Shows
Forever Home for our kids with disabilities.Transforming Devastation with Dr. Marcia Nathai-BalkissoonSend us a textDr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon is a special needs parenting speaker and coach who works to prevent special needs parents from feeling isolated and overwhelmed to the point where they lose touch with joy and fulfillment in their lives. She and her husband of 15 years have an older teen boy and preteen, bedridden girl whom Marcia considers her best teacher.Transforming Past Narratives:- Marcia delves into childhood memories and the perceptions that shaped her drive for approval and perfectionism.- Marcia now redefines these experiences with compassion, recognizing...2024-11-2040 min
Create the Courage to be FearlessTurning Heartbreak Into Hope: Navigating Special Needs Parenting w/ Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon PhD EP 131Send us a textTurning Heartbreak Into Hope: Navigating Special Needs Parenting w/ Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon PhD EP 131What do you do when the world tells you to give up hope, but your heart refuses to listen? Join us as we share the incredible journey of Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon, a special needs parenting coach and strategy lecturer, who faced unimaginable challenges when her daughter, Emma, suffered a severe brain injury during open-heart surgery. Marcia and her husband, Sean, chose not to surrender to despair but to fight for their daughter's future, navigating a medical system...2024-08-2753 min
The Behind The Shades Show : Marriage, Mental Health, And Trauma RecoveryMarcia Nathai-Balkissoon Interview | Full Interview | The Emotions You Feel When Your Child Almost Passes Away
Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon Interview | Full Interview |
Marcia shares her experiences when her daughter almost passed away. We begin with her journey of being bullied and wanting to find a place to be loved. For over 10 years, Marcia was searching for happiness which she found through her husband and children. Then her daughter was sick and ultimately almost passed away... Remember to share and follow to keep up-to-date with all episodes
#selfimprovement #relationships #dating #behindtheshades
Visit https://www.behindtheshades.ca to book your one-on-one coaching session today
Watch more videos at youtube.com/@behindtheshades and subscribe for more
Spotify for full...2023-09-2643 min
The Behind The Shades Show : Marriage, Mental Health, And Trauma RecoveryMarcia Nathai-Balkissoon Interview | Part 05 | My Husband Has Always Been There To Support MeMarcia shares her experiences when her daughter almost passed away. We begin with her journey of being bullied and wanting to find a place to be loved. For over 10 years, Marcia was searching for happiness which she found through her husband and children. Then her daughter was sick and ultimately almost passed away... Remember to share and follow to keep up-to-date with all episodes
#selfimprovement #relationships #dating #behindtheshades
Visit https://www.behindtheshades.ca to book your one-on-one coaching session today
Watch more videos at youtube.com/@behindtheshades and subscribe for more
Spotify for full videos https://open.spotify.com...2023-09-0307 min
The Behind The Shades Show : Marriage, Mental Health, And Trauma RecoveryMarcia Nathai-Balkissoon Interview | Part 04 | I Felt I Wasn't Good Enough For LoveMarcia shares her experiences when her daughter almost passed away. We begin with her journey of being bullied and wanting to find a place to be loved. For over 10 years, Marcia was searching for happiness which she found through her husband and children. Then her daughter was sick and ultimately almost passed away... Remember to share and follow to keep up-to-date with all episodes
#selfimprovement #relationships #dating #behindtheshades
Visit https://www.behindtheshades.ca to book your one-on-one coaching session today
Watch more videos at youtube.com/@behindtheshades and subscribe for more
Spotify for full videos https://open.spotify.com...2023-08-3006 min
The Behind The Shades Show : Marriage, Mental Health, And Trauma RecoveryMarcia Nathai-Balkissoon Interview | Part 03 | I Don't Want My Children To Feel They Aren't Good EnoughMarcia shares her experiences when her daughter almost passed away. We begin with her journey of being bullied and wanting to find a place to be loved. For over 10 years, Marcia was searching for happiness which she found through her husband and children. Then her daughter was sick and ultimately almost passed away... Remember to share and follow to keep up-to-date with all episodes
#selfimprovement #relationships #dating #behindtheshades
Visit https://www.behindtheshades.ca to book your one-on-one coaching session today
Watch more videos at youtube.com/@behindtheshades and subscribe for more
Spotify for full videos https://open.spotify.com...2023-08-2709 min
The Behind The Shades Show : Marriage, Mental Health, And Trauma RecoveryMarcia Nathai-Balkissoon Interview | Part 02 | My Job Is To Be There For My ChildrenMarcia shares her experiences when her daughter almost passed away. We begin with her journey of being bullied and wanting to find a place to be loved. For over 10 years, Marcia was searching for happiness which she found through her husband and children. Then her daughter was sick and ultimately almost passed away... Remember to share and follow to keep up-to-date with all episodes
#selfimprovement #relationships #dating #behindtheshades
Visit https://www.behindtheshades.ca to book your one-on-one coaching session today
Watch more videos at youtube.com/@behindtheshades and subscribe for more
Spotify for full videos https://open.spotify.com...2023-08-2408 min
The Behind The Shades Show : Marriage, Mental Health, And Trauma RecoveryMarcia Nathai-Balkissoon Interview | Part 01 | My Son Is Beautiful Just The Way He IsMarcia shares her experiences when her daughter almost passed away. We begin with her journey of being bullied and wanting to find a place to be loved. For over 10 years, Marcia was searching for happiness which she found through her husband and children. Then her daughter was sick and ultimately almost passed away... Remember to share and follow to keep up-to-date with all episodes
#selfimprovement #relationships #dating #behindtheshades
Visit https://www.behindtheshades.ca to book your one-on-one coaching session today
Watch more videos at youtube.com/@behindtheshades and subscribe for more
Spotify for full videos https://open.spotify.com...2023-08-2106 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhen You Can’t Think How to Get it DoneSo often you know you want to add something - equipment, or space, or an experience, or a new learning, or even a rest - into your life or your family’s life and you’re overwhelmed by the realisation that there are a million reasons you can never fit it in. I get it, and I hope this episode brings validation for you and also helps with some bolstering or ideas that might support you.
I’d love to share your ideas and tips with other listeners also, so please send me a voice message here or DM me on soc...2023-07-2551 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastYour Reminder Not to Give UpSometimes life just feels like it’s crushing you or leaving you behind and you can’t find the extra will to keep going, trying, fighting, loving, hoping, believing. If that’s where you are, then this episode is just for you.
