• Niro Feliciano’s Take the Next Step episode

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Note: This transcript is autogenerated and does contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.

Amy Julia Becker (00:01)
Hi friends, Amy Julia here with an update on Take the Next Step. So first of all, to those of you who have listened to this podcast for these early episodes, thank you. Second, to those of you who offered really meaningful and insightful responses, thank you even more. We asked you to tell us what you thought and you did. I got some long emails, some long in-person messages. I’m really grateful for all of them.

I wanted to share a few things that you all said.

because it just represents the ways in which these conversations can be an encouragement and a source of support to so many of us in the disability community. Here is some of what you said. Life with disability is good and hard. This podcast is so helpful in giving practical ways to navigate both and flourish as a family. Another person wrote in, I have recently started listening to your podcast and have found it a helpful voice.

in a community where I often hear so much love for our children that somehow translates into positivity and a lack of inner honesty about what is hard. Thank you for walking this line well and reminding me to lean into helpful practices, moving beyond just validating the hard times. Another person wrote, in Take the Next Step, you lay out the pragmatic and let us in the disability world learn how.

Thanks for taking the time to step toward us in this disability community as we support our loved ones and learn from self advocates and seasoned practitioners on your show. We will be better for it. And then one more short response. This podcast has been another needed nudge to keep going, to keep tweaking things at home. I’m so grateful for all of those responses and the other ones that came in as well. And if you are one of the people who has been helped by the content on Take the Next Step,

I am going to make a very particular request right here. I’ve heard other podcasters ask for this, what I’m about to ask for as our Christmas gift. So I will ask that of any of you who want to give me a little gift. And that is, I mean, it’s kind of a pain, but I’m about to ask you to do. I am a podcast listener. I’ve listened to lots of podcasts and I very rarely actually pause and do what I’m about to ask you to do. But I’m asking you to do it.

because the responses to these early episodes of Take the Next Step have me convinced that these conversations can be a real lifeline to many more parents and caregivers like us who need to know that our families matter. So would you please take three minutes? I promise it won’t take more than that. It could take less than that. Three minutes right now. Yep, right now. I’m assuming you already have your phone open to your podcast app if you’re listening to me talk right now at this moment.

So, assuming that is true, in order to leave a rating or review, which you knew it was coming, that’s what I’m asking, you need to tap on the show and then hit Rate or Write a Review. Most of you listen to the show in Apple and I get confused in how to do this in Apple, but in Apple, the key is going to the show, not the episode, the show, and then you just scroll down until you see the option to Rate or Review. I know that was all a long explanation. I promise I will not.

do this again anytime soon, but I am asking for your help now. It just really helps more people to find the podcast. I am really excited to share these conversations with more listeners.

I want to give you a little bit of the backstory. Again, this won’t be long, but this podcast began as an experiment. For the past two years, I’ve been offering what we call reimagination workshops and a reimagination retreat and

Those have been for individuals with disabilities and their families. In those, we cover the three basic ideas that come up in this podcast. Start with delight, connect to community, take the next step toward a good future. And at the end of those gatherings, I wanted to leave the participants with more than just a memory and a workbook from our time together. A weekly podcast conversation seemed like a great way both to introduce people who hadn’t been at those workshops,

to these ideas, but also to reinforce the ideas for people who’d been able to attend. I wanted a way to walk with families into their everyday lives with the same reminders I need as the mom of a young adult with Down syndrome. I found a partner in Hope Heals. They graciously offered to help us make the first 10 episodes of this podcast and they’ve just offered to continue to provide the support we need so that we can bring more of these conversations your way. So.

As I mentioned on the last episode, we will be pausing for the holidays. And I know that holidays have their own joys and their own sorrows and just the plain reality of stress for families in general and families affected by disability, perhaps even more so. If you’re in that place, my conversation with Nero Feliciano that came out the week of Thanksgiving might be helpful if you need some encouragement and companionship, if it all feels like it’s just too much right now.

I’m really excited to announce we will be back in February with a host of new conversations. We’ve been brainstorming what topics and guests and questions to bring your way. And we’ve got a list that includes behavior as communication, what it looks like when special education works well, how disability affects siblings and marriages, what to do if your kid is excluded, the dignity of risk, and so much more. In the meantime, again, please email me.

at amyjuliabeckerwriter at gmail.com or click the link in the show notes if you have particular questions, topics, or guests that you want to suggest. Again, we want to walk with you in your real life, talking honestly about the real questions and moving step by step toward a good future where your family and your child know how much you all matter. Thank you for being here for this journey. Blessings this holiday season.

I will see you in the new year.

Take the Next Step is produced in collaboration with Hope Heals. Hope Heals creates sacred spaces of belonging and belovedness for families affected by disabilities to experience sustaining hope in the context of inclusive, intentional, inter-ability communities. Find out more about our resources, gatherings, and inter-ability communities at hopeheals.com. Follow on Instagram: @hopeheals.