Brave Together Podcast: Support and Community for Caregiving Moms

Latest Episodes:

Pain is a Catalyst Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

Today, Jessica Patay and author Kristin Armstrong discuss how pain is a catalyst and a conduit to growth and healing.
Kristin Armstrong is the author of eight books including: Happily Ever After, Strength for the Climb, Work in Progress: An Unfinished Woman’s Guide to Grace, Heart of my Heart, Mile Markers: The 26.2 Most Important Reasons Why Women Run, Ties that Bind and YES.
Her work has led to appearances on Oprah, The Rachel Ray Show, Hour of Power at the Crystal Cathedral, The 700 Club, NPR, Good Morning America and The Today Show. Kristin went back to school alongside her kids and got a Master's in Clinical Mental Health and is currently an LPC-Associate supervised by Dr. Sunny Lansdale, LPC, an EMDR clinician, and a Channeled Light energy healer.
She sees adolescent and adult clients and specializes in relationships, communication, identity shifts and transition zones, divorce recovery, parenting coaching, and healing from trauma.
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Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys.

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Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

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Let’s Shine a Light on Rare Diseases: When it's My Fault Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

We continue our series Shine a Light on Rare Diseases, and this week we speak to Madeline Cheney @the_rare_life about her adorable son, Kimball, and about living with grief and guilt as a mother and genetic carrier. Madeline is the leader of the Utah @wearebravetogether support group, so please do reach out if you live in the area and want to join the community. She is also the creator and host of The Rare Life, a podcast about parenting children with rare medical conditions. Her gracious, vulnerable words will inspire and comfort any mother carrying similar questions; you are not alone!

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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Trailblazer Moms! with Jess Ronne Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

Continuing the Brave Together series celebrating Trailblazing Moms, this week Jessica speaks with Jess Ronne, an author, speaker, podcast host, and caregiver advocate.
Jess Ronne is founder and executive director of The Lucas Project—a non-profit dedicated to providing recognition, resources, and respite for special needs families. She and her husband Ryan live in Tennessee with their 8 children, including their son Lucas who has profound special needs. Her story of beauty from ashes has been shared on The Today Show, Daily Mail and Huffington Post and is detailed in her memoir Sunlight Burning at Midnight. To follow the ongoing saga she can be found at www.jessplusthemess.com or www.thelucasproject.org.
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com/wearebrave together.

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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A Movement to Change Spaces (Toileting with Dignity) Jul 14, 2021

Show notes

What will it take to change the way society cares for the basic needs of carers and those with disabilities in public spaces? How can we create a world where more families can leave the house knowing they have somewhere to attend their needs with dignity?
Jessica interviews Christina Abernethy, a mom and the founder of Love, Hope and Autism. Christina is proud to be the coordinator for Changing Spaces Pennsylvania, a movement to build accessible restrooms with powered height adjustable adult sized changing tables across communities to promote inclusion. She is working with legislators to pass a bill in Pennsylvania that would require such facilities in hospitals, airports, museums, rest stops, sports arenas and more. For her efforts, she won the ACHIEVA Award Of Excellence for Family Support in 2018 and in 2019 was awarded a medal by the Autism Connection of Pennsylvania. Christina is committed to spreading a message of heightened awareness and acceptance of differences, ultimately inspiring hope.
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com/wearebrave together.

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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Let Them Change Us Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the Brave Together podcast, Jessica speaks about some of the things she has learned while raising Ryan. What really matters as we guide our children into adulthood? Do we need to work to change every behavior that is not a neuro-typical behavior? Do we really need to try and "fix" things? Or, can we make peace with our children and let them change US, instead?
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com\wearebravetogether. ⠀

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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Stepdads: A Chosen Love Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

We are celebrating stepdads! Any parent that steps wholeheartedly into a new family is a courageous, powerful soul. For families with children who have special needs, the courage and vulnerability of stepdads is so worth celebrating. Continuing our Father's Day series highlighting dads, this week on the Brave Together pod Jessica interviews Danielle Peretz and Khaled Al Khatib. Khaled is stepdad to Kai.
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com\wearebravetogether.

