Navigating Neurodiversity
Navigating Neurodiversity helps families, caregivers and professionals better support neurodivergent individuals, including those with autism and other intellectual or developmental disabilities. Guided by host Rita Rich, every episode offers actionable advice, inspiring conversations and trusted resources to help you navigate the journey with confidence. This podcast has been created by The Arc Southern Chesapeake and was formerly known as "See Me. See My Ability."
Episodes
When her son was diagnosed with autism, Elise Horne and her husband didn’t know other families navigating a similar experience. Today, she helps parents and caregivers find the connection she once needed. In this episode, The Arc Southern Chesapeake’s Community Engagement Manager shares the story of founding a parent support group, the value of learning from other families and why caregivers need time to recharge. She a...
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and we're celebrating it by sharing real stories of inclusive hiring.
A job can offer more than a paycheck for someone with an intellectual or developmental disability. Christian shares how working at Cracker Barrel has helped him learn new skills, build confidence and pursue greater independence. Families and caregivers will also hear an employer’s perspective on fin...
How can setting personal goals help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) build greater independence? Through the story of Larry Mills, who worked and saved for months to take a trip to the Bahamas, this episode explores how families, caregivers and direct support professionals (DSPs) can encourage meaningful goals, provide the right support and help people with IDD become more independent.
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 se...
“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...
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 i...
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 t...
Host Rita Rich interviews Jim Vail, co-creator of My25, about using a meal-planning platform to improve nutrition and health for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They discuss practical tools like videos, smart grocery lists, plate rebalancing, and moderation over deprivation, plus measurable outcomes such as improved BMI and reduced medication needs.
Learn how My25 saves staff time, supports healthier choice...
See Me, See My Ability is the podcast of the ARC Southern Chesapeake. In this episode, Rita Rich celebrates summertime activities while spotlighting the work supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The episode explains the Olmstead Supreme Court decision and a recent Department of Justice opinion that could weaken community living protections, featuring warnings from disability advocates about the potent...
See Me, See My Ability presents a look inside the ARC Southern Maryland’s new sensory room in Lexington Park with Beth Wolfe, the director of nursing. In this episode Beth describes the room’s calming features — subdued lighting, music, a lava lamp, a chalkboard mural by a program participant, and flexible seating — designed to offer quiet and choice.
The episode highlights hands-on activities like shaving c...
Kayla Carter, director of ARC Southern Maryland’s Waldorf day programs, describes how she creates community partnerships, meaningful volunteer opportunities, and a lively activity calendar to help clients gain skills and independence.
The episode covers outreach to local businesses, hands-on learning (money management, languages, Zumba, knitting), family feedback as a measure of progress, and the importance of a sensory room ...
Three-D printers are all the rage and The Arc Southern Maryland is teaching its clients to use them to create assistive technology. Listen as Nora Walker, with the State Department for Disabilities visited with us in Prince Frederick and showed us some of the many possibilities.
Hear this conversation with a parent, and a longtime advocate for IDD students in Charles County, Donna DePamphelis, who is being honored next month by the statewide Arc Maryland. This mom of the soon-to-be 34-year-old Rashawn, one of our residents, talks about all that the Arc Southern Maryland has done for her and her daughter.
At last! It’s Baseball Season! For the past couple of decades that meant that Arc Southern Maryland clients and personal support staff get a field day with members of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs professional baseball team! Listen to the fun and comradery and get yourself to a game!
One of the things that happens during the podcasting classes at the Arc Southern Maryland is that our instructors and staff talk with clients about all sorts of neat things. One of those things was this past week's Artemis II spaceflight to the far side of the Moon, or the side of the Moon we do not see when we look up in the sky. We discussed how this moon mission harkens back to the time of the first moon flights, which coincided...
Our podcasting class in Prince Frederick hosted the lady in charge of the State of Maryland's Autism Strategy, Victoria Rodriguez-Roldan. She heard some of our participants' personal stories and answered questions from staff. You can find out more about where Victoria works here: https://mdod.maryland.gov/
Music: Ron Davis, jazz pianist, "All God's Children."
Arc Southern Maryland students in Waldorf recently participated in a conversation with podcast host Rita Rich about St. Patrick's Day. Listen as the class talks about being proud of their ancestry and of being an American. Hear how they learned about prejudices persisting against those considered different decades ago. Another lesson learned: If you want people to understand the prejudices and misconceptions of others about your ow...
Episode 75 of the See Me. See My Ability: The Podcast of The Arc Southern Maryland features a conversation that podcast host Rita Rich had with 77-year-old Tim Gowen and his sister during DD Day in Annapolis. We met after members of our Arc and Tim spoke with State Senator Jack Bailey of St. Mary's County.
Tim is a prime example of a guy who doesn't know what it means to quit! He's thinking about his next goals as an athlete ...
See Me. See My Ability. The Podcast of the Arc Southern Maryland recently talked with Ronnie Hammond, the director of the Maryland office for Statewide Broadband Development. He provides messages for our Arc Southern Maryland Advocates to share with state lawmakers on Developmental Disability Day on February 18th.
#arcmaryland #annapolis #love #guyton
#dontyouforgetaboutme#breakfastclub #ddday
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