The Awetism Podcast

21/03/2024

12/03/2024

This is a public thank you to all the teachers out there working with kids with specialized needs. It is surely no easy task, but it is the people like you that have made all the difference in the world for families like ours. 🫶

Thank you to all the other Miss Jeannie’s out there. “She was one of the first people that believed in Mitch.. and us.” - Our Parents 💙

03/03/2024

I asked my parents what they’d like to share with other parents that might be going through a similar journey of wanting to know how to help their kid. Here is what they had to say. 🫶

As a parent you don’t always know the next best step to help your child. The willingness to say, “I don’t know how to help” is the most honest and important first step to help your child. Committing to early intervention with our son was the best decision we made to realize a hopeful future. Hope is gained by investing in the what can be. We are so grateful for all the caring educators who made all the difference for him and his life.

06/02/2024

This is your sign to add the Saran Wrap Ball Game to your next family get-together. 🙌🌪️

02/02/2024

Come on, Mitch! 😂

31/01/2024

Listen in to the early days when our parents were learning more about Mitch and his life on spectrum. ⏪⏰

26/01/2024

Parents don’t have it all figured out. Our parents told us this many times when we were growing up! But even though they were scared, they found their way. It’s okay to be scared to death 💀 lol.

20/01/2024

The start to our story begins with our parent’s story. Challenges, triumphs, sadness, joy - in this family, we do it all, together. Here’s the beginning of the series with our amazing parents. 👪🫶

16/01/2024

Take a glimpse into Mitch’s new hobby - Gundam Model Kit Assembly! 🤖 It was so cool seeing Mitch delve into something he was interested in while being able to engage with the family during the game. 🏈 Not to mention, these models are AWESOME! 🙌

11/01/2024

(Part 7️⃣/7️⃣): Much like the unpredictable nature of love, clips 2-7 have been corrupted 🤦‍♂️ lol. Here is the surviving final part where Mitch ever-so-eloquently describes the best way to find, and give, love. 🫶

07/01/2024

01/01/2024

“It ain’t about how hard you hit 🥊, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

We may be 0-2 in Pacman, but we're always in each other's corner. 👻👾🕹️

Wishing you all an incredible 2024! 🫶

03/11/2023

29/10/2023

New Facebook Account, who dis? Facebook can be a tough place to navigate! Mitch would have an honest conversation with my about Star Wars expertise, so I offered to have that same conversation and get his profile looking right! Mitchell Herald is no more, haha!

For context, he was locked out of his old Facebook profile “Mitchell Sleep”, so he was forced to create a new profile under the name “Mitchell Herald”.. His middle name is Gerald, lol. Our tip: create a Facebook support ticket, and they’ll get you taken care of! 🔑

26/10/2023

23/10/2023

Disney on the spectrum is a truly magical experience! It's been a place where Mitch has been able to find so much inspiration, joy, and belonging. 💙

After our most recent visit, Mitch and I put together our top 5 tips for those visiting Disney on (or off) the spectrum! We hope this might be able to help on your next trip to the happiest place on earth. 🫶

1. Plan Ahead! - Before the trip, Mitch, Jenna and I did some research to find out our 5 top Disneyland experiences (Mitch's idea btw). We then shared our lists and made an itinerary. Included in our planning were things like; how early to get to the park, which area to start with to avoid long lines, and how to use their Genie+ app for the best rides and activities.

2. Do The Things You Love First - The park is full of all kinds of fun twists and turns! Sometimes there are no wait times, sometimes they are longer than expected, and sometimes there are unexpected closures. Starting with the activities you want to do most helped to meet the hype we had for the day, and even got us on our favorite ride before it had an unfortunate closure.

3. Take Breaks When Needed - This was HUGE for both Mitch and us! We were at the park for about 14 hours (we know 😳 lol), but we often took breaks at a quiet park away from the noise for a total of around 3 hours total. There we relaxed our sensory systems, talked about our recent fun, and tried to quiz Mitch on some Disney trivia (spoiler: he knew everything lol). Mitch also had breaks as his number one tip. Before going to the park, we told Mitch, at any point in the day to let us know when he needed a break, and after seeing him look a bit drained at different parts throughout the day, we asked him if he wanted to take one and he happily agreed. After a while, you could see him charging back up with the energy he needed to head back out into the park!

4. It's Okay To Skip Things! - There were several things at the park that were even better than we imagined! There were actors, shows, and food that we didn't want to miss! So we stayed there until we got what we wanted. We knew that by doing the things we loved first, it would be okay to miss some other things later in the day. We asked Mitch what he wanted to do most - he, of course, asked what we wanted to do instead. We ended up skipping 2-3 things on our list, but at the end of the day we all felt good about the choices we made.

