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Hope on the Hard Road Special Needs Podcast

Hope on the Hard Road Special Needs Podcast

By: Hope on the Hard Road
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 For a family raising a child with special needs, life can be difficult. There are many storms to weather and struggles to address, and we often feel isolated and alone due to the nature of our circumstances. Families have a need to connect and find resources, a need to be encouraged, and a need for hope as we walk down what can be a very hard road at times. Hope on the Hard Road Special Needs Podcast was created for this purpose. Our vision is to grow a thriving community, where families with children of all ages with special needs can feel connected, be encouraged, and find hope for the road ahead.Copyright 2020 All rights reserved. Christianity Spirituality
Episodes
  • "Season Highlights & Happy Holidays" with Eric and Christen

    "Season Highlights & Happy Holidays" with Eric and Christen
    Dec 15 2025

    "Season Highlights & Happy Holidays" with Eric and Christen

    Hey everybody Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

    This season has had so many incredible episodes and there are so many more to come in the New Year!

    Lets take a moment and listen in to some of the highlights. And don’t forget you can always get caught up on the episodes you’ve missed over the holidays. Find us where ever you listen to your podcasts or watch us on our YouTube Channel at Hope on the Hard Road

    See you back here in the New Year!

    Amanda Owen www.piecesofme.org www.puzzle-pieces.org @piecesofmebyamanda

    Joel & Debbie Pearlman www.daniplan.com https://www.facebook.com/MyDaniPlan/ https://www.instagram.com/mydaniplan/

    Heather Avis @heatheravis @theluckyfewofficial heatheravis.com

    Kelly and Pamela Schlenz www.idyllwildpines.org autisticallyinclined.com @adventureswithnaiyagrace @Idyllwildpines

    J Brad and Paulette Britton @RealWordsWithSam www.realwordswithsam.com jbradbritton@gmail.com

    Dawnmarie Gaivin www.spellers.com www.spellersfreedomfoundation.org. dawnmarie@spellers.com www.underestimated.tv @spellers_freedomfoundation @spellers__ https://www.facebook.com/groups/spellerscommunity https://www.facebook.com/spellersfreedomfoundation https://www.facebook.com/spellersrev

    For a family raising a child with special needs, life can be difficult. There are many storms to weather and struggles to address, and we often feel isolated and alone due to the nature of our circumstances. Families have a need to connect and find resources, a need to be encouraged, and a need for hope as we walk down what can be a very hard road at times. Hope on the Hard Road Special Needs Podcast was created for this purpose. Our vision is to grow a thriving community, where families with children of all ages with special needs can feel connected, be encouraged, and find hope for the road ahead.

    Connect with Us: If you enjoy this podcast please share us with others and be sure to follow us so won’t miss an episode. We’d love to hear from you so please leave us a comment or rating and connect with us on social media or on our website.

    Email us: info@hopeonthehardroad.org Website: https://hopeonthehardroad.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeonthehardroad/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopeonthehardroad/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2621447987943459 Free Youtube Resource Library: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsSAfvTkSy87X-fEqtVR2qvo7w9UQBuxz
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    7 mins
  • “The Spellers Method” with Dawnmarie Gaivin