You deserve to know that you are valuable and you matter. You matter, even if you feel isolated or uncared for right now, even if you’re beating yourself up (on top of everything else), even if there such a heavy load on you that your body is screaming in pain and you can’t figure out how to drag yo...2023-07-0713 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastBecoming Flawesome - Kristina Mand-LakhianiKristina Mand-Lakhiani believes life is too important to be taken seriously and makes sure to bring fun into every one of her roles: as a teacher, mother, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and world traveller. Kristina helps her students to virtually hack happiness by taking them through her unique framework - “Hacking happiness” - a unique framework of balancing your life, taking in every moment, and paying close attention to the small daily choices.
Kristina Mand-Lakhiani is an international speaker, entrepreneur, artist, philanthropist, and mother of 2 kids. As a co-founder of Mindvalley, a leading publisher in the personal growth industry, Kristina dedicated the last...2023-06-2324 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastCreating Better Intimacy in Your Relationship (Part 3/3) - Kim Coffin**Explicit Episode - Some Adult content is included in this episode.
Check out the Q&A for this episode. We can't wait to hear your answers!
This episode is focused on giving you insights and tools to boost your intimacy with your romantic partner. It's the final episode in a 3-episode series I've been privileged to do with Kim Coffin, a certified Trauma-Informed, Somatic (body-based) Empowerment, Sex, Love & Relationship Teacher, Speaker, Author, and Coach.
Kim is a Number 1 Amazon Bestselling Author with a chapter in the book, "Love Thy Body: S...2023-06-1625 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHow To Start Rebuilding Intimacy in Small but Powerful Ways (Part 2/3) - Kim Coffin**Explicit Episode - Some Adult content is included in this episode.
Check out the Q&A and Poll for this episode. We can't wait to hear your answers!
If you are one of the many women who are ready to enhance their intimacy, for their own sake, and to boost the quality of relationship that they have, then you'll want to tune in to this episode. Kim Coffin, a certified Trauma-Informed, Somatic (body-based) Empowerment, Sex, Love & Relationship Teacher, Speaker, Author, and Coach, shares insights and approaches that will help you level up your awareness of y...2023-06-0932 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastRevitalising Your Relationship with Yourself - Kim CoffinOne of the first things to feel the fallout when you are racing around and handling a lot in your life, or you are facing big life overwhelm, is your relationships become impoverished. For most of us, though, it is the relationship with ourselves that suffers the most and that causes follow-on challenges in every other area of our lives. And guess what: we often don't even see that as a problem we should be working on as a priority, because there are so many noisier issues waving their hands at us and jumping around.
I am...2023-06-0232 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastGet Back on Track - Marcia Nathai-BalkissoonWhen was the last time you paused and looked at the way you’ve been living? In today’s episode, I prompt you to do just that by presenting some questions and reflections about all that you may focused on - plus what you may be ignoring - and how that could be limiting the quality of life you’ve been living.
I urge you to take half an hour to tune in and to look honestly at your own situation and your own self. Use this episode to check in on some of the things that may be just wonder...2023-05-2126 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastThe Path of a Parent with a Physical Disability - Deandre "Dre" CherryDre is the name he goes by, and his approach to life is a joy to take a look at in this episode. Dre has a physical disability that requires his use of a wheelchair, but when you speak with him, you forget about any disability, because of his powerful presence. As a child he insisted on walking despite his challenges for many years, before eventually allowing himself to lean into using a wheelchair for mobility, and as an adult, he runs The 1130 Podcast and connects with people from all walks of life through his interviews. Last year, he became...2023-05-1233 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastDemystifying Baby Development - Irene MartinezIn this video episode, I chat with Irene Martinez about how to take the complex world of baby development and simplify what we consider by focusing first on 3 areas. These areas, says Irene, tell us about foundational aspects of our baby's development. Better still, while the 3 areas are ideally to be focused on from as early in baby's life as possible (Irene recommends starting to build the awareness and focus from as early as a couple of months before baby is born), it is never too late to tune in on these areas. So if your child is no...2023-04-291h 02
The Special Needs Parent PodcastGetting Past the Label and Recognising the Secret Languages of Your Baby - Irene MartinezIrene Martinez has had an unending string of labels and nicknames, including "Baby Whisperer", Neuro-Development Expert", "Sensory Integration Specialist", "Occupational Therapist", and "Feeding Guru". However, in her Early Intervention training, coaching and speaking, she prides herself on her ability to help parents free themselves of labels handed to them about their children. She says that this is critical in order to truly see and support your child. That is what we explore in this first of two episodes with Irene. Be sure to tune in next week, when we will be talking with Irene about Demystifying the Development of Your...2023-04-2154 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHelping Your Special Needs Child Relax for Haircuts - Joanna CetajSensory overload can make haircutting a stressful time for child and parent alike. Joanna Cetaj used to be a hairdresser who not only attended to haircuts for special needs children, but found it natural to help them feel so safe, they would relax and initiate communication and other interaction with her. She has been recently diagnosed with special needs of her own, and she also is the parent of a special needs child. In her work as a coach and soon-to-be author, she uses her rich experience to guide parents of special needs children to establish the environment at...2023-04-1439 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastInsights from the Sibling of a Special Needs Person - Amanda OwenMany a special needs parent has concerns about whether they are doing right by the siblings of their special needs children. So many, including me, have had questions like:
Have I left them to manage too much on their own?
How can I provide what they need and want more reliably?
I worry about their well-being. What do I need to see or know that I don’t right now?
What aren’t they sharing with me that they should be?
How can I be the best parent to them?
In this episode, I chat with a sibling, Amanda Owen, who...2023-04-071h 04
The Special Needs Parent PodcastCultivating the Ability to Celebrate Despite OverwhelmPerhaps you live a life that stacks more demands before you get done with the challenge you’re already all-in on. Perhaps you’re the kind of person who goes all-in on everything you do.
Whatever your particular circumstance, it’s likely that you’re always racing - physically, mentally, and/or emotionally to tie up what’s currently on your plate and move straight into the next thing, and the next, and the next. And that brings challenges, as I’m sure you know. Because you run out. Of drive. Of power. Of the will to keep pushing. And beyond that...2023-03-3118 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastMy Late Episode with a Big Message - Marcia Nathai-BalkissoonI messed up. For the first time, I didn’t put out a podcast episode on Thursday.
