons)
When she first started with Jon the goal was playing on playground with his sister.
The first session on the playground was a disaster. After 20 minutes Jon was a wreck and ran away and Dr. Nunez had to chase him. Jon began was crying because he wanted to go home and sister was crying because she wanted to stay. Mom looked overwhelmed and defeated.
All Jon's mom wanted was to be able to take her kids to the park and have them play together without leaving upset.
Nunez was very compassionate with this mom because she could see that she was tired.
She explains for most children without a disability the playground is easy because kids instinctually know how to play. However, for children on the spectrum the playground can be a scary place because it is so unpredictable.
Nunez quickly went into problem solving mode and came up with a plan to reach the mom's goal of taking her kids to the park and having them play.
She came up with three goals to work on for several months.
The first goal was to go to different parks.
The second goal was to structure up park time because the kids could not play naturally.
The third goal was for the mom to realize that it was unrealistic for her to take both kids to the park by herself. She needed help because both her children needed something different and the park was becoming a negative place for all of them.
Nunez main goal was to make the playground fun so that both kids would have positive experiences at the park.
This mother took Dr. Nunez's three goals and worked diligently each week to find new parks, bringing new and fun structured games to the park, and doing weekly homework assignments.
Nunez commended this mom because she put in the work, followed her instructions, and she started to see results.
Fast forward six months and Jon made Dr. Nunez's heart happy.
They went to the same park that they first started at and instead of Jon and Betty crying, they played for an entire hour.
Both kids had a great time playing together and playing with other kids.
The session ended with Jon climbing up a climbing wall and jumping up and down shouting, "I did it! I did it!" He was intrinsically motivated and happy and so was everyone involved.
Nunez points out that many of her clients have big grandiose goals for their child and there is nothing wrong with. ALWAYS set the standards high.
However, refer to the quote… you have to break things down in little steps in order to get to that big grandiose goal.
Goals do not happen overnight.
Many clients will work on something for two weeks and ask Dr. Nunez, "Why isn't my kid doing XYZ?"
Her answer is… it takes time, dedication, and hard work.
Remember it took Jon six months to go to a park and play with his sister. Six months of weekly practice, and dedication from his mother.
Jon's mom took the time to research parks, brought in games, snacks and was consistent.
The point of this vignette is that big goals take time and parents need to follow through, do homework, and be consistent.
Parents need to become their child's own expert.
But most importantly parents need to have fun when teaching their child new skills.

MINDSHIFTS (takeaways)

Pick a summer time goal (i.e. playing a game, having a conversation, or something simple like passing out paper) and figure out how to break it down into little steps. Teach each little step to your child…step-by-step in order to reach the bigger goal.
In order to make your child feel successful and experience positive feelings towards their goal, motivate them with external motivators such as snacks, electronics, and physical play. Provided these motivators to them when they successfully complete a task.
When children have positive experiences learning and reaching their goals, the external motivators will become intrinsic motivating. Children will start feeling proud of themselves and that turns into intrinsic motivation.

Brewability Jun 06, 2018

Show notes

In this episode we have the pleasure of talking with a former special education teacher turned brewery owner that provides jobs to adults with disabilities. She talks about her journey of following her passion and all the sacrifices she has made in order give others hope. Through the love of beer she has found a way to educate the community by creating an accepting, loving, and inclusive environment.

Meet Tiffany Fixter the owner of Brewabilty Lab and Pizzabilty (opening in Summer of 2018). She has taken her love of working with adults with disabilities and turned it into two businesses that provide many job opportunities for these adults. Tiffany has done an amazing job of creating simple menus and innovative ways for people to order based on the strengths of her employees. Brewability Lab offers ways for the public to enter into a world where "dis" is replaced with abilities and which the bartenders teach the community how interact with them without judgment. This episode is inspiring, fun, and innovative and we had the honor of spending time with a true, "Lady Boss."

IN THIS EPISODE:

-Meet Tiffany Fixter, the owner of Brewability and a true "Lady Boss."

- Brewability is a brewery that provides jobs for adults with disabilities.

- Tiffany was a special ed teacher and now she owns a brewery. She talks about the Journey from teaching to owning a brewery.