5. Try To Be Present! You Get To Make Lifelong Memories Today! - Candidly, this one makes me a little emotional thinking about, but I promise it's worth adding this step to your park routine if you can manage it. Mitch, and our whole family, often talk about the memories we made in Disneyland/Disneyworld when we were kids. Exploring a creative and inspiring world like Disney has become a core memory of ours. And going into the park that day with the perspective that we had the privilege to add even more to those core memories was truly a special feeling. For what it's worth, choosing to enjoying the process of taking on a crazy day at Disney, rather than the good/easy outcomes, helped both of us a great deal. 💙

What other Disney park tips do you have? Drop them below! 👇😊

17/10/2023

What else were we supposed to do?? 😂💫✨

11/10/2023

I always wondered how someone on the spectrum might deal with roller coasters! 🎢

With Mitch, mentally preparing 🧠, talking through the most extreme parts of the ride (if known at the time) 🗣️, and turning off some of that stimulus by closing your eyes 👀 can be some great tools!

Not shown: Mitch letting me latch on to him when we were launched into outer space lol.

09/08/2023

We knew Mitch could’ve powered through a highly stimulating day at the park, but, like any friend, we wanted to make sure we could all share in the moments the same way and enjoy the park at our fullest energy! I saw Mitch starting to get drained a few times, so we simply asked him if he wanted to take a break, and he said yes!

We spotted the park on the way in and all agreed that would be our go-to spot in case we needed any breaks. After a few ~20 minute getaways, we were back in the park ready for more!

29/07/2023

28/07/2023

I've always wondered what Mitch would think when he had the chance to see some of his favorite characters in real life. Especially when considering the fan he's been from such a young age - from reading comics every second in 5+ hour car rides, to action figures, to trading cards, to clothing, to bedding, to posters on the wall, and not to mention every time it was his turn to pick a movie, Tori and I knew what we'd be watching haha - Star Wars! ⭐

I especially appreciate the perspective Mitch has looking at these characters now. What started as an all-out obsession with a world of fantasy as a kid has really matured into a view such that when he saw the characters live at Disney, his first reaction was to look back at me so we could share in the moment together. It was truly a special moment for me, and thought it was worth sharing.

We talked too about how inspiring it can be when seeing characters like this in real life. There's something about being closer to people and things that brings such intense emotions (both good and bad) that we both agreed was pretty cool. 🙌

27/07/2023

I’d say Mitch was dangerously accurate with this on-the-spot impression! 🎥🙌 What do you think?!

26/07/2023

Today we dig deeper into Mitch's bond with one of his favorite movie characters and what it's like getting to see them in real life! 🦸

25/07/2023

It's not every day you get to meet your hero! Props for R2 for not letting the fame get to his head, as he took the time to pose with us for some pictures. 💙

We were first concerned that by forcing (eh?! Force-ing?! 😉) Mitch to wear the birthday badge might add a little too much unneeded stimulus from strangers in already a hectic park, but we knew he could handle it so we grabbed one for him right when we got in the gates. He received around 10 birthday wishes and "Happy Origin Days" throughout the day and he let us know it added to the experience. The staff did an awesome job of making it feel special and Mitch took it in stride!

We tried tagging R2, but it looks like he stays off of social. Good for him lol.

11/07/2023

In this episode, I asked Mitch why he was always able to find such a strong connection with animals - as opposed to with people (early on). We talk through how animals made for an overall simpler type of interaction. There was less of a need to process his emotions, as well as the person he was communicating with. In this case, Less processing = An opportunity to better understand his own emotions, and learn valuable lessons he could then use in different parts of his life. 🙌

Mitch talks about how animals helped teach him the “basics of emotions”. Things like being more understanding and less selfish. He called out, specifically, when learning how to handle a dog, he was taught to be careful with it and how you should let it do what it wants to do, too! He said this was his first big lesson. 🐶

08/07/2023

Here’s what Mitch has to say about dogs 💙

“Dogs helped a lot with my stress and in my life in general. You could see how much they loved and cared about you even when you are not there. It is truly hard to describe how much dogs fill our lives with joy and comfort. I truly believe dogs are the greatest creatures other than humans on this world. Thank you for letting me share my appreciation for dogs who became apart of our wonderful family. I love you always, Sunny, Otis, Smokey, Max, Lily, and Breesy.”

29/06/2023

Mitch took only his 2nd SOLO trip ✈️ this last week down to San Diego, and he handled it with ease! In Mitch’s words, “It was good! Plus, it couldn’t have gone any worse than the first time!” So true Mitch… so true. But that’s a story for another day lol.

What was so special about this is that even though his 1st solo travel experience went terribly wrong in just about every way possible, Mitch chose to risk going through it all again. He told us that some things in life are worth taking the chance. 💙

We just wanted to share this success, as we know this is (and was) a scary thought to have when traveling or caring for someone traveling who might be on the spectrum. No travel experience goes as planned, but trusting that everything will end up okay and that you have processes and people to lean on can make all the difference in the world. 🫶