    “The Spellers Method” with Dawnmarie Gaivin
    Dec 1 2025
    Spellers Series: “The Spellers Method” with Dawnmarie Gaivin Dawnmarie Gaivin, is the cofounder of Spellers MethodTM and the Executive Director of Spellers Freedom Foundation. A former trauma and transplant nurse who spent more than a decade working in prestigious teaching hospitals in Boston and San Francisco, when she became a mother in 2003, her life took an unexpected turn. By 2006, both of her children had been diagnosed with nonspeaking autism. Driven by an unwavering commitment to help her boys find their voices, Dawnmarie transformed her career. She became an assistive technology specialist and a DIR/Floortime® provider, ultimately founding Spellers Center - San Diego in 2017 and co-founding the revolutionary Spellers Method. Featured in the SPELLERS documentary, her impact has rippled far beyond her own family. Let’s listen in as Dawnmarie shares her story. Bio: Dawnmarie Gaivin, RN, AT-ACP, is a former trauma and transplant nurse who spent more than a decade working in prestigious teaching hospitals in Boston and San Francisco. When she became a mother in 2003, her life took an unexpected turn - by 2006, both of her children had been diagnosed with nonspeaking autism. Driven by an unwavering commitment to help her boys find their voices, Dawnmarie transformed her career. She became an assistive technology specialist and a DIR/Floortime® provider, ultimately founding Spellers Center - San Diego in 2017 and co-founding the revolutionary Spellers MethodTM. Her impact rippled far beyond her own family. In March 2021, speller Jamison Handley and his father JB chronicled their transformative journey with Dawnmarie in their book Underestimated, revealing how spelling opened entirely new pathways to communication. The movement continued to gain momentum. In 2023, the documentary SPELLERS was released, powerfully demonstrating how spelling and typing as AAC methodologies have liberated countless nonspeakers from lives of silence. This was followed in 2024 by Underestimated.tv, which illuminated more profound journeys of nonspeakers after they gained access to open communication. Today, as Executive Director of Spellers Freedom Foundation - a 501(c)(3) public charity - Dawnmarie has expanded her reach far beyond San Diego. The foundation empowers every speller to flourish through access to communication, community-building, and scholarships. She remains equally passionate about ensuring students with alternative communication needs receive age-appropriate curriculum throughout their lifespans, a commitment that has inspired her to pursue a master's degree in educational leadership. What drives her is a life mission that’s as clear as it is urgent: to dismantle the long-rooted paradigms that prevent nonspeakers from living their fullest, most inclusive lives possible - not just in one community, but everywhere. You can learn more about her work at www.spellers.com and www.spellersfreedomfoundation.org. dawnmarie@spellers.com www.spellersfreedomfoundation.org https://www.spellersfreedomfoundation.org/how-to-help www.spellers.com www.underestimated.tv Instagram: @spellers_freedomfoundation @spellers__ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spellerscommunity/ https://www.facebook.com/spellersfreedomfoundation https://www.facebook.com/spellersrev The Spellers Guidebook on Amazon: https://a.co/d/2m3pcXf Underestimated on Amazon: https://a.co/d/iWOZQZg Spellers the Movie: https://www.spellersfreedomfoundation.org/spellers-the-movie For a family raising a child with special needs, life can be difficult. There are many storms to weather and struggles to address, and we often feel isolated and alone due to the nature of our circumstances. Families have a need to connect and find resources, a need to be encouraged, and a need for hope as we walk down what can be a very hard road at times. Hope on the Hard Road Special Needs Podcast was created for this purpose. Our vision is to grow a thriving community, where families with children of all ages with special needs can feel connected, be encouraged, and find hope for the road ahead. Connect with Us: If you enjoy this podcast please share us with others and be sure to follow us so won’t miss an episode. We’d love to hear from you so please leave us a comment or rating and connect with us on social media or on our website. Email us: info@hopeonthehardroad.org Website: https://hopeonthehardroad.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeonthehardroad/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopeonthehardroad/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2621447987943459 Free Youtube Resource Library: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsSAfvTkSy87X-fEqtVR2qvo7w9UQBuxz
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    39 mins
  • “Finding Their Voice: A Family’s Journey with Spelling” with J Brad and Paulette Britton

    “Finding Their Voice: A Family’s Journey with Spelling” with J Brad and Paulette Britton
    Nov 17 2025

    Spellers Series:

    “Finding Their Voice: A Family’s Journey with Spelling” with J Brad and Paulette Britton

    Today we continue our Spellers Series and are joined by Paulette and J Brad Britton. Paulette and J Brad have a 24-year-old autistic son with apraxia, named Sam. For years, his intelligence and humor were missed. That changed when he began using spelled communication to share his thoughts.

    Paulette has spent years connecting cutting-edge autism research with the families who need it. J Brad, a leadership mentor and business executive, brings a father’s honest reflection to the conversation. He talks openly about what it means to lead, learn, and show up when your child’s needs don’t follow the rulebook.

    Together, Paulette and J Brad have become thoughtful voices on “presuming competence”, advocating with compassion, and holding on to hope on the hard road.

    Their story is featured in the upcoming book Real Words with Sam, which includes Sam’s own writing—his ideas, his humor, his voice. Let’s Listen in as we hear Paulette and J Brad’s Story

    Bio:

    Paulette and J Brad Britton are the parents of Sam, a 24-year-old autistic man with apraxia. For years, his intelligence and humor were missed. That changed when he began using spelled communication to share his thoughts. Paulette has spent years connecting cutting-edge autism research with the families who need it. J Brad, a leadership mentor and business executive, brings a father’s honest reflection to the conversation. He talks openly about what it means to lead, learn, and show up when your child’s needs don’t follow the rulebook. Together, Paulette and J Brad have become thoughtful voices on presuming competence, advocating with compassion, and holding on to hope on the hard road. Their story is featured in the upcoming book Real Words with Sam, which includes Sam’s own writing—his ideas, his humor, his voice. The book invites readers to see through a different lens and reconsider communication, connection, and belief.

    Insta and Facebook: RealWordsWithSam www.realwordswithsam.com

    jbradbritton@gmail.com

    For a family raising a child with special needs, life can be difficult. There are many storms to weather and struggles to address, and we often feel isolated and alone due to the nature of our circumstances. Families have a need to connect and find resources, a need to be encouraged, and a need for hope as we walk down what can be a very hard road at times. Hope on the Hard Road Special Needs Podcast was created for this purpose. Our vision is to grow a thriving community, where families with children of all ages with special needs can feel connected, be encouraged, and find hope for the road ahead.

    Connect with Us:

    If you enjoy this podcast please share us with others and be sure to follow us so won’t miss an episode. We’d love to hear from you so please leave us a comment or rating and connect with us on social media or on our website.

    Email us: info@hopeonthehardroad.org

    Website: https://hopeonthehardroad.org/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeonthehardroad/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopeonthehardroad/

    Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2621447987943459

    Free Youtube Resource Library: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsSAfvTkSy87X-fEqtVR2qvo7w9UQBuxz

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hope on the Hard Road, Inc. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as professional, medical, or legal advice.
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    43 mins
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