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THE SJ CHILDS SHOW-Building a Community of Inclusion
đď¸ Welcome to The SJ Childs Show Podcast! đ
Join Sara Bradfordâbetter known as SJ Childsâas she bridges understanding, connection, and advocacy for the neurodivergent community.
With a growing global reach of over 100,000 followers and views across our platforms, The SJ Childs Show shines a light on autism, neurodiversity, lived experiences, empowering stories, expert insights, and practical resources for parents, educators, professionals, and neurodivergent individuals alike.
Brought to you by The SJ Childs Global Network, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting autistic and neurodivergent individuals and their families worldwide, this podcast brings together powerful voices, meaningful conversations, and actionable ideas that help build a more informed and inclusive world.
đ Visit sjchilds.org to learn more about our mission, explore resources, and connect with our growing global community.
đ§ Listen on platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, and moreâor tune in Fridays at 8:30 AM EDT on the Helium Radio Networkâs Life Improvement Radio, Channel 1.
Together, weâre building understanding, creating connection, and making inclusion more than just a conversation. đ
⨠Explore more resources at: https://sjchilds.org and https://streamable.live
Episodes
389 episodes
Episode 365- Grandparenting On The Spectrum with Jennifer Kaufman
The hardest part of âhelpingâ a family after an autism diagnosis can be admitting that your old playbook no longer fits. Jennifer Kaufman knows that tension from both angles: she spent years as a principal at a school for children with autism t...
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Episode 364-Parenting Neurodiverse Teens With Autonomy And Respect with Dr. Carla Caturia
Your teenâs behavior makes more sense when you stop treating it like a moral failing and start treating it like communication. We sit down with Dr. Carla Cataria, an educator turned family support specialist, to talk about what actually helps t...
Episode 363- What Down Syndrome Parenting Taught A Trauma Surgeon with Sean Adelman
A diagnosis can feel like it writes your childâs future in ink, but that story is usually wrong. We sit down with Sean Adelman, an orthopedic trauma surgeon and dad to a daughter with Down syndrome, to talk about what heâs learned outside the t...
Episode 362- A Realistic Roadmap For Neurodiverse Young Adult Transition with Dr. Norrine Russell
One sentence from a professional can steal your breath for years, and one unexpected win can finally give it back. We sit down with Dr. Norinne Russell, educator, advocate, and founder of Russell Coaching for Students, to talk about the part of...
Episode 361-Backward Design Parenting with Nathaniel Turner
Parenting gets loud when youâre stuck in the day to day. This conversation gets quiet in the best way and asks the bigger question: what do we want our kids to carry when our titles and paychecks are long forgotten? Weâre joined by Nathaniel Tu...
Season 16-Episode 360- Utah's KidPitch For Young Entrepreneurs with Jessie Dennerline
Your kid says they want to start a business, become a YouTuber, or make money from gaming and youâre left thinking, âGreat⌠but how?â We sit down with Jessie Dennerline, founder of KidPitchBiz, to talk about what kids actually need before they ...
Episode 359- How "AUTISM TODAY" Helps Families Find Real Resources with Karen Simmons
The worst part of an autism diagnosis is not the word itself. It is the silence that can follow when you do not know where to go, what to trust, or who will truly understand your day to day life. We talk with Karen Simmons about that exact mome...
Episode 358-You Do Not Need To Change Yourself To Thrive With ADHD with Zoe Lewis
You can have the right intentions and still feel like your brain will not cooperate and that is exactly where ADHD and executive dysfunction love to hijack school, work, and daily life. We sit down with Zoe Lewis, founder of New Bloom ADHD Coac...
Episode 357-What If The Hardest Part Of Autism Parenting Is Our Expectations with Paul Voss
The scariest autism parenting moments often start quietly: sleep disappears, words fade, new behaviors show up, and you keep telling yourself it must be a phase. We talk with Paul Voss, a father of eight, about what it felt like to watch those ...
Episode 356-Accessibility Works When We Stop Treating Disability As Defect with Daniel Hodges
Most people say they support accessibility, but very few can explain what it actually means or why it keeps breaking down in real life. Weâre joined by Daniel Hodges, a nonprofit leader and advocate with a law degree who was born blind, to get ...
Episode 355-What Big Behaviors Are Really Saying And How To Respond with Melissa Schulz
A meltdown in the grocery store. A fight over screens that spirals into yelling. A kid who seems âfineâ at school and falls apart at home. When youâre parenting a neurodiverse child, a strong-willed child, or a deeply sensitive child, it can fe...
