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Navigating Neurodiversity

Arc Southern Chesapeake

Navigating Neurodiversity helps families, caregivers and professionals better support neurodivergent individuals, including those with autism and other intellectual or developmental disabilities. Guided by host Rita Rich, every episode offers actionable advice, inspiring conversations and trusted resources to help you navigate the journey with confidence. This podcast has been created by The Arc Southern Chesapeake and was formerly known as "See Me. See My Ability."

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#92
Tuesday · 7 min
Parent Support Groups: Finding Community While Navigating Autism and IDD
When her son was diagnosed with autism, Elise Horne and her husband didn’t know other families navigating a similar experience. Today, she helps parents and caregivers find the connection she once needed. In this episode, The Arc Southern Chesapeake’s Community Engagement Manager shares the story of founding a parent support group, the value of learning from other families and why caregivers need time to recharge. She also introduces two Arc Southern Chesapeake support groups for families navigating life after school and caring for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). Learn more about the Charles County Autism and Developmental Disabilities Parent Support Group, connect through its Facebook group or explore the Transitioning Youth Parent Support Group.
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#91
October 13 · 4 min
Employment and IDD: How Work Can Build Skills and Confidence
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and we're celebrating it by sharing real stories of inclusive hiring. A job can offer more than a paycheck for someone with an intellectual or developmental disability. Christian shares how working at Cracker Barrel has helped him learn new skills, build confidence and pursue greater independence. Families and caregivers will also hear an employer’s perspective on finding the right fit, offering a brief look at how training and workplace support can help people with IDD grow.
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#90
September 29 · 5 min
Building Independence: Setting Goals and Following Through
How can setting personal goals help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) build greater independence? Through the story of Larry Mills, who worked and saved for months to take a trip to the Bahamas, this episode explores how families, caregivers and direct support professionals (DSPs) can encourage meaningful goals, provide the right support and help people with IDD become more independent.
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#89
September 15 · 14 min
Medication Management: How DSPs and Caregivers Can Make All the Difference
Managing medication for someone with intellectual or developmental disabilities can be complicated. Knowing what to look for is extraordinarily important. Kristi Torres of Tarrytown Expocare Pharmacy shares what families, caregivers and direct support professionals (DSPs) should understand about medication management — from recognizing changes after a new medication to asking questions and advocating when something doesn't seem right.
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#88
September 1 · 17 min
Presuming Competence: Changing How We Think About Autism and Ability
“My son is not a tragedy.” … For writer, journalist and autism caregiver Kelley Colihan Robertson, supporting her 24-year-old autistic son has meant challenging assumptions about intelligence, communication and capability. She shares what she's learned about presuming competence, finding ways for nonspeaking or limited-speech autistic people to communicate, and focusing on what individuals can do rather than what others assume they can't.
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S3 · E87
August 18 · 11 min
Education, Advocacy and Making Good Trouble
Sarah and Ed Escowitz weren’t afraid to make trouble. That’s why they made history. In Part 2 of our conversation, Sarah reflects on their work building The Arc in Calvert County, fighting for better special education and helping parents use IEPs in schools to advocate for their children. Sarah and host Rita Rich discuss the challenges of securing local special education and services, their move and continued advocacy in Virginia, and the lasting recognition of their work through an ARC volunteer award in their name.
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S3 · E86
August 4 · 13 min
When No Was The Only Answer: Part 1 with one of the earliest Arc leaders Sarah Eskowitz
Sarah Eskowitz recounts raising her son with significant disabilities in 1970s Calvert County, noticing developmental delays and rejecting institutional care in favor of community-based, family-sized homes. She and other parents successfully advocated to shift funding and policy toward smaller supported homes; today her son lives in a supportive group home, socially engaged and well cared for, illustrating how grassroots advocacy transformed services for people with disabilities in Southern Maryland.
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S3 · E85
July 21 · 10 min
Food Is Medicine: Transforming Group Home Nutrition with My25
Host Rita Rich interviews Jim Vail, co-creator of My25, about using a meal-planning platform to improve nutrition and health for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They discuss practical tools like videos, smart grocery lists, plate rebalancing, and moderation over deprivation, plus measurable outcomes such as improved BMI and reduced medication needs. Learn how My25 saves staff time, supports healthier choices in group homes, and where to find the platform and ARC Southern Chesapeake resources.
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S3 · E84
July 6 · 5 min
Summer, Rights, and Resilience: Olmstead Under Threat
See Me, See My Ability is the podcast of the ARC Southern Chesapeake. In this episode, Rita Rich celebrates summertime activities while spotlighting the work supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The episode explains the Olmstead Supreme Court decision and a recent Department of Justice opinion that could weaken community living protections, featuring warnings from disability advocates about the potential consequences for home and community‑based services. ARC Southern Chesapeake affirms that disability rights are human rights, shares how advocates are monitoring these threats, and invites listeners to find the podcast at arcsoch.org and consider supporting their work. Citations: You tube link pbs news hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWV6LABu0T0 Arc USA Position on Department of Justice Opinion https://www.arcnc.org/blog/position-statement-special-education-and-community-integration?fbclid=IwY2xjawSuKrBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe7U1_fAbPBf2BoVzQGvGi_k2_h8ytcU_ZT15llZ4p5O_EQfPyJa3mvBGMWaw_aem_1i1i1THN3SMbgXubf7qfEQ
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#83
June 23 · 10 min
Inside ARC’s Sensory Room: Serenity, Shaving Cream & a Lava Lamp
