The Special Needs Mom Podcast
by Kara Ryska
Think of this podcast as your very own special needs mom support group--except it's helpful and fun! You will leave with the hope that you can have a super happy life even when your life includes parenting a medically complex child or a child with something like autism and ADHD. You likely didn't ask to be the parent of a disabled child or to live portions of your life in the hospital NICU or PICU. Your story is unique; it’s hard to find a place where you belong or where you don't feel so isolated and alone. Your child might have a rare disease, be undiagnosed or experience something that almost everybody has heard of like Downs syndrome yet the weird thing is that whether your child has an intellectual disability or physical disability, the experience as a mother is so similar. So regardless of your child’s disability, we can all find a home in this community. You find yourself managing everybody else's needs; your child, their siblings, and all the guilt that
Episodes
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I Don't Know What's Next: I Do Know I Need To Pause
Send us a text! (click here) This episode is a personal one. I’m sharing why I’m stepping back from the podcast for now and what it looks like to choose rest, even when it’s hard to let go. Read the full show notes here. Take The Evolution of a Special Needs Mom "Assessment" Wait List for Pathway...
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What People Don’t Understand About This Life (Even When They Try) with Anika Atkins
Send us a text! (click here) This episode is a real-life conversation about what support actually looks like and where it still falls short for special needs moms. Kara and Anika talk about advocacy, friendship, community, and the quiet weight so many of us are still carrying. Read the full show...
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Learning to Live Inside the Life You Didn’t Choose with Joy Shaw
Send us a text! (click here) Transformation guide and stroke survivor Joy Shaw joins me to talk about healing through the lens of the hero’s journey and what it means to become the author of your own story. In this thoughtful conversation, we explore grief, witnessing pain, and the shift that...
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The Hidden Cost of Being The Strong One
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, Kara re-shares a deeply personal story about the aftermath of a medical crisis with her son and what she calls the “fallout zone” that follows survival mode. This conversation about the shadow side of strength is one many caregivers will recognize…
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Digging Deep Without Trying Harder: A Different Kind of Healing with Erin Popp
Send us a text! (click here) What happens when everything you intellectually understand still doesn’t help you survive the hardest seasons of motherhood? In this episode, I talk with Erin Popp about complex grief, chronic uncertainty, and what it really means to dig deep when control stops…
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The Emotional Cycle of a Special Needs Mom
Send us a text! (click here) This episode explores the emotional stages many special needs moms move through, from survival and self-sacrifice to restoration and possibility. Kara shares a personal moment of heartbreak and why community changes everything. Read the full show notes here. Take The...
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Medical Mistakes, Ethical Repair, and How Caregivers Rebuild Trust with Anika Atkins
Send us a text! (click here) Ethics educator and special needs mom, Anika Atkins, joins me for a conversation about medical mistakes, ethical repair, and what it looks like to rebuild trust after hard experiences in the healthcare system. We talk about apologies, advocacy, and how caregivers can...
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The Power of Letting Be: Why Being Held in Community Changes Everything
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I reflect on the power of being held inside a safe community and what becomes possible when you stop trying to fix yourself. I share a moment from inside the Pathway to Peace community that beautifully illustrates what I call the power of letting be....
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A Mindset That Can Handle Uncertainty: Learning How to Be Okay Even When You’re Not
Send us a text! (click here) A powerful reflection on uncertainty, resilience, and learning how to trust yourself in seasons where you cannot control the outcome. This episode explores what it really means to be okay even when life is not okay, and how to build a mindset that can hold uncertainty...
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Permission to Not Be Great as a Special Needs Mom
Send us a text! (click here) You don’t need to be great right now you need permission to do what works. In this short episode, Kara shares why choosing the easiest path on purpose can be the most powerful decision you make in a hard season. 👉 Full show notes here. Take The Evolution of a Special...
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The Next Right Thing: How to Move Forward When You Feel Stuck with Misty Coy Snyder
Send us a text! (click here) Misty Coy Snyder shares how “the next right thing” helped her move forward after her son received a Down syndrome diagnosis. This episode is for the mom who feels stuck and needs one simple step forward. Read the full show notes here. Take The Evolution of a Special...