Bonus Episode- Living With Neurofibromatosis Type 2 with Will Ruddell
A rare diagnosis can sit quietly in the background for years, until one day a scan makes it real. Thatâs what happened for Will Ruddell, who joins us to share his life with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), a rare genetic disorder linked to slow-...
Episode 354- The Art Of The Restart with Dr. Anna Levy-Warren
The parenting moves that look ârightâ on paper can fall apart in real life, especially when youâre raising a neurodivergent child with ADHD, autism, learning differences, anxiety, or executive functioning challenges. I sit down with clinical ps...
Episode 353- Handwriting: The Missing Link in Early Literacy with Holly Britton
If your child can talk for days but freezes the moment a pencil hits paper, the problem might not be âmotivationâ or âattention.â It might be handwriting. We sit down with educator and curriculum designer Holly Britton, founder of Squiggle Squa...
Episode 352- What Changes When You Treat Behavior As Language with Dr. Beth Long
The fastest way to lose your kid is to keep talking when what they need is to be understood. Thatâs why I loved this conversation with Dr. Beth Long, a licensed professional counselor and ABA therapist in Montgomery, Alabama, who brings both cl...
Episode 351- ADHD, Stress, And The Environments We Can Change with Roman Wyden
âThe struggle is real, the label is not.â That line sets the tone for a deep, candid conversation with Roman Wyden, founder of the ADHD Is Over movement, as we challenge the way modern culture talks about ADHD, behavior, and so-called âdisorder...
Episode 350-Turning Loss And Survival Into A Nonprofit That Donates Comfort for All with Eric Wyatt
A life-changing diagnosis can make even the strongest person feel like theyâre âtoo muchâ for the people they love. That single thought is what pushed Eric Wyatt to create Burden The Bear, a plush bear with a simple purpose: remind patients and...
Episode 349-Why Human Skills Matter More Than Content In An AI Age with Lisa Reigel
If school still looks like memorizing, pacing, and compliance, weâre preparing kids for a world that no longer exists. Today we sit down with educator, leadership researcher, and neuroscience-informed consultant Lisa Reigel to talk about whatâs...
Episode 348-Home Accessibility Upgrades and Universal Design for All with Erica Sell
Your house can be beautiful and still be safer, easier, and more supportive for real life. I sit down with Erica Sell, owner of Harmony Home Medical in San Diego, to get practical about home accessibility, assistive technology, and universal de...
Episode 347-Building A World For Every Mind-Why Organizations Win When They Embrace Cognitive Diversity with Robert Annis
What if the biggest barrier to inclusion isnât awareness, but the way our systems are built? We sit down with Robert Annis, a London-based founder of NEURO, to unpack how the âalignment trapââcultures that prize sameness over substanceâquietly ...
Episode 346-From Yelling To Leadership: Raising Adults in Training with Sue Donnellan
What if the fastest way to change your childâs behavior is to change how you show up? We sit down with parent coach and author Sue Donnellan to unpack why yelling fails, how Montessori principles build independence, and what it takes to lead th...
Episode 345-Own The Diagnosis, Change The Trajectory with Faye Casell
A lot of bright kids are still stuck on the basics of reading, and too many parents are told to waitâor sold cures that donât work. We sit down with dyslexia therapist Faye Bankler Cressell to unpack what actually helps struggling readers and h...
Episode 344-Unlocking Dyslexia With Science And Grit-A Conversation with Russell Van Brocklen
Imagine being told a first-grade reading level will define your futureâthen deciding to rewrite the script. Thatâs the spark behind our conversation with Russell, a New York Stateâfunded dyslexia researcher who turned personal roadblocks into a...
Episode 343-From Late Diagnosis To Lyrical Healing With Australian Poet Nadine Ellis
What if the words you needed were waiting inside the moments you try to rush past? We sit down with Australian poet and radiographer Nadine Ellis to explore late autism diagnosis, the quiet injuries of daily life, and the craft of turning hard ...
Episode 342-From Crisis To Clarity: Tools For Autism Parenting Without Burning Out with Lisa Candera
What if the hardest moments with your child werenât proof youâre failing, but signals pointing to the support they need? We sit down with autism mom coach and attorney Lisa Candera to explore a practical, compassionate approach to parenting thr...