See Me, See My Ability presents a look inside the ARC Southern Maryland’s new sensory room in Lexington Park with Beth Wolfe, the director of nursing. In this episode Beth describes the room’s calming features — subdued lighting, music, a lava lamp, a chalkboard mural by a program participant, and flexible seating — designed to offer quiet and choice. The episode highlights hands-on activities like shaving cream play, weighted blankets, music stations, therapy balls and gentle stretching that help reduce anxiety and support sensory needs. Staff explain how the room is used by day program participants and residential individuals, and how simple tools make relaxation and therapy feel fun. The sensory room’s growth is driven by donations and grants; the episode thanks supporters and shows how small comforts can make a big difference in daily quality of life.
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S3 · E82
June 9 · 8 min
Building Inclusion: Kayla Carter’s Day Program Revolution
Kayla Carter, director of ARC Southern Maryland’s Waldorf day programs, describes how she creates community partnerships, meaningful volunteer opportunities, and a lively activity calendar to help clients gain skills and independence. The episode covers outreach to local businesses, hands-on learning (money management, languages, Zumba, knitting), family feedback as a measure of progress, and the importance of a sensory room for calming and self‑regulation.
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S3 · E81
May 26 · 8 min
Print It Forward-Assistive Technology and the Arc Southern Maryland
Three-D printers are all the rage and The Arc Southern Maryland is teaching its clients to use them to create assistive technology. Listen as Nora Walker, with the State Department for Disabilities visited with us in Prince Frederick and showed us some of the many possibilities.
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S3 · E80
May 12 · 10 min
A Conversation With One of Our Moms, Donna DePamphelis
Hear this conversation with a parent, and a longtime advocate for IDD students in Charles County, Donna DePamphelis, who is being honored next month by the statewide Arc Maryland. This mom of the soon-to-be 34-year-old Rashawn, one of our residents, talks about all that the Arc Southern Maryland has done for her and her daughter.
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S3 · E79
April 28 · 4 min
It's Baseball Season in Southern Maryland! Blue Crabs and the Arc Southern MD
At last! It’s Baseball Season! For the past couple of decades that meant that Arc Southern Maryland clients and personal support staff get a field day with members of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs professional baseball team! Listen to the fun and comradery and get yourself to a game!
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S3 · E78
April 14 · 12 min
From Earth Day to Earthset! 1970-2026
One of the things that happens during the podcasting classes at the Arc Southern Maryland is that our instructors and staff talk with clients about all sorts of neat things. One of those things was this past week's Artemis II spaceflight to the far side of the Moon, or the side of the Moon we do not see when we look up in the sky. We discussed how this moon mission harkens back to the time of the first moon flights, which coincided with the very first Earth Day, April 22, 1970. Back then that was the very first time the world got to see our home from space, as the small blue planet that it is. That image sparked a movement for common good, cleaning up the Earth and trying to repair our world. To help with our discussion with talked with the Environmental Educator from the Alice Ferguson Foundation, Cody Hance. This native Southern Marylander is concerned about the amount of plastics that end up not only in our food, but as micro-plastics, inside of all of us. The music is by way of a YouTube upload of a 2017 commemoration of Earth Day at the New York City based American Museum of Natural History. We sample it with the permissions that are given productions that are made for teaching and educational purposes. The music was composed by The Turtles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzjJGGhKsHA Episode art created using Microsoft Co-Pilot
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S3 · E77
March 31 · 13 min
Autism Acceptance Month Featuring Victoria Rodriguez-Roldan
Our podcasting class in Prince Frederick hosted the lady in charge of the State of Maryland's Autism Strategy, Victoria Rodriguez-Roldan. She heard some of our participants' personal stories and answered questions from staff. You can find out more about where Victoria works here: https://mdod.maryland.gov/ Music: Ron Davis, jazz pianist, "All God's Children."
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S3 · E76
March 17 · 7 min
St. Patty's Day Lessons for All from the Arc Southern Maryland
Arc Southern Maryland students in Waldorf recently participated in a conversation with podcast host Rita Rich about St. Patrick's Day. Listen as the class talks about being proud of their ancestry and of being an American. Hear how they learned about prejudices persisting against those considered different decades ago. Another lesson learned: If you want people to understand the prejudices and misconceptions of others about your own intellectual or developmental disabilities, you need to be compassionate about the prejudices others face.
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S3 · E75
March 3 · 6 min
Tim Gowen: The Historic Special Olympian from Charles County
Episode 75 of the See Me. See My Ability: The Podcast of The Arc Southern Maryland features a conversation that podcast host Rita Rich had with 77-year-old Tim Gowen and his sister during DD Day in Annapolis. We met after members of our Arc and Tim spoke with State Senator Jack Bailey of St. Mary's County. Tim is a prime example of a guy who doesn't know what it means to quit! He's thinking about his next goals as an athlete and is proud to represent our state, Maryland.
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S3 · E74
February 17 · 6 min
DD Day Preview with Love & Guyton
Our DD Day preview: Throughout the day on the 18th, podcast host Rita Rich will be filing updates from our state Capital that will be available on the Arc Southern Maryland’s Facebook page. We’d like our people to check that page and click on our content throughout the day. Our guests are once again Senator Sara Love and Delegate Michelle Guyton. And, we bring back our ”siren song” from our last podcast episode which features Ronnie Hammond of Statewide Broadband.
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S3 · E73
February 3 · 12 min
Ronnie Hammond: Don't You Forget About Me
See Me. See My Ability. The Podcast of the Arc Southern Maryland recently talked with Ronnie Hammond, the director of the Maryland office for Statewide Broadband Development. He provides messages for our Arc Southern Maryland Advocates to share with state lawmakers on Developmental Disability Day on February 18th. #arcmaryland #annapolis #love #guyton #dontyouforgetaboutme#breakfastclub #ddday
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