Navigating Neurodiversity

Managing medication for someone with intellectual or developmental disabilities can be complicated. Knowing what to look for is extraordinarily important. Kristi Torres of Tarrytown Expocare Pharmacy shares what families, caregivers and direct support professionals (DSPs) should understand about medication management — from recognizing changes after a new medication to asking questions and advocating when something doesn't seem right.

“My son is not a tragedy.” … For writer, journalist and autism caregiver Kelley Colihan Robertson, supporting her 24-year-old autistic son has meant challenging assumptions about intelligence, communication and capability. She shares what she's learned about presuming competence, finding ways for nonspeaking or limited-speech autistic people to communicate, and focusing on what individuals can do rather than what others assume they can't.

Sarah and Ed Escowitz weren’t afraid to make trouble. That’s why they made history. In Part 2 of our conversation, Sarah reflects on their work building The Arc in Calvert County, fighting for better special education and helping parents use IEPs in schools to advocate for their children. Sarah and host Rita Rich discuss the challenges of securing local special education and services, their move and continued advocacy in Virginia, and the lasting recognition of their work through an ARC volunteer award in their name.

Sarah Eskowitz recounts raising her son with significant disabilities in 1970s Calvert County, noticing developmental delays and rejecting institutional care in favor of community-based, family-sized homes. She and other parents successfully advocated to shift funding and policy toward smaller supported homes; today her son lives in a supportive group home, socially engaged and well cared for, illustrating how grassroots advocacy transformed services for people with disabilities in Southern Maryland.