Episodes

On today’s episode Mary talks with Patrick Cadigan and Megan Smallwood of the Post Secondary Transition podcast. They discuss the role of a Transition Coordinator, how to involve your child in these decisions, and the complexities of the post seconda...

Mary shares her thoughts on the coming school year and how she is hopefull and optimistic despite all the changes. She also talks about how pleasantly surprised she was, when they all went out for the afternoon and Ainsley walked for hours with no co...

Mary talks to Dorothy Gazzola about the transition from High School to later life adventures. Transitions Timeline

Mary chats about how back to school this year is different.

Mary talks about Ainsley's palette expansion and the challenges they are facing. Also, Ainsley had her first "official" salon visit and how that all went down!

On today's episode, Mary talks about her recent vacation and how it was so successful. Hint - it involves a large water slide. She shares some of the other fun and adapted activities that they did.  She also talks about how she is creating her own Do...

Mary talks with returning guest, Christine Wiebe, about homeschooling kids with Down syndrome.  Christine believes that anyone can homeschool their child, you just have to have the desire and motivation to do so.  They talk about the myth that homesc...

In this episode Mary talks about her grief and some recent challenging times. She shares some of the tips she is using for self-care, including flowers and knitting. She admits she is not a fabulous knitter, but enjoys it anyways. And she chats about...

Mary talks with Rocking Mom, Stephanie, about Childhood Apraxia of Speech, also known as apraxia.  Stephanie shares her journey about her son Odin, who likely has the diagnosis of apraxia of speech and how she has had to fight for services for her so...

Mary shares about the end of the school year with Ainsley and some of the challenges this past year has brought, the dance recital, and Challenger baseball. She also talks about the ever increasing gap between Ainsley and her peers, and how that has ...

The Essential Guide for Down Syndrome Families.Mary chats with rocking dad and author, Steve Friedman, who wrote “The Essential Guide for Down Syndrome Families.”  This Guide, as Steve likes to call it, is an excellent resource for all families who h...

Mary talks about her success at the Farmers Market selling cookies of course, and why she didn’t get a table next to Starbucks at the "Run Up For Down Syndrome". She also talks about the the Boat for Hope, an annual event, put on by Variety, the Chil...

Mary talks with her friend Katie De Nardi Grant, a travel agent that specializes in creating vacations for families that have a child with special needs.  Katie travels a lot with her daughter Sloan, who has Down syndrome and some other medical issue...

Today is another mini episode and Mary talks about the Run Up For Down Syndrome and her cookie fundraising for the event.  She also talks about the Adaptive Dance that Ainsley has been going to since September and some of the ongoing challenges with ...

Mary chats with Melissa Hart about her recently released book “Daisy Woodworm Changes the World”, and about growing up with a younger brother who has Down syndrome.  Melissa is a strong advocate for highlighting people with Down syndrome in various m...

This is a mini-episode of Mary sharing what's been on her mind.  She talks about Challenger baseball, Mother's Day, some behaviour issues Ainsley is having at school, and trying to have some success gardening (Dennis is unsure of her success!).

Mary talks with Brady Murray of ROD's Heroes-an organization that is dedicated to helping children in orphanages that have Down syndrome and other disabilities, find their forever homes.  Hear what happens when Brady decides to do an Ironman and allo...

Mary chats with Darcy Day on how she learned that her 18 year old son Brady, who has Down syndrome, was able to communicate through spelling! It is a fascinating and heart warming conversation about always assuming competence on our kids. Darcy is on...

Mary chats with Cristin Condon who is a life coach, meditation teacher and a Marie Kondo professional organizer.  Cristin is a single mom with three kids including her son with Down syndrome and understands how important self-care is for parents of c...

Mary talks with Rose Reif, a Licensed Clincical Mental Health Counsellor, about a topic we don’t hear about too often-grief. Rose provides insight and tips on how to handle and manage the grief of our child’s diagnosis. Rose talks about several thing...

Mary has an eye-opening conversation with author Meeka Caldwell about her "My Friend Anian" book series. When Meeka couldn't find any books about Down syndrome and a black family, she decided to write her own.  It's an open conversation about race, D...

Mary talks about what's ahead in Series 5.

In this last episode of Season 4, Mary and Ron have a chat about what Christmas will look like this year. Sleigh Bells SFX Courtesy:  License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Music Attribution Jingle Bells CC Commons LicenceJingle Bells b...

Mary talks with filmmakers Olivier & Hilda Bernier. The Bernier's have created a film documenting their son Emilio, who has Down syndrome, and his struggle with inclusion in the school system.