Adulting with Autism

How to Unleash Your Inner Charisma: A Journey with Milena Dalinaros

Hey guys, happy Saturday! I know this episode is super late, and I'll tell you why. Thanks, Microsoft. Yesterday, I was late getting anything done because with the outage, everybody's computer at work was down. So we had to do all our paperwork by hand, and none of us have done that in a good 15 years. By the time the computers came back up, it was super late, and my computer crashed. So by the time I got things up and running, I'm just now recording this podcast. My apologies. That's just how life goes. It's never-ending, and you just got to roll with the punches. But I still thank you guys for tuning in.

I hope you're able to listen to the podcast and hope things are better by Monday. One can only hope, right? That's all we got. I do have a thing on charisma and contrary to belief, charisma, you're not born with it. You can actually create charisma and it's very easy because my next guest is a master of it. Her name is Milena Dalinaros, and she gets hired to teach people to be charismatic. She's got degrees in psychology and rhetoric and a background in the armed forces. Her journey began by teaching techniques for conversation, interviewing, and building relationships to military personnel. Charisma, although not explicitly named, played a crucial role in most of the successful implementations of the knowledge she conveyed.

Milena noticed how charisma transformed social interactions, networking, and conversations into superpowers. So, she decided to start coaching with science-backed classes that helped her students widen their comfort zones and develop their talents within the realm of interpersonal relationships. And now she's starting to write a unique book about charisma and exploring the many elements that constitute charisma. She's also building a charisma coaching program. You guys, she just finished her website. So you will be some of the first to see it and navigate it. I will put that in the show notes. So be a nice, warm, welcoming guest to Milena and listen about charisma.

Learning about charisma is not that hard. You can instantly learn and do with just simple body language, and it's an instant feedback. Not only will you build your own confidence, but people will also see confidence in you. I know communication is really, really hard for most of you guys to convey with your body language and your faces. That's why it's something you can practice every day by looking in the mirror. You can also role play with friends and with your parental units. They would love to help you out. It's something that can be learned and it's practice. It's just a part of communication. And sometimes you can learn it from just watching people because that's all it is, is people watching.

I hope you learned some great tidbits from Milena. Like I said, I'll post her website in the show notes. Please, please like the Facebook, check out the website. And as always, see you, well, not technically see you, check back on Wednesday for a new episode. And as always, keep adulting.

 

https://www.milenadalinaros.com/

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How to Find Harmony: Parenting Adult Children with Autism

Hey friends! Welcome to another episode of Adulting with Autism. Happy Wednesday! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. Mine was great and eventful—I'll have to share the story sometime this week.

This episode is specially for parents and caregivers. Our guest is Russ Solomon, a parent wellness mentor who's all about helping parents find their innate peaceful nature. Russ blends his lifelong spiritual journey with decades of experience as a musical therapist, drum circle facilitator, and Reiki practitioner. He offers a transformative experience called "In-Tune Parents," aimed at unlocking joy and well-being for both parents and their kids.

We had a fantastic discussion on why Russ focuses on parents instead of kids, the importance of parental support, and practical ways to bridge the gap in transitioning young adults into independent adults. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this insightful conversation. You might even want to take notes!

And don't forget to check out Russ's free masterclass on his website. It could be a game-changer for you. Thanks for tuning in, and always keep adulting!

Love you guys!

April Ratchford

https://raisingspecialneedskids.com/masterclass/

https://www.facebook.com/InTuneParents

PS: Don't forget to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, and Spotify. Like us on Facebook at Adulting with Autism Podcast and visit our website, Adulting with Autism, to