- Tiffany is not only an inspiration to parents, but also to entrepreneurial women who follow their life's passion.

- It is really important for women to encourage and support one another.

- Tiffany uses strategies from teaching to run the brewery.

- There is a color code system in place where a certain color coordinates with beer styles. Red is strawberry blond, blue is passion fruit sour, etc.

- The ordering system is pretty simple with sizes and colors.

- Customers order by color. It also depends on who your bartender is. Alex, who is blind, came up with a system of a ringing a bell when someone needs a beer. Tony is deaf and we teach customers to sign the colors.

- It is great how the people out in the community learn how to relate and communicate in different ways.

- They also have toga parties and silent discos at the brewery.

- Tiffany has a staff of 6 and they all love the job.

- The bartenders do really well. One bartender loves to bartend because he likes serving to all the hot girls that come in.

- One of the employees has moved out on his own and lives in a "fancy apartment."

- Tiffany joked and said, "He lives better than me."

- The bartenders make a lot of tips and they walk out with more money than Tiffany has in her bank account.

- There is something funny that happens everyday. You never know what the employees are gong to say because they say what's on their mind.

- Tiffany gets calls daily from people all over the world asking, "How do you do it?"

- It's overwhelming, however, so many people can relate because many people like beer and everyone has a soft heart for those with disabilities.

- Funding is just so difficult even if you have a great idea or concept. You need capital. Tiffany has ha days where she had to sell equipment to pay everyone.

- Many people don't realize that when they go into business they must be financially prepared for all the little things that come up.

- Many people want Tiffany to franchise, but that is too expensive.

- Tiffany's new journey is to open up a pizzeria that is scheduled to open in the summer of 2018.

- She is hiring 30 employees and a pizza dance team.

- It'll be a walk up to get your food type of place. The menu will be picture based where you can circle the toppings. All pizzas will be made to order. There will be some appetizers, but the menu will be really simple.

- To get this pizzeria open, Tiffany talks about how exhausted she is. She has been hauling trash and she dropped something on her foot and needed stitches.

- Her advice to anyone starting a business is to have a huge passion, and know that you will be sacrificing time with friends.

- You also need capital, so plan in advance.

- Owning your own business becomes your whole life.

- Last but not least, if you are hiring people with disabilities focus and work to their strengths and don't over prompt. Help them be independent.

MINDSHIFT (takeaways)

When you believe in something do it with all your heart and don't listen to what they naysayers have to say.
It is important for women to support other women.
If you have passion and want to open a business, really plan it out. Get triple the amount of money you need. You won't make money for a while and the rewards will come elsewhere.

No Labels, No Limits, No boxes May 23, 2018

Show notes

In this episode we listen to another mother's journey with her son diagnosed with autism. From his initial diagnosis to trying multiple therapies we discuss the highs and lows of her journey. Through all the challenging times, her love, compassion, and motivation for wanting her son to succeed has never changed.

Meet Jo Daley, a mother of a child with autism. Her positive outlook on life and her persistence to try new things are the driving force behind her motto, "No Labels, No Limits, No Boxes." The word Autism is associated with many different stereotypes, in which Jo wants to encourage other parents to see outside of that label, set the limits high and get out of their box.

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Meet Jo Daley, her son Sean is diagnosed with autism.

- Each parent that we have on the podcast will be different because when you meet one child with autism you meet one child. This is the same when meeting a parent or family with autism you meet one parent or family with autism.

- What we love most about Jo is her positivity, even in moments of crisis.

- In the years we have worked with Jo, we can't remember when she has ever been negative.

- Jo talks about her journey of realizing that Sean had "different" behaviors, which led her to the diagnosis of autism.

- When she heard the word autism she cried and the thought that Sean was broken and she wanted to fix him ran through her mind.

- She researched, she felt alone, she felt scared, and helpless.

- There was no guidebook, no next steps. There was nothing.

- Jo expressed that it felt like going down a rabbit hole of information and it gets even more confusing.

- Jo started with the DAN Diet and sensory therapy first.