A lot of self-judgement flared up for me because I FAILED to meet the standard I have met for over 60 episodes. But the lesson lay in my failure. And that’s what I am sharing with you. So this is my short (and late) episode with a big message and a few embarrassing sounds that I decided to leave in as I share this completely unedited, from-the-core episode… 🫢😬
If you want to talk with me about making space for yourself in the midst of the unpre...2023-03-2408 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhat I Have Learned From My Special Needs Daughter (Marking Her 11th Birthday) - MarciaHow does a child - severely brain-injured, bedridden, and non-verbal since she was 8 months old - teach someone? Certainly not in the usual ways. But my daughter, Emma, has taught me powerfully, and in marking her 11th birthday, I have decided to share some of the best lessons I’ve learned.
In this episode, I reflect on things she has patiently taught me, simply by being herself, in a little over a decade. So here are the 10 lessons that I’ve brainstormed - one for each of the 10 years since her injury.
If you pray, set intentions, or do any othe...2023-03-1723 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastMenstrual Tracking Boosts Your Ability to Show Up - Dinara MukhDid you know, Women, that tuning in to your menstrual cycle can attune you to fluctuations in not only your mood or emotions, but also the way your creativity, work competencies, and even inspiration may fluctuate during the course of your cycle? This is just the start of what Dinara Mukh shares in this interview.
Tune in to learn about how we can better support our children who have menstrual cycles, as well as how our boys and men sometimes step in to give us love and support when they are aware of our cycles. Plus, Dinara shares a little...2023-03-0936 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastSupporting Speech Development in Your Child - Lenora EdwardsWhen you have a choice between traditional face-to-face and online speech therapy, what are some considerations to keep in mind? And what are some approaches almost any parent can practice, right at home, to encourage speech or more vocalisation from their child?
Lenora Edwards, a speech therapist with many years of experience in multiple settings, answers these questions and more, in this podcast episode. You can book a free 15-minute consultation here: www.BetterSpeech.com.
For support and experience-sharing related to the Special Needs parenting journey, including issues like managing overwhelm in the midst of life challenges, boosting our relationships...2023-03-0331 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastDealing with the Freakshow of Life - Tess ScottAs a mom of 8 now-adult boys, one of whom was adopted and has a Foetal Alcohol Syndrome diagnosis, Tess Scott is well qualified to bring guidance on navigating great challenges with gumption, humour, and hope.
Tess also describes herself as a spunky “Grami with a heart above the i” to a whole slew of adorable grandkids. Using both humour and vulnerability, Tess shares her life as a Christian speaker, an award-winning author and an encourager of women.
Her first book, “Listen, Sister! Finding Hope in the Freakshow of Life” launched in 2022. It’s is a hilarious collection of short personal stories th...2023-02-2334 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastCreating a Morning Routine That Supports You - Jenny LeeIn a life that is so full of demands and harsh judgments from others and from yourself, how do you calm yourself and connect to joy as a self-supporting start to the day? Join our special guest, Jenny Lee to understand her transformation of mind, heart, and lived practice.
Jenny Lee is a life coach who focuses on building resilience in women by creating joyful morning routines. So many women wear different hats and are in the state of depletion and overwhelm. The morning routine is a time for self-love, healing the nervous system and rewiring mindset so women prioritize...2023-02-1739 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhat’s Your Take on These (Triggering) Special Needs-Related Statements? - Marcia Nathai-BalkissoonPeople often make triggering statements about special needs-related matters. In this episode, the show’s host reads or recounts some such statements made personally to her, passed on to her by others, or found through online research. Tune in as she shares what she feels, believes, has read, and/or has experienced, about each statement in turn.
After you listen, we want you to help widen our perspectives! Tell us: What’s your take? Do you agree with the host’s comments? Do you disagree? Is there more to be added to create a more complete response?
Chime in and share...2023-02-1047 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastAn Attorney's Advice on Planning for your Child's Future - Annette HinesHow challenging it is to plan for our child's future, given that it is difficult to predict how life will unfold for them and for you. Attorney, Special Needs Parent, and Advocate, Annette Hines, shares that planning is the way to reduce how out-of-control life becomes. In this first episode of a series of episodes she will do in the podcast, she leans on her 20+ years helping her clients to plan for special needs, elder care, and estate planning to give an overview of what should be considered as you start planning for your child's future.
In this episode, Annette d...2023-02-0336 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhat Makes You Able to Make It as a Special Needs Parent? - Colleen Keefe FaulThis episode focuses on the many answers our guest, Colleen Keefe Faul, has found about the whys and hows of special needs parenting. Her answers have been constructed through intensive exploration and reflection. Parts have been produced from her prayer and deep dive into her faith. Other parts have been surprising realizations that she has had about how some of her unique qualities have outfitted her for the special needs parenting role she fulfills. Colleen is a stay-at-home mom whose second child, Grace, was unexpectedly diagnosed with Infantile Spasms and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex at age 6 months. Grace’s diagnosis pu...2023-01-2737 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastPushing Swings as a Brain and Body Booster for Parents and Children - Gary Martinez Jr.Single dad, Gary Martinez Jr. focuses his attention on his child's ultimate happiness. Monica, his daughter with autism, is 17 and enjoys building connections with him and others, collecting shoes, role playing, pushing swings, and much more.
Tune in as Gary shares with us with how pushing swings gives a boost to him and Monica both mentally and physically, and inspires us to consider how an everyday activity could generate a lot of possibilities beyond the ones we've traditionally expected.
Gary recently launched his book, “Don't Shame Her Game, Let Me Explain!” and his podcast, with both focused on providing support to t...2023-01-1920 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastNavigating Challenges - A Conversation with Shannon PeelWhen challenges come up for you, are you confident you can deal with them? In this episode, Shannon Peel and I have a vulnerable and open conversation about navigating life through the ebb and flow of brokenness, hope, expectations, boundaries, self love, communication between parent and child, and more. It is a conversation we both would have loved to continue, but it gives a lot of food for thought and suggests some approaches that we trust will support you in some of your challenging experiences as well.
As an expert in brand storytelling and digital publishing, Shannon Peel helps her...2023-01-1239 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHow to Manage the Emotional Challenges of Change - Erin RamirezIn an episode on this podcast back in November, Erin Ramirez shared about the ADKAR process you should follow to manage change effectively. She warns, however, that a process does not promise the change journey will be smooth. In fact, she expects the journey to be rather full of emotional ups and downs - and says that these emotions can hijack or hinder the change process. Therefore, she's sharing in this episode to prepare you for the emotional checkpoints you will likely pass through, and help you understand what can get you moving fast and smoothly.
