🎉 2025 Happy New Year Preview! 🎉

Welcome to a brand-new year with Hope on the Hard Road! In this special episode, we reflect on the challenges and victories of the past year and share an exciting look at what’s ahead in 2025.

Get a sneak peek of upcoming episodes featuring topics like navigating family dynamics, self-care strategies for caregivers, and inspiring guest stories of resilience and hope. Plus, we’ll share ways you can get involved in our growing community this year!

🌟 Save the Date! 🌟 Don’t miss our Fifth Annual Date Night 2025 – an evening of connection and encouragement for couples, happening on February 15th. Sign up now at hopeonthehardroad.org!

Join us as we celebrate the road ahead, together. Here’s to a year of finding strength, joy, and connection in the midst of the challenges we face.

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.

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2024 Year End Review

As the year comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on some of the most powerful and inspiring moments from our fall season. In this special year-end review episode, we revisit stories of resilience, the power of community, and the joy of celebrating milestones — big and small.

Join us as we highlight these memorable clips and the incredible voices that remind us we’re never alone on this journey. Thank you for being part of our community, and here’s to more hope, encouragement, and connection in the New Year!

Don’t forget to follow us so you’re ready for the next season of inspiration.

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Series: Medical

“Advocacy and Fundraising for Medical Families” with Abby Zachritz

Today is our final episode in our medical family series, and it’s a good one. Abby Zachritz is an advocate, corporate consultant, speaker, and a mother of five including a son with disability. Known as 'Advocacy Abby,' she provides essential support and resources to families facing life-altering situations. As Co-Founder of the Connect Platform, Abby empowers families by connecting them with over 1,000 grants, equipment, therapy, and financial support options across the U.S., Canada, and internationally. Through Connect, she ensures that no family has to face challenges alone, making vital resources accessible.

You’re going want to grab a pen and paper for this insightful and informational episode. So let’s get started.

Bio

Advocacy Abby, also known as Abby Zachritz, is a mother of five, advocate, and guiding voice for families navigating disability and complex medical challenges. Known as 'Advocacy Abby,' she provides essential support and resources to families facing life-altering situations, sharing guidance, tools, and emotional support during their most critical moments. Her approach is both deeply personal and professional, rooted in her own experience as a mother and advocate for her child with a disability. As Co-Founder of Connect Platform, Abby empowers families by connecting them with over 1,000 grants, equipment, therapy, and financial support options across the U.S., Canada, and internationally. Through Connect, she ensures that no family has to face challenges alone, making vital resources accessible. In addition to her work with families, Abby consults corporations on how to better serve their clients with unique needs and perspectives. She’s also an inspirational speaker, sharing her message of hope and resilience with audiences, showing that strength and connection can make a profound difference in the lives of individuals and families.

https://www.advocacyabby.com

instagram.com/advocacy.abby

Connect Platform

Series: Medical

“Finding Hope in the Midst of Medical Complexity” with Andrea Bourne Foster

Welcome to the podcast. This episode is full of heart and hope. Today we begin our Medical series with author, speaker, educator and advocate Andrea Bourne Foster. Andrea is the mom of 2 beautiful daughters diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis and epilepsy. She is no stranger to hospital stays and ongoing procedures and we are blessed to have this most amazing mom and advocate on with us today. Let’s listen in as she shares her families story.

Bio:

Andrea Foster is a speaker, writer, disability advocate/educator, wife and mom. Andrea has been married to Kirk since 1998 and they are parents to four young adults. Their youngest, Audrey and Annie are identical twins who were diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex at age five months. This resulted in further diagnoses of epilepsy, autism, intellectual disability and other medical complexities. Andrea and Kirk experienced grief at the loss of dreams and face daily challenges as they fulfill the role of parent-caregivers for their twin daughters. They live in Brampton, Ontario, Canada where Kirk is a professional Firefighter and have been part of Bramalea Alliance Church since 2001. Andrea holds a Master of Science in Education (Disability Studies), Bachelor of Theology and Early Childhood Education Diploma. She shares her experiences through speaking and writing. Her articles are published in Testimony Magazine (PAOC), Alliance.ca magazine, ChristianWeek online magazine and in Women Together online magazine. She has also been a guest writer for Key Ministry and guest blogger for the Huffington Post. She has been interviewed on 100 Huntley St., The Drew Marshall Show and by other podcast hosts. Andrea guest lectures at Bible Colleges and Seminaries, and is working to make Disability Studies part of all such curriculums. Andrea longs to help families not only cope, but also thrive and truly know the joy of the Lord, in spite of disability, disappointment and ongoing seasons of trial. She believes all people belong in the Church but understands that not all leaders are well prepared for ministry with people affected by disability. Her passion is to equip everyone for better interaction so the Body of Christ will become a place of belonging for everybody. One of her favourite things is encouraging other families affected by disability to press into Jesus through Bible study, Church connection and Corporate Worship.

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Series: Future Planning

"Supplemental Security Income (SSI) & Employment" with Aleyada Toruno

We continue on in our Future Planning Series today with a topic that many of us have allot of questions about. Can an individual receive both Supplemental Security Income or SSI and be employed earning an income. This can be a complicated subject and we are incredibly blessed to have expert Aleyda Toruno on today to explain it all to us.

Aleyda has been advocating for the rights of people with disabilities for over 20 years. Prior to her current position at Cornell as Work Incentives Associate, she represented clients in mediations and hearings in Social Security work incentives, vocational rehabilitation, special education, California Regional Center services and Medi-Cal. Her passion to help clients through the employment continuum led her to the world of work incentives counseling.

Lets listen in as she shares.

Bio:

Aleyda has been advocating for the rights of people with disabilities for over 20 years. Prior to her current position at Cornell as Work Incentives Associate, she represented clients in mediations and hearings in Social Security work incentives, vocational rehabilitation, special education, California Regional Center services and Medi-Cal. Her passion to help clients through the employment continuum led her to the world of work incentives counseling.

For more information on Student Earned Income Exclusion see SEIE

Contact:

https://www.yti.cornell.edu/

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Series: Future Panning

"Future Planning" with Wendy Smith

Welcome back to the podcast. Today we begin our Future Planning Series with Wendy Smith of Home of Guiding Hands. Wendy is an incredible resource. She is not only a parent of a 31 year old son with a disability, but has also been working with and advocating for people with developmental disabilities for more than thirty-five years.

Wendy has worked in residential, respite, independent living and recreation programs in three states. She has been with Home of Guiding Hands since 1996 and began providing Life Planning workshops in 2006.

Bio:

Wendy Smith has been working with and advocating for people with developmental disabilities for more than thirty-five years. She has worked in residential, respite, independent living and recreation programs in three states. She has been with Home of Guiding Hands since 1996 and began providing Life Planning workshops in 2006. Wendy is also the parent of a 31 year old son who receives services from San Diego Regional Center.

Contacts:

www.lifeplanninghelp.org

email

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Series: Kicking off the School Year

“Transition IEPs” with Crystal Sanford

Hey guys, as we continue on in our School Year Kick Off Series, today’s episode is going to be a huge help to those of us facing IEP Transition Planning.

If your child has an IEP, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA requires that students have an Individual Transition Plan or ITP in their IEP by the time they turn 16 years old. The Transition Plan should be based on the student’s strengths, preferences, and needs and all IEP goals must be tied into the 3 areas of continuing education or training, employment, and independent living.

On today’s episode we are happy to have Crystal Sanford of Sanford Autism Advocacy Group back on to explain all of this and more to help parents understand and feel more confident with the Transition planning process. So let’s get started.

Crystal Sanford, M.Ed., M.A. CCC-SLP is an Educational Consultant, IEP Advocate and Speech Pathologist. She is also a podcast, author, and mother to an autistic tween. Crystal's passion is advocating alongside fellow neurodiverse families, helping them to persistently pursue what their children deserve at school. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and spending time with her husband and two children in San Diego, CA.

www.sdautismhelp.com

www.facebook.com/sdautismhelp;

www.instagram.com/sanford_autism_advocacy

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.

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