- She said, "That didn't' help." It was hard. Food was not as available and it was expensive. She would have to special order food.

- After a year and a half she was done. Sean ate a pizza and it didn't make a difference.

- Jo was relieved and said for many kids the diet works, but for Sean's body and chemical make up, it just didn't make a difference.

- She suggests that whatever you are trying to give it at least a year. Then you know in your heart it didn't work. That goes for therapy or diets.

- Jo talks about all the therapies she tried: vitamins, fish oils, sensory brushing, jumping, wearing a vest, art therapy, music therapy, OT, hippo therapy, but nothing really worked.

- Jo's mindset was that she was going to try everything and something would click.

- She kept going and trying new things and nothing was working.

- Jo felt defeated, she really didn't know anything about autism.

- It was hard and that was the beginning of Jo's acceptance.

- Jo had to learn how to accept autism, support Sean, and help him grow and get better because his autism wasn't going away.

- When Sean was 4-years old Jo started talking about autism. Before, Jo was in denial and didn't want to talk about it or take him out.

- The first couple of years she wanted to hide and cry and was in denial and wanted to make the autism go away.

- Sean was very controlling, rigid, and had HUGE tantrums.

- Therapists would try to get him to do stuff and then say, "Well, we are done for the day." And hand Sean off to Jo while he was having a tantrum and Jo would struggle to put him in the car.

- Felt that therapists wanted to work with more advanced kids.

- Many therapists came said, "I can't work with your Sean."

- Jo started ABA therapy. The reason she didn't do it sooner was because everyone told her no ABA, never do it, and that that was not for Sean.

- Not knowing, Jo avoided it, but it turns out it has been the best therapy for Sean. It has been the only therapy that has worked.

- Parents want to be helpful, but sometimes what works for you may not be the case for someone else.

- Parents listening have to be open to try everything because you don't know what will work.

- Also you have to trust your instincts and feel out the therapist because if you're not connecting with your therapist, then that therapist is not connecting with your child.

- Jo thinks it comes down to trying. Instead of don't; focus on the dos.

- In the world of professionals they think their method is the best method and they will talk down about other methods. We should be supportive of all therapies because we are all complex beings and need different approaches in life.

- There's already so much against us being in the autism community we need to come together and be supportive of each other and more positive.

- Negativity and "don'ts" can be so limiting for someone. Yes not everything is for everyone but because the disorder is so complex, you have to be willing to try everything and give it a good shot.

- And that takes a lot of investment. I want to stress the importance of investment to parents.

- I always say to parents if you're kids aren't doing for you what they do for me then it's a waste of time.

- We have worked with Jo and she is committed. Sean would not be where he is today without her commitment and work.

- Jo also expresses that amidst of everything her love for Sean doesn't change. Jo stated, "My child is not the same, but the same love and compassion and motivation I have for him is the same."

- Today Sean is a different child. He is great. He has gone from screaming tantrums and physical behaviors to using more language. Be has become more flexible and a lot more calm.

- Jo not only attributes Sean's success to ABA, but focusing on the things that Sean can do. Her expectations have been set really high for him.

- Before Sean was coming from a place of extreme fear. Now he is opening up and he wants to learn and loves to learn. He is really proud of himself.

- Jo talks about her quote and what it means. When you first get that label you feel so limited. You think there is one experience and you think about all the stereotypes.

- Don't put a label on it because everyone is different.

- In life when Jo tells someone, "I have a kid with autism." You can see reaction and the stereotypes coming, or the wheels turning because maybe they know one kid or no one with autism.

- No limits because Jo does not want to limit Sean. She has no idea what his future holds. She can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. She can see Sean having a job and living independently. But most of all she just wants him to enjoy his life. That's the bottom line, be happy and enjoy your life…

- No labels, no limits, no boxes is not treating Sean the way you would treat other children.

- And for therapist too not to place kids in boxes. Thinking outside the box as therapist, you can have your same bag of tools but tailor it to fit the child's needs.

- Jo's advice for parents is to stay calm, be patient, the love is still there, and try new things.

MINDSHIFTS (takeaways)

Stay calm
Keep trying new things
You love for your child doesn't' go away or change

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