Visit Erin’s website ww...2023-01-0644 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastThe Abundance Journey - Elaine StarlingNo matter what your challenges are right now in life, my guest on this episode has the message and the vibe that you’ll find lifts you up and powers you forward. Elaine Starling has faced big challenges and risen to them, with the help of inspiration received following a stroke in her early forties. Now she uses her own abundance journey to inspire and guide others by revealing the choices they have, and further empowering them to take actions and rely on thinking that pushes them into a more abundant reality.
Be prepared for a treat, as you tune in...2022-12-2928 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastEnergy Management - Laurin WittigOn your toughest days, what can create your escape hatch? How can you protect your positivity or recentre your energy when it is being bashed by random life pressures in just a short time and with minimal physical effort?
Tune in for the advice and demonstrations of Laurin Wittig. Laurin is an intuitive healer and a mentor to those on or just beginning a spiritual path, the founder of the Heartlight Wise Women Circles, and an award-winning novelist.
She loves to combine her healing skills and her story skills to help her clients reveal the stories that no longer serve...2022-12-2220 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastThe Journey of Parent and Child - Doylene Cooper-Landry and Saylor CooperWhen Doylene Cooper-Landry had premature twins who both developed special needs, the unexpected challenges led to separation from her husband. She raised her son, who was almost blind, and her daughter, who had mild cerebral palsy, on her own, and acknowledges the constant support of her family during the journey. But the journey was difficult in every way, with medical advice that she disagreed with, mental and physical and emotional stresses that taxed her constantly, and financial demands that she had to move to another country in order to be able to find a solution.
Doylene’s children are now 29, an...2022-12-1548 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastTeaching Your Child Social and Emotional Skills - Miriam CampbellMany a special needs parent has worried over how to support their child's development of social skills. How to get them to fit in at school. How to help them to interact with others, even family members, in ways that show connection, consideration, and even love appropriately. Longing for their child's touch or the chance for their child to look them in the eye. And the list can go on forever, with every child having different abilities and different needs.
Miriam Campbell has worked with special needs children and their parents for 14 years, and she understands exactly how challenging the...2022-12-0832 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastFinding Gifts for Special Needs Kids, with Special Tips for CVI - Brittany CunninghamLocating the right gift for a child with special needs can be challenging. We really need to tune in to their needs, abilities, interests, and more, in order to come up with good ideas or find the right item to become that gift.
Brittany Cunningham is both the mom of a 12-year-old daughter with Cerebral Palsy, CVI and limited mobility AND an experienced early intervention specialist who has served children with hearing and visual impairments. She brings her insights and suggestions about gift-giving to us, paired with her experiences from both these contexts.
For support and experience-sharing related to the...2022-12-0137 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhat Our Listeners (and I and My Family) Are Thankful ForIt is a joy for me to release this 53rd episode of the podcast because it means we have just reached the first anniversary of the podcast, and I have created an episode consistently with many amazing people from around the world for each of 52 weeks!
What I’m bubbling over about is that this is the very first episode in which I share listeners’ wonderful voice messages of gratitude in the special needs space! And, because I decided to just follow my intuition, I’m sharing with you a snippet from my interaction with my daughter on this episode too, a...2022-11-2411 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastShifting into Giving Thanks - Mary Ann Hughes, Vicki Smith & Marcia Nathai-BalkissoonThis may be one of my favourite podcast episodes to date, not only because it is my 52nd episode, and therefore marks a year of The Special Needs Patent Podcast, but also because the episode felt so light and loving as we co-created it.
In this season of many celebrations, gatherings and thanksgiving, I talked with two of my past podcast guests, Mary Ann and Vicki, who have faced some big life challenges and work at staying positive even in the midst of difficulties. They shared about how they fit giving thanks into their own lives and we chatted about...2022-11-1736 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast5 Steps to Manage Change Even When It’s Tough - Erin RamirezErin Ramirez is a change management coach and consultant who helps businesses and individuals make shifts more easily. In this episode, she shares a 5-step process and illustrating examples that we can all use to smooth our paths when change is necessary.
Visit Erin’s website www.erinramirez.com/resources for your free ADKAR resource. Also, she’s just launched her Instagram page @the_change_guru so tune in for more insights and resources there. Finally, stay tuned in coming weeks for the follow-up episode to this one, where Erin speaks about recognising and coping with the difficult emotions that come...2022-11-1130 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhat's Your Legacy Going to Be? - Yvonne McCoyWhen we are constantly chasing so much, we may pause for a moment and realise that many of our choices are being made on automatic. But living so much based on routine living or unconscious choice-making sets us up to not be creating the life - or the impact - we desire.
In this episode, Yvonne McCoy shares her advice and experiences to illustrate why she recommends we pause to consider what we want to leave behind in terms of impact, memory, influence, or simply the way we show love and attention to our children.
Yvonne's free gift is her...2022-11-0318 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastBeing the Squeaky Wheel is Not Enough - Mary ScottAs a Business Coach for Start-ups, Mary Scott is accustomed to helping communicators find the clearest way to express the value of their offers to potential funders. In this episode, she applies her experience and clarity to exploring how special needs parents could shift the way they communicate in order to get buy in from those to whom they are appealing for consideration and resource provision for their special needs children. She puts her premise across with the claim that the squeaky wheel is not the most effective way to get what we want. Instead, she discusses how changing perspective...2022-10-2717 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast3 Hacks to Overturn Your Burnout - Victoria HepburnComing from a corporate background as a chemical engineer, remote work strategist and certified business transitions coach, Victoria Hepburn understands that when the demands on a skilled and experienced person never end, they run a high risk of burnout. Add in her experience as a best-selling author with a new series on the way, and we can see she's also aware of all the pressures of the publishing world, and she has even more perspective on how unending demands and stresses make burnout an insidious issue for far too many people.
Victoria brings her expertise to the table to support...2022-10-2019 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastTrusting God - Melissa WhitingIt is a demanding thing, to navigate the ups and downs of special needs parenting. Many a parent speaks of how difficult it can be to manage a life where they are constantly on the watch and on the go, trying to predict and control variables in their lives that cannot be predicted or controlled. The effects can be considerable on your mental, emotional, and physical well-being, for sure. In this episode, Melissa Whiting speaks of what she has found to be the grounding pin in her life - her ability to trust God to take control, and to...2022-10-1445 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastNavigating Divorce as a Special Needs Parent - Mary Ann HughesIn modern times, there so much pressure on all areas of people’s lives that divorce rates are surprisingly high. In special needs families, demands and challenges are ramped up, time and energy are even scarcer, and divorce rates can get to as high as 70 to even 85%. That’s according to the research mentioned by Mary Ann Hughes, a certified divorce coach and divorced special needs parent.
