Parenting Children with Invisible Disabilities with Lora DeMello

Hello Brave Friends! This is story episode #179. And it features one of the many powerful stories we showcase in our first ever Brave Together book! It’s an anthology of stories shared courageously by our community of moms and it’s called Becoming Brave Together: heroic, extraordinary caregiving stories from mothers hidden in plain sight. It is available now and the link to find it is in the show notes, so go get yourself a copy!Today we hear a story from Lora DeMello about her experience parenting a neurodivergent daughter. Sometimes called “invisible disabilities” neurodivergence can be particularly stressful because of how often it is misunderstood, misdiagnosed or completely disregarded as a real disability. Welcome to today's story episode: What You Don’t SeeLora DeMello is the President of the We Are Brave Together board. Her WABT journey began when her daughter was diagnosed at age seven with several ‘hidden’ unique needs, including OCD, ADD, GAD, and Cyclothymia, and her son was diagnosed with ADHD at age six. Additionally, Lora is now also stepmom to her two stepsons, who, combined, carry a variety of diagnoses including: Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, PDA, depression, anxiety, and a rare blood disorder. Lora has a passion for empowering people through connection, art, the written word, and interactive experiences and she is truly honored to be a part of this WABT community. Find our first book from We Are Brave Together here.Find our Becoming Brave Together book trailer here.Donate to our Mother's Day Fundraiser here.Find WABT 5K Fundraiser here. 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. JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.Donate to our Retreats and Respite Scholarships here.Donate to keep this podcast going here.Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast?Follow our Instagram Page @wearebravetogether or on Facebook.Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: [email protected] 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!DisclaimerBrave 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. 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: [email protected] 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!Disclaimer