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How to Finally Organize Everything You Carry as a Special Needs Mom
Send us a text! (click here) Caregiving does not become overwhelming because we do not care. It becomes overwhelming because everything lives everywhere, and the mental load has nowhere to land. In this episode, Kara shares the system she built to organize medical information, providers, tasks…
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The Hidden Path to Feeling More Alive When Grief is Part of Your Story
Send us a text! (click here) Grief does not mean something is wrong with you. In this episode, I share why grief is part of the special needs parenting journey and how allowing it can quietly lead you back to feeling more alive. 👉 Read the full show notes and reflections. Take The Evolution of a...
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Your Well Deserved Holiday Bonus
Send us a text! (click here) This episode is a small way of saying I see you and I appreciate you this holiday season. Read the full show notes and access your holiday gift here. Take The Evolution of a Special Needs Mom "Assessment" Wait List for Pathway to Peace Coaching Community CLICK HERE...
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Reimagining Christmas When the One You Pictured Does Not Exist
Send us a text! (click here) There is often a version of Christmas we carry in our heads. Quiet. Cozy. Predictable. The kind that feels comforting but somehow never shows up in real life. In this episode, I talk about the grief that can surface when the Christmas you imagined does not exist and…
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Your Gateway Drug to Self Compassion
Send us a text! (click here) This week I hit record while standing, which feels fitting because this episode has a little extra energy behind it. November was a lot for me — two ER visits for Levi, construction stress, holiday disruption, all the things. I sat down to prepare for work and…
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The Challenging Story is Not The Only Story
Send us a text! (click here) This episode came from a simple morning walk and one very unexpected moment of wisdom from my teenage niece’s boyfriend. We spent Thanksgiving together and he shared something that stopped me in my tracks. It got me thinking about how the people we spend time with...
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Complex Gratitude
Send us a text! (click here) This Thanksgiving week, I’m keeping it simple and talking about complex gratitude. The kind that feels messy, honest, and actually doable for special needs moms. I share a story from the early days after Levi’s surgery, when gratitude felt impossible and I fully…
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Coffee with Kara: Life Updates and Messy Realities
Send us a text! (click here) Today’s episode is a cozy, casual chat. The kind you’d have over coffee with someone who gets it. I almost skipped releasing an episode this week, but connecting with you truly matters to me, even when life feels full. I shared why I’ve stepped back from social media,...
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Caring for Yourself When Behaviors Get Hard with Brittney Crabtree
Send us a text! (click here) This week, I’m back with my friend Brittney Crabtree from Moms Talk Autism for part two of our talk on behaviors that include aggression: physical, verbal, or self-directed. In this episode, we answer the big question: “What now?” We walk through the framework of...
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Punched at Parties with Brittney Crabtree
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I sat down with my friend Brittney Crabtree from Moms Talk Autism to talk about something few of us say out loud, aggression in our homes. Brittney shares what life looks like parenting her non-speaking son with profound autism, while I share parts of...
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Why Fixing Feels So Heavy (and Acceptance Feels So Light) with Carrie Holt
Send us a text! (click here) This week, I invited my friend and returning guest Carrie M. Holt back to talk about something that every special needs mom wrestles with, the difference between fixing and accepting our children. We unpacked what those energies feel like, how they show up in...
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Balancing Identities: Mother, Professional, Advocate, Woman with Cynthia Schulz
Send us a text! (click here) This week, I got to sit down with the wise and feisty Cynthia Schulz, author of Shine On: Raising Our Children with Disabilities to Lead Bright, Happy Lives. Cynthia’s daughter is now 40, and hearing from a mom who’s decades down the road was such a gift. We talked...
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Stepping Into Peace: The Power of One Hour a Week
Send us a text! (click here) Today’s episode is a little different. I’m pausing our regular programming to share something close to my heart: The Pathway to Peace Coaching Community. This podcast connects us week after week, and still, sometimes we need a space to go deeper to actually live out…
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Things Will Get Better with Sara Davis
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I talk with Sarah Davis, a wife, homeschooling mom, and former librarian raising her 7-year-old son on the autism spectrum. We first met through The Courage to Raise, a collaborative book where Sarah shares her story of grief, hope, and faith. We talk...