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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"A Joyful Life is Ahead" with Chris Patay Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

Today on the podcast Jessica and Chris Patay talk about fatherhood, and Chris’s journey over the years raising Luke, Kate, and their son, Ryan, who has Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare, genetic disorder. Jessica interviews Chris about the duality of joy and pain in being a father, as well as the vital power of community for dads.
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com\wearebravetogether.

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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5 Traits of Effective Parents in Special Education Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

On this episode of the Brave Together podcast, Jessica speaks with Ashley Barlow, an SPED Attorney and Advocate about the top 5 traits that can help parents be effective in advocating for kids during their journeys through the education system.
In a former life, Ashley was a German teacher in Jefferson County Public Schools and Cincinnati Public Schools, having taught nearly every grade from K to 12. She also taught Real Estate and Business Law at Miami University. Her areas of practice now include special education, family law, estate planning, and probate. She serves on the State Advisory Board for Exceptional Children in Kentucky, the National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition at the National Down Syndrome Congress and the Education Advisory Board and the Government Affairs Committee at the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (past president of the Board). She participated in the Institute of Special Education at William and Mary College of Law in 2016, returning for the Alumni Track in 2017 and serving as faculty in 2020. She also holds an Advanced Advocacy Certificate from the Council of Parents Attorneys and Advocates. Ashley practices state wide in Kentucky and Ohio, and when not working, she is normally at the pool with her husband and two sons, one of whom has Down syndrome.
Learn more about her practice and webinars at ashleybarlowco.com. Ashley is on Facebook and IG, and also has a podcast called Special Education Advocacy.
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com\wearebravetogether.

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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Invisible Illnesses with Laurie Magulac Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

Laurie Magulac returns to the Brave Together podcast to speak with Jessica about invisible illnesses… how do we advocate for children with unseen special needs, how do we set boundaries with family and friends that do not understand, and what is it like to teach a child to advocate for themselves as they grow?
Laurie Magulac is a life coach, educator, and mother of four, ages twelve to young adult. Special needs parenting found her the day she brought home two bouncy foster siblings with, it turned out, a dozen medical, developmental and mental health disabilities. Raising and advocating for them and their two younger sisters, one of whom also has special needs, inspired her book, Get Your Joy Back: Banishing Resentment and Reclaiming Confidence in Your Special Needs Family.
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com\wearebravetogether.

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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Dear Younger Me: Multiple Special Needs May 26, 2021

Show notes

Today on the Brave Together Pod, we hear from Michele and Julie, two mothers of adult children with multiple special needs. Listen and hear their wisdom, their vulnerability, and celebration stories.
Julie Paterson draws her energy by being and connecting with others. She’s been married to the love of her life for 31 years and is grateful to be blessed with two amazing sons, Kyle and Dylan. Both boys have had their own struggles with mental illness-Kyle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Dylan with Autism Spectrum Disorder. With the help of professionals, family, and friends both boys are doing extremely well. Currently, Julie is a member of Special Children’s League of South Bay and is a fitness instructor at Coreology Fitness in Palos Verdes. She finds this role similar to her coaching role as a special needs mother.
Michele is a native Californian who is happiest when with her family and friends. She’s been married for 30 years to her husband Tony and is a proud mother to Max (28) and Katie (24). She enjoys volunteering and has been involved in Special Children’s League South Bay for the last 10 years. She is a part time substitute teacher and enjoys walking, knitting and being outdoors….especially at the beach.
Brave Together Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, an organization working to make professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone can get help, anytime, anywhere from the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors. For a 10% discount off of your first month, visit www.betterhelp.com\wearebravetogether.

JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.

Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here.

Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube.

Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org

If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.

Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!

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