Mary Ann has found her passion has grown out of her personal experience across many years navigating divorce with a focus on putting her children’s well-being first. Tune in to this episode to hear...2022-10-0736 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhen You’re at Rock Bottom - Tova RedmoSometimes, the challenges we face in life can really knock us down so much that we reach our lowest point, emotionally, mentally, financially, physically, and/or spiritually. While we may tell others to open up and talk about it, when we ourselves get to that place, opening up and showing our brokenness and self-doubt, asking for help, or crying to a friend may be just about the hardest course of action to take.
In this episode, I speak with Life Coach and single special needs mom, Tova Redmo, someone who released herself from the pressure of appearing to have things...2022-09-3050 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastSome Issues That Arise As Your Special Needs Child Grows - Cassie MillerCassandra Miller is a stay-at-home mom and army wife who speaks, in this episode, of challenges faces as her special needs daughter grew physically bigger - and some of the ways she coped with them.
As Cassie shares some of her experiences, she highlights how resilience, adaptability, and positivity have become her constant companions is creating the enablement she needs to provide from her growing daughter.
For more support related to the special needs parenting journey as well as thriving past overwhelm, pick up a copy of Marcia’s book, Lighting the Path, today. It is available on Amazon in ki...2022-09-2239 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastIt’s Time to Give Yourself PermissionSome habits die hard, like looking to others to direct what you should be working on, filling your days with, stressing over. Life should be more than a never-ending to-do list, and you deserve to have space set aside on your list to put energy and effort into the things that really matter to you.
This episode gives the reminder of the power you have to create the life you want and deserve. So tune in today!
To reach out to Marcia, email Marcia@MarciaNB.com or book a complimentary call with her here: https://calendly.com/bookmarcianb/level-up-call
---
...2022-09-1613 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastSelf-Hypnotherapy to Push Past Your Low Points - Vicki SmithA hypnotherapy recording on YouTube helped Vicki Smith reconnect to her own power and start rebuilding her life when she was at her lowest point. That's why she went to become a hypnotherapist herself - she explains that she has experienced the life-changing results it can bring and feels called to use the work she does to help others retool and find themselves again.
As you'll realise from this episode, she is not just a distant professional but a deeply warm and caring woman who genuinely wants to help others move out of their pain and into their power. Tune...2022-09-0931 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastThe Emotional Journey of Special Needs Parenting - Anita Ahuja and Morgan GreenWhat do a Paediatric Gastroenterologist, a stay-at-home-mom, and a coach/trainer have in common? Dr. Anita Ahuja, Ms. Morgan Green, and podcast host, Dr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon are all special needs parents who have navigated ups and downs related to coming into knowing of their child's special needs, seeking diagnoses, and trying to adjust their lives and families' lives in response.
Tune in to this episode to listen to them share some of their experiences and feelings, both the highs and the lows. Also, receive insights into approaches they have found useful in helping them cope and move toward thriving in...2022-09-0158 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast4 Health-Activating Hacks to Build into Your Life - Daisy Vasquez VogtDaisy Vasquez Vogt is a special needs parent, biohacker, and integrative health coach who specialises in helping special needs parents to uplevel their health as a foundation for building their best life.
Tune in to this episode to discover the 4 hacks Daisy says we should all fit into our daily lives. She promises that we can expect significant positive changes once we do.
You can check out Daisy’s range of health services here: https://activatedlifebydaisyv.com/ and access her other resources via her pages listed within her website.
Come join host Marcia’s Facebook group, The Thrive Collective, at www...2022-08-2628 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast5 Ways You May be Slowing Your Own Progress in LifeFor a person attending to many heavy demands, life may feel like it is dragging, with positive changes coming far too slowly in certain quarters. Did you ever pause to reflect on how factors beyond those actual demands might be slowing your progress?
You absolutely deserve to be able to improve the experience of life that you have as well as cope better and better with whatever challenges you are facing.
This episode talks about 5 factors that you should take into consideration as ways to speed up your ability to transform and make progress in important areas you want to...2022-08-1922 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastDeclutter and Simplify Life - Cristin CondonWhen you became a special needs parent, do you remember how life’s complexity ratchet up for you? How your time and energy were in demand more than ever before and how the basic routines of managing your life were challenged?
Join Cristin Condon - a Decluttering and Life Coach as well as an experienced Speech and Language pathologist and parent to three, including a son with Down Syndrome - as she discusses why decluttering and simplifying our spaces can benefit our lives and shared some tips on how to do it.
As a bonus, here’s Cristin’s resource to gui...2022-08-1233 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastBuilding Up Your ResilienceQuite simply, resilience is concerned with our ability to bounce back from a challenging event. For special needs parents, the challenge is not an event experienced for just a short period, that they are the. able to move on from. In their case, they need to be resilient to keep functioning and fighting their good fight - day in and day out - for years or even decades.
So, what marks resilience in a special needs parent, and how can special needs parents boost their resilience? That’s the focus of this episode.
Have I left some critical tip or to...2022-08-0520 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastShifting Boundaries in Your LifeWe set boundaries in all areas of life as they communicate the limits within which we interact with others in various situations. Sometimes boundaries have existed for so long that we don’t question them, even when they make life difficult for us.
This episode shares a true story of significant boundary shifting that happened only after limits were crossed too many times and feelings and behaviours had gone out of bounds. Tune in for insights to help evaluate boundaries in your own life, and tips to help you make boundary-shifting easier and more successful.
Have I left some critical ti...2022-07-2928 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastStrengthening Our Love RelationshipOur love relationship can be one of the first things affected when our lives are under pressure. This can mean that conflict increases, or our ability to maintain or even establish a love relationship declines.
In the midst of a non-relationship-centric challenge, many people may say they really don’t think to take stock of the state of the relationship, and by the time they do, they are surprised by the extent of the decline. Sometimes, even when there is no overt pressure, the sheer busy nature of our lives can blunt our awareness and cause our relationship to slip wh...2022-07-2221 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastDo Our Feelings Define Us?As we navigate life’s ups and downs, we experience different feelings. Does our experience of any one feeling mean that the feeling defines us, after a certain amount of time leaning into that feeling? How does the way we feel influence how we are seen by others or how we portray ourselves? Tune in for a brief reflection on this, and please let me know what you think.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4/message2022-07-1516 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastMaking the Most of Your Time and EnergyWhen we feel swamped, it’s often because there are so many demands on our time that we can’t seem to get a handle on the tasks we are being overwhelmed by. Today’s episode shares four steps that I work through with my coaching clients to help them sift out what’s important from what’s eating up their time and energy with little value being given back to them.
