Dani Jo is a married mama of two autistic girls (well, now women). She definitely never expected to have the “Autism Mama" title but is thankful for the journey and the fierce women she has met along the way.
She “bucked the system" as her children were leaving elementary school, as her home school was not implementing their IEPs. She spent a few years advocating for choices for special needs children and played a critical role in getting the "Special Needs Scholarship Program" passed in the state of Wisconsin.
She's a firm believer in choosing her battles and considers herself a retired Mama Bear.
She joins Chelsea for this special Mother’s Day episode of the podcast as part of Chelsea’s “tribe”, takes us through her family’s autism journey, and exposes her own breaking and reframing of what her daughters’ autism means to herself and the greater community.
The following topics and terms, in order of their appearance in the podcast, might evoke some curiosity:
- torticollis (Cleveland Clinic)
- Birth to 3: This Wisconsin program for early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, which is similar to programs in other states, is federally mandated through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C.
- occupational therapy (OT)
- Pervasive Developmental Disorder: In the DSM-IV, which was published by the APA in 1994, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) was an umbrella for diagnoses including Autism, Asperger's, Rett's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified).
- Little to no eye contact was a key benchmark in screenings for autism in the early 2000s. See this 2013 NIH article.
- joint control: An ABA technique that aims to help children with autism develop more complex language and cognitive skills by enabling them to respond to multiple stimuli simultaneously.
- Easterseals’ child development screening tool
- apraxia of speech (Mayo Clinic)
- BCBA: Board Certified Behavior Analyst providing ABA as an intervention for autistic children, as certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
- Jennie Wright's 7 Stages of Grief (2011)
- Episode 4: Chelsea’s Evolution
Podcast includes an introduction for episodes 6 and following at the beginning. Transition music, "Taking a Vocation", by Noey Budde.
Closing narration for episodes 6 and following.