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What's Wrong with Me?
Send us a text! (click here) This week, I’m talking about a pattern I see often in caregiving—the heartbreaking habit of turning on ourselves when life feels too hard. I share how our minds default to “something must be wrong with me,” and why the truth is simpler: hard things feel hard because...
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When Motherhood Awakens the Fighter in You with Nikki McIntosh
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I sit down with Nikki McIntosh, founder of Rare Mamas® and host of the Rare Mamas Rising Podcast. Nikki is also the author of Rare Mamas: Empowering Strategies for Navigating Your Child’s Rare Disease, a book born from her family’s journey after her...
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Nobody Else Has It This Hard
Send us a text! (click here) This week I’m sharing a really personal story—not all the details, but the emotional experience of finding myself in a very sudden, very public, and really scary moment with Levi. It was one of those times where I could’ve spiraled, but something shifted in me. We’re...
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What Happens When You Stop Looking for a Way Out with Catherine Marston
Send us a text! (click here) This week on the podcast I got to talk with Catherine Marston—a mom, health coach, author, and 14-time Ironman triathlete (yes, you read that right…14!). Catherine’s story is one of grief, resilience, and learning how to take small, consistent steps toward healing and...
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From Luxury Estates to Special Needs Homes with Kelly Dixon
Send us a text! (click here) This episode was such a treat. I got to catch up with my longtime friend Kelly Dixon—someone who knew me way back in my landscaping days (pre-leadership Kara 😅). Kelly has a fascinating background managing ultra-wealthy households, and while she’s not a special needs...
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Extreme Mothering
Send us a text! (click here) I didn’t plan to end up emotionally fried by the end of summer... but there I was. I hit my limit. So, I did something radical (for a special needs mom, at least): I took myself to the beach. Alone. No kids. No caregiving. Just me, the ocean, and a much-needed van...
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The Crushing Weight of Responsibility
Send us a text! (click here) This replay from the archives is just as relevant now as it was in 2022. If you’ve ever felt the crushing weight of being the one who holds everything together for your child with disabilities, you’re not alone. In this episode, I share listener reflections on what...
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Fire Hazards & Other Summer Highlights
Send us a text! (click here) This one’s light, real, and a little bit ridiculous in the best way. I showed up ready to share a few stories from the trenches—some funny, some a little gross (parenting, right?), and all with the hope that you’d feel just a little less alone in this wild life of…
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Sleep Masks, Seizures & Shifting Seasons with Brooke Turbyfill
Send us a text! (click here) This week, I’m joined by my friend and fellow writer, Brooke Turbyfill. We met as co-authors of The Courage to Raise, a book written by moms navigating the special needs parenting journey—and somewhere between that and a road trip in an electric blue rental car, we...
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Carriers of Hope: A Conversation with Founders of Labeled and Loved Julie Hornok and Dr. Regina Crone
Send us a text! (click here) This episode lit me up. I had the gift of sitting down with Julie Hornok and Dr. Regina Crone—co-founders of Labeled and Loved. Together, they’ve created something powerful for moms like us navigating disability and special needs: connection, purpose, and spaces where...
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Let Go of Fair, Move Toward Care with Kim Botto
Send us a text! (click here) This week’s guest is Kim Botto, a longtime children’s and student ministry leader, TBRI® Practitioner, and all-around passionate advocate for kids who don’t always fit the mold. She’s spent decades creating spaces where every child—regardless of background, behavior…
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Nine Moms, One Book, Infinite Courage
Send us a text! (click here) This week, I’m sharing something exciting: I co-authored a new book called The Courage to Raise! It's a collaborative project with eight other special needs moms, and I’m proud (and a little surprised) to be a published author again—especially since writing has never...
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When Your Story Gets Disrupted
Send us a text! (click here) This episode is a rebroadcast of episode 87 that was originally aired May 2022. This episode I’m talking about what happens when our story gets disrupted. Likely, we all feel this way about diagnosis, a relationship ending or some other trauma in our lives. What...