Undoubtedly, you already apply some of these approaches, which some people attribute to Eisenhower and which are very popular in Project Management practice. I’d love to hear which ones w...2022-07-0720 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastSee the Wisdom Developed from your Ups and DownsLife is so full of ups and downs, and when we feel broken we sometimes feel it’s impossible to keep going. In this episode, you’ll learn an approach that helps you take stock of how you’ve grown and adapted based on the highs and lows of years of your life. You’ll see how you’ve grown and become wiser, and how that outfits you to face each challenge that will come your way in the future.
Don’t forget to leave a voice message if you want to chime in on this conversation, and please subscribe so you don’t...2022-07-0122 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastFeeling All Alone? Try these…Sometimes we find ourselves up against big life challenges without any tangible support. Sometimes we feel truly abandoned and unloved. Sometimes, we reach a point where we’ve been hurt so badly that we say, “No more!” and we hunker down and decide to stay away in order to keep ourselves - and especially our hearts - safe.
No matter why we’re experiencing isolation, the fact is that being alone is not our default state. It hurts to be all alone and not have connections with someone else, not be able to smile with or share our experiences and insights...2022-06-2327 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastUsing Home Items for Therapy - Ilana DannemanAs a special needs parent, you may find it challenging to get all the ideal equipment and materials to repeat therapy at home, whether because of financial, time, or other constraints. Undoubtedly, you also want to help your child feel more supported or comfortable or make therapy feel like more fun and less work, while staying effective. That's why, in this episode, experienced physiotherapist and product designer, Ilana Danneman outlines several ideas to make use of at-home materials to create and adapt therapy interventions that have been enjoyable and beneficial to many a child.
These are approaches that she has...2022-06-1629 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast3 Tips When You Feel Like You’re Facing Challenges AloneSometimes big challenges appear before us and can really shut us down. If we feel like we don’t have others to lean on, or if our own negative emotions and thoughts swamp us, it may be near impossible to motivate ourselves or find any positivity. In those situations, life can feel quite dark and hopeless. Tune in to explore this, and pick up 3 tips that will make a difference.
There's more support in the catalogue of podcast episodes, so dive in to learn about topics such as grief, fear, coping with overwhelm, the power of asking for help, and se...2022-06-1023 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastLet Go of Your Fear with The Fear-Release Formula - Jenn T. PetersonTune in to let life coach, Jenn T. Peterson walk you through her 5-Step Fear Release Formula. This approach has helped many of her clients let go of the limiting fears that held them back. Jenn takes us in detail through her own first fear-transforming journey, and this will help you start your own work to make the transition too!
Reach out to Jenn at email hello@jenntpeterson.com to learn more about her experience with taking her daughter for horse therapy or to explore how you could be supported through her life coaching and business coaching with horses.
There's...2022-06-0348 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastJenn’s Experience: Adaptive Horse Riding Boosted Her Daughter’s Understanding and SpeakingJenn T. Peterson's daughter started adaptive horseback riding at age 4, because she had seen it support so many other children while she volunteered at a centre. Her daughter faced challenges with understanding as well as expressing words, sometimes even words Jenn had heard her say before.
Tune in to learn about what made horseback riding just what her daughter needed: how it supported her physically, mentally, and emotionally, and how Jenn found unexpected support for herself while her daughter did the therapy, too.
Check in again for two more upcoming episodes with Jenn:
1) the exploration of Jenn's Fear Transformation Formula, w...2022-05-2738 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhen an Anniversary Brings Up Heavy Stuff…Anniversaries can immerse us in a mix of tough and joyful emotions and memories, many of them steeped in our experiences with our special needs children. In this episode, I open up about some challenges I experienced this week, that were sparked when I celebrated my birthday. I talk a bit about my inner struggle to juggle the pressure to present a pretense to the world and the need to be honest about what I was actually feeling. It is my hope that this episode will provide some acknowledgement and hold space for a special needs parent who might feel...2022-05-2025 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastManaging your Grief as a Special Needs Parent - Natasha CarlowTwo episodes ago, we learned about the ways in which Special Needs Parents can experience grief, not only due to an event but repeatedly as a part of everyday life. In this episode, Natasha Carlow returns to take us through 5 important ways we can manage that grief more effectively, so we can open up ourselves to move beyond its effects.
Have we left some critical tip or tool out? Do you have a burning question or comment to add to this conversation? Add your perspective by leaving a voice message to this episode by clicking here: https://anchor.fm/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4...2022-05-1244 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastAdapting as a Parent with Special Needs - Mandy HughesMandy Hughes has dyslexia and has experienced challenges with learning, reading, writing, and the judgements of others since childhood.
She is the parent of 3 children, including her daughter who has complex care needs. She opens up about her own self-judgements and challenges, as well as her evolving relationship and ability to cope with dyslexia as an individual, a parent, and an advocate of and caregiver to her children. She talks about some of the ways she is constrained in helping her children with their schoolwork, as well as how her struggles due to dyslexia led to her work supporting caregivers, a...2022-05-0547 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHow Special Needs Parents experience GriefMany special needs parents carry a weight that they feel challenged to let go of - grief. Join our guest expert, grief counsellor and special needs parent, Natasha Carlow as she:
1) helps us to understand some of the unique characteristics of grief as experienced by our community, and
2) explains why it’s okay, and indeed natural, that we allow ourselves to acknowledge, accept, and process our grief.
Natasha will not just leave us there; she will follow up with tips to guide us through coping better with our grief, whatever the cause we may have recognised.
---
Send in a voic...2022-04-2836 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastCreate Your Financial RoadmapIn Part 2 of this 2-part interview, we work our way past acknowledging the challenges Special Needs Parents face and into the space of starting to create a progressive way forward. In this episode, Michelle Boshard encourages us to start creating our roadmap to take us to the financial destination we envision for ourselves and our family. Her tips are straightforward and concise enough to allow you start crafting your roadmap as soon as you listen to the episode!
In her work, she teaches about various vehicles that Special Needs Parents (including her) have used to embed flexible, consistent and life-changing...2022-04-2132 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHandling Financial PressuresSpecial Needs Parents must manage many financial demands on top of the regular financial demands of routine life. In this first of 2 consecutive episodes on the subject, Michelle Boshard, co-founder of Parent Dashboard, discusses several sources of our community's financial pressures and begins sharing some of the approaches that have helped her and her family to cope better.
