Episodes

Martyn Sibley Joins the Show: New Format, Same Great Information

This week, our host, Mai Ling Chan, is in the hot seat. The roles are reversed as fellow Xceptional Podcast Network host, Matt Hott of Speech Science takes the mic to interview Mai Ling. She talks with Matt about what prompted her to start this...

Strong Foundations Build Leadership with Sara Simpson

Autism Parent Takes Advocacy to the Next Level with Catherine Hughes

Mom Writes the First Autism Sourcebook with Karen Siff Exkorn

We are joined on the show today by the multi-talented, young Cassidy Huff. She is a singer/songwriter, musician, and a voiceover artist for Dreamworks and Amazon. Cassidy has a rare disease which has resulted in her undergoing dozens of surgeries, yet...

Speech-language pathologist, Amanda Charney, is our guest today. Amanda founded Small Steps in Speech, an organization that provides grants to families with children with speech and language disorders who are either not covered or not fully covered by...

IEP Coach and international speaker, Catherine Whitcher, is our guest today. Catherine is an expert at helping educators and parents create IEPs that fit their specific needs and she teaches others her methods through online and in-person training....

Kenny Salvini is our guest today to share about his journey since a skiing accident made him a quadriplegic as a young adult. After a meeting with other individuals with similar disabilities opened his eyes to the importance of community, Salvini took...

Entrepreneur, computing technology expert, and universal design advocate, Todd Stabelfeldt, is our guest today. Todd is a C4 quadriplegic who is passionate about discovering new ways for disabled individuals to gain more independence. He shares the...

Steven Spohn is our guest today and he began his journey in the world of accessible gaming as a gamer with disabilities himself. He’s now an author and the Chief Operations Officer and Community Outreach Director for the AbleGamers Foundation....

Steve Isaacs joins us today to talk about using gaming in the classroom. He clarifies the difference between gamification and game-based learning, shares his insights as a game design and development teacher, and speaks about his involvement with...

Dr. Kathryn Ringland joins Mai Ling to share with us how she used the Autcraft Minecraft server as a research environment to learn first-hand how it was benefitting autistic kids. In addition to sharing what she learned from the research project,...

Stuart Duncan runs the Minecraft server, Autcraft, and he is with us on the show to share his experiences with us. Autcraft is a Minecraft environment created especially for kids of all ages with autism to play the game in a safe setting. Stuart tells...

Blogger and gamer Erin Hawley is our guest today. Erin has muscular dystrophy which can inhibit her gaming so she shares with us her strategy for choosing new game titles, the story of how she began working with Microsoft on an adaptive controller for...

Abigail David and Erin Nealy are the co-founders and co-executive directors of Bridgeway Academy in Columbus Ohio and they are our guests on today’s episode. Bridgeway is a non-profit educational institution created to serve children with autism and...

Our guest today is television and film actress, Peggy Lane. Peggy is the creator and director of the web TV show, Donna On The Go, which highlights the struggles of a person with disabilities in a comedic way. She talks with Mai Ling about the...

Ifunanya Nweke is our guest today. She is the founder of Jazz Hands for Autism, an organization that works with musicians who are on the autism spectrum to help them hone their skills and find work doing what they love. Ifunanya talks about the...

Our guest this week is outdoor accessibility advocate, Ian Mackay. He founded the nonprofit organization Ian’s Ride which helps bring awareness to the issue of outdoor accessibility and advocates for support services on behalf of those with mobility...

Our guest this episode is Angela Mahoney, a Special Education teacher, author, and creator of the I Can Work educational curriculum and training program for children and young adults on the autism spectrum. Angela talks with Mai Ling about the...

Blogger, speaker, author, and world traveler, Martyn Sibley joins Mai Ling on the show today to discuss what it’s like to travel with a disability that requires a wheelchair. Sibley also talks about launching his blog, creating an online space...

Children’s book author and motivational speaker, Simon Calcavecchia, is our guest on the show this episode. He tells about the challenges he’s faced as a quadriplegic and how he has turned his attention and energy toward encouraging and inspiring...

George Braddock joins Mai Ling on this episode to talk about his work designing homes for persons with disabilities in mind. George is the president of Creative Housing Solutions, LLC, an engineering company that uses person-centered planning...

Our guest today is blogger and disability advocate, Heather Watkins, a woman of color who wants to remind the world that disabilities also affect minority groups. She is a co-founder of the Divas with Disabilities project and she joins us to share her...