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Worry and Anxiety: A Rebroadcast
Send us a text! (click here) This episode is pulled from the archives way back in September 2021. It is episode 56 and it aired shortly after finding out my son Levi’s brain tumor had returned. It was a season full of fear and uncertainty—and that’s exactly what I talk about here: worry and...
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A Midsummer Check In
Send us a text! (click here) Welcome to summer—ready or not! In this episode, I share a super personal mid-summer check-in that started with a frazzled Voxer chat with my friend Nicole and ended with some surprisingly helpful advice from... ChatGPT. (Yep, really.) I walk you through a real-life…
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When the Diagnosis Breaks You Open with Erin Trier
Send us a text! (click here) This conversation with Erin Trier was equal parts heart, healing, and hard truths. Erin is a mom of four, a health coach, and someone who knows the weight of navigating rare diagnoses and emotional overwhelm. She shares about her son Brendan’s long, winding path to a...
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When You Don’t Expect Good Things To Feel Bad
Send us a text! (click here) Sometimes the “good” moments still catch us off guard—like when progress or positive change feels surprisingly heavy. In this episode, I share how a kitchen remodel gone wrong helped me notice something deeper: the emotional tension of expecting joy, but feeling…
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Faith, Trauma & Transformation with Katelyn Johnson
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I talk with Katelyn—a mom of three kids with different disabilities, including Trisomy 21, Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome & Autism, whose parenting journey started at just 19. Her story includes foster care, childhood trauma, a cancer diagnosis, and...
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When People Think You are Fine & You are Not
Send us a text! (click here) This is a rebroadcast of Episode 130 that was aired back in 2023. "In this episode, I open up about those moments when everyone assumes you're okay, but inside, you're struggling. It's a common experience, especially for us moms navigating the complexities of raising...
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Grief that Overwhelms Compassion with Kristin Herzberg Purdy
Send us a text! (click here) This week, I sat down with Kristin Herzberg Purdy—psychologist, rare disease advocate, and mom of two children with disabilities. KristIn shares her deeply personal story of parenting through autism, epilepsy, and a rare neurodegenerative condition. We talked about…
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The Story of Two Wolves
Send us a text! (click here) In today’s episode, I’m sharing some personal reflections about acceptance and the emotions that come with it, especially with my son’s 16th birthday bringing up past challenges. I also share the excitement of an upcoming getaway, thanks to my friend Laura's help—talk...
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Discovering the Power of Authentic Connection with Tara Heaton
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I'm joined by Tara Heaton, a writer, speaker, and master storyteller with over 25 years of corporate experience. Tara’s journey took a turn when her daughter, Caroline, developed encephalitis, which led to a seizure disorder and ongoing medical...
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The Jerky J: Tackling Self Judgement
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I talk about the sneaky voice of self-judgment that creeps in when we’re feeling inadequate. I share a personal story of how I’ve learned to recognize and deal with these judgmental thoughts, and why it’s important to show ourselves some compassion.…
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A Grieved Community
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, I share my concern over the rising division within our special needs community. Recently, I’ve observed two sides clashing—each convinced the other is wrong. This division started with a comment made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services about...
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Empowering Rare Disease Leaders through the Rare Advocacy Exchange Series hosted by Global Genes
Send us a text! (click here) In this episode, we sit in on the Rare Advocacy Exchange virtual series. Global Genes is hosting this series in an effort to empower rare disease leaders. As moderator, I facilitated a panel that focused on the challenges and rewards of leading in the rare disease...
About this show
Think of this podcast as your very own special needs mom support group--except it's helpful and fun! You will leave with the hope that you can have a super happy life even when your life includes parenting a medically complex child or a child with something like autism and ADHD.
You likely didn't ask to be the parent of a disabled child or to live portions of your life in the hospital NICU or PICU. Your story is unique; it’s hard to find a place where you belong or where you don't feel so isolated and alone. Your child might have a rare disease, be undiagnosed or experience something that almost everybody has heard of like Downs syndrome yet the weird thing is that whether your child has an intellectual disability or physical disability, the experience as a mother is so similar. So regardless of your child’s disability, we can all find a home in this community.
You find yourself managing everybody else's needs; your child, their siblings, and all the guilt that
Hosted by
Kara Ryska