In addition to acknowledging the challenges, Shelly opens up about how she shifted her experience from overwhelm to empowerment, so she not only significantly shifted her family's financial situation over a period of 5 years, but also is able to use some of...2022-04-1430 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHow to Cope with Operation AnxietyWhen your special needs child must undergo surgery, how taxing the experience can be for the parent, the child, and the rest of the family! In this episode, I chat with Tova Redmo, a special needs parent, advocate and blogger, who is once again preparing for surgery on her child. We discuss the emotional and physical experiences she has in the time leading up to the surgery, what she has felt during the procedure in the past, and what happens for her following surgery.
Most importantly, Tova shares 6 very insightful and supportive tips that help her manage her anxiety through...2022-04-0737 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastFinding your way to asking for helpAsking is hard! It requires us to be vulnerable and reveal we don’t have the ability to manage everything in our own. It can be terrifying to risk being judged and handed a resounding NO as the response. So why should we allow ourselves to ask? How can we get to a place where asking feels easier? How can we cope better if we do get a no? Tune in to hear about the ask that had my knees shaking and reduced me to tears when I got the response. And please share your own experiences and feelings around as...2022-03-3117 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastUsing breathing as self careBreathing can be an easy, quick, and highly effective tool to incorporate into your self care toolkit. Don’t overlook it just because it costs nothing and you do it constantly and automatically. Instead, reflect a bit. Are you breathing effectively? Are there other breathing approaches or patterns that might be more effective, especially when you need to calm down or shed some emotional or mental load? Will the approaches that work for others be beneficial to you? Find out by trying out a few breathing exercises with me during this episode.
Want to lean into more joy and fulfillment ev...2022-03-2419 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHow awareness of our feelings boosts self-careThis episode explores a different approach to self-care. We explore some exercises aimed at bringing awareness of how our emotions might influence the way we experience life during short-term or long-term challenges. We also discuss some useful ways we might make shifts to do better for both our own sakes and to give better care to our children.
Become a part of the conversation: leave me a voice message on the podcast episode to share your experience, comments, or questions. I’ll be sure to share with listeners on the next episode!
Want to lean into more joy and fulfillment ev...2022-03-1722 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastIntentional Movement for Self-Care and FunLike most other activities focused on themselves, many Special Needs Parents say that they don’t carve out the time and energy to fit enough intentional movement into their days.
This means not just moving to care for your children and family and job, and then dropping exhausted into a chair. Instead, it is about reconnecting to the joy of moving your body to enhance your ease, reduce your stress, improve your health, and (importantly) add more fun and lightness into your days.
Tune in for 6 different ways, with examples, to get yourself moving and get movement established as a joy...2022-03-1020 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast5 Ways to Let Nature Help Your Self CareWhen overwhelm is creeping up, it is important to spot it and help ourselves return to balance before it gets out of control. By learning to do that, we can experience more joy in our daily lives, even if our days bring many a challenge.
When the demands on us exceed our capacity to cope, we can spiral into overwhelm. Our situation steadily feels heavier from that point. Tune in to this episode for 5 ideas about how to connect with nature in order to quickly let go of your overwhelm and re-establish your balance and sense of c...2022-03-0318 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastOverwhelm and Quick Actions to Try NowSpecial needs parents have shared that life can become especially overwhelming as they juggle an unending stream of demands. Their unending to-do list is focused on the needs of their special needs child, the rest of their family, their home, their job, and all their other commitments. They must stay on top of all of their child’s changing needs and support them, in many cases, even into adulthood. Hence, this overwhelm can bring long-term (chronic) stress and a myriad of other concerns that affect parents mentally, emotionally, and physically over time. Which symptoms and signs do you experience? Plus ge...2022-02-2427 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastFind Release in Ways that Fit You BestOverextension and overwhelm can become a given in the experience of a special needs parent. In this episode, learn about four main styles that may influence the way you experience the world. Also tune into some additional considerations to bear in mind to help you tweak your approaches (even in tiny periods of time) to vent some of the heaviness and stress of daily life. Which of the many approaches shared will you add to claim some more much-deserved ease, joy, and peace of mind?
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4/message2022-02-1826 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast5 Fast Ways to Reduce OverwhelmDo you feel like there are limitless situations and feelings that come up for you that tax your ability to cope mentally, physically, or emotionally? When the demands on us exceed our capacity to cope, we can spiral into overwhelm. Our situation steadily feels heavier from that point. Tune in to this episode for 5 approaches that will help you to quickly let go of your overwhelm and increase your feelings of capability, ease, and even joy.
Become a part of the conversation by sending me a voice message sharing what else you think needed be shared on this topic, including y...2022-02-1023 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastShifting the Idea of FailureAs we walk the path of special needs parenting, judgments of failure come up as a matter of course - both from sources external to us and from within ourselves. In this episode, I consider what experiences and ideas may equate to failure for us at first, and how our experiences and behaviours and mental models shift as we adapt and evolve along our way.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4/message2022-02-0313 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastBoosting Special Needs Awareness - Author Natasha CarlowAll special needs children and their parents have been on testing journeys. So much is learned that can help others adapt to cope better or understand the special needs context better. In today’s episode I speak with Natasha Carlow, a special needs parent whose book aims to enhance special needs awareness and boost diversity and inclusion among children.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4/message2022-01-2717 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast7 Ways We Shifted Our Child’s Constipation (Part 2)This is Part 2 of a 2-part series focused on sharing insights, tips and approaches that significantly shifted our child’s struggles with constipation. Our plan of attack evolved to include 7 main elements and focused on taking our child into becoming regular as naturally as possible, i.e. with as little dependence on medication as possible. The first, food, was addressed in some detail in Part 1. This part, Part 2, presents the remaining 6 elements. Our holistic approach has brought our child freedom from enemas and suppositories for at least 3 years.
There are explorations on this topic such as a diagram illustrating the pat...2022-01-2025 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast7 Ways We Shifted our Child’s Constipation (Part 1)Constipation had a debilitating effect on our special needs child and on everyone in our family who had to watch and hear her suffering so often from her 2nd through to her 6th or 7th year. Through trial and error, research, and seeking to learn from others (doctors, therapists, holistic practitioners, online acquaintances, and more) who had walked the path, we were able to shift from the medication-intensive approach to constipation management that we’d used with our doctor’s guidance to a much more natural and holistic approach. This has been so successful that we have not relied on enem...2022-01-1326 min
The Imaginal LifeDr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon - The Gift of ResilienceIn this episode, Frances and Dr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon talked about the Gift of Resilience. QUOTES:"We all want to just belong. We want to be fulfilled, we want to find joy as we are and for who we are." (00:53)"Our life is what inspires us to lean into the service that we give." (02:48) "When your child is holding on to life by a thread, the energy has to go into making that child hold on stronger." (07:12)"How raising a child with special nee...2022-01-0957 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhy Having an Audacious Vision for Yourself Matters (and How to Develop Yours)Many special needs parents tend to be so overextended that they whittle down their dreams and the breadth of how they live their lives. By necessity, many focus mostly on duty, including the care of their special needs child, and have little energy or time to dream about a bigger holistic vision for themselves. This episode touches on why visioning matters and provides guidance to help listeners get clearer on their audacious vision and craft approaches so they can start making the vision a reality.
As doing this work can be challenging on our own, Marcia invites listeners to join h...2022-01-0622 min
The Special Needs Parent Podcast12 Gifts to Give Yourself for the New Year (and every day afterward)Instead of feeling the weight of resolutions I must not fail to uphold, I’ve shifted into giving myself gifts that free me to evolve in the course of living my imperfect life. These include recognising my mistakes and leveling up while being kind to myself, looking the hard emotions in the eye and processing those I feel ready to kick to the curb instead of pushing them down to fester, and making time for more fun and fulfillment. Which appeal most to you, as you create space to care better for yourself in this special needs parenting life?
---
Se...2021-12-3019 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhen Giving our Child a Gift Feels ChallengingIn this episode, we reflect on some ways gift-giving to our special needs child can feel really challenging. We explore some gifting perspectives and motivations with a view to recognizing which apply to us. The intention is that getting clearer on where we stand will help us let go of some straining aspects and find ways to create more ease and joy for ourselves and our child. To receive some tips and ideas for last-minute, quick low-cost gifts, sign up to receive my newsletter and emails at https://www.MarciaNB.com. I’ll send you the tips by email.
---
Se...2021-12-2318 min
Journey Through Health & WellnessReImagine Your Relationship with YourselfDr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon joins JTHW once again for a short conversation on how she deals with people-pleasing and overwhelm by putting herself first.AboutComing from an engineering background, Marcia has been a lecturer at the University of the West Indies since 2011. Additionally, she is a successful poet and author. She recently published a book, "Lighting the Path: Leaning into A Hopeful Future for Special Needs Parents," which aids other special needs parents as well as health care professionals. Marcia clearly has thought-provoking wisdom that aids her students and readers in gaining a deep understanding...2021-12-1615 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastCoping with End-of-Year Gatherings and Challenging Experiences that AriseMany special needs parents find it especially challenging to navigate the celebration season that comes at year end. How to manage external expectations and judgments while looking out for ourselves is such a critical question. Tune in for some discussion and useful suggestions that can make this time a little easier and maybe even a lot more fun for all of us.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4/message2021-12-1621 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastCommunicating with our Non-Verbal ChildThis episode reviews some of the challenges and opportunities of communication with a non-verbal child. It shares approaches that Special Needs Parents can use to tune in to what a child is “saying”, as well as how we can encourage more output from a child in the forms that they are capable of using or might prefer to use. Bonus: Pick up your free copy of the Clarity and Focus workbook at https://MarciaNB.com/clarity-focus-workbook today.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4/message2021-12-0923 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastYour Harsh Inner CriticWith our special needs children depending on us so completely, Special Needs Parents can struggle daily with a harsh inner critic that yells about what we’ve done wrong, points out our shortcomings, and constantly demands more.
This episode shares about some of the reasons Special Needs Parents practise so much self-criticism, how harsh self judgment affects us, and how we can start taking small actions to help us claim more joy and fulfillment every day.
Join Marcia’s community for more support here: www.Facebook.com/groups/joyandfulfillment
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/m...2021-12-0218 min
The Special Needs Parent PodcastHow Gratitude Opens Up the JourneyAlongside the challenges of our lives walks gratitude. Sometimes it is our special needs child who stimulates that gratitude, but there are other ways to integrate giving thanks into the way we think and function. Visit me at https://www.MarciaNB.com to connect and to sign up for my newsletter and other complimentary resources that support special needs parents. And remember to leave me your voice messages sharing the topics you’d like to see explored on the podcast, or telling me your own stories that came up as you listened to this episode.
---
Send in a voice me...2021-11-2520 minThe Special Needs Parent PodcastTrailer: The Special Needs Parent PodcastWhy I gave this title to the podcast, and why special needs parents are the podcast’s focus.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marcia-nathai-balkissoon4/message2021-11-2200 minJourney Through Health & WellnessHow to Stop Judging Yourself with Dr. Marcia"Find the joy and fulfillment of every day through small and enabling actions."When a medical error caused Marcia's daughter to enter a vegetative state, she started seeing life from a very dark place. Her vision for her daughter's life radically changed. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon joins Elisa Haransky Beck in discussing how she found the light again in letting go of her expectations of her daughter, who while Marcia was mourning in another room was approaching life with laughter. Marcia powerfully shares how she shifted her consciousness and learned how to cherish each moment through raising a disabled...2021-11-0434 min
Bringing Her HopeS7: Episode 5 Leaning into a hopeful future as a special needs parent with special guest Marcia Nathai- BalkissoonYou never know how one event can change your life forever. My guest this week on the Bringing Her Hope podcast is Marcia Nathai- Balkissoon. Marcia's daughter, Emma, was born with a congenital heart issue and due to a medical mistake following open-heart surgery at only 8 months old, Emma was left severely brain-damaged. Marcia and her family found themselves in a new world: coming to terms with their new reality, isolation, endless healthcare appointments, and unplanned expenses, among many other new trials.
To connect with Marcia:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcianathaibalkissoon/ | @marcianathaibalkissoon
Facebo...2021-08-3056 min
Parenting Impossible – The Special Needs Survival PodcastEpisode 115: Finding Resilience with Dr. Marcia Nathai-BalkissoonResilience is the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult challenges. Many special needs parents may struggle with this throughout their child’s journey. The many challenges and difficulties with everyday life, doctors, and getting the proper supports they need can be overwhelming. In this episode, Annette speaks with Dr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon, who goes by Marcia NB. Marcia NB has a PhD in industrial engineering and is the author of the new book “Lighting the Path: Leaning into a Hopeful Future as a Special Needs Parent” . Marcia NB quickly faced her challenges with her own daughter Emma and became an a...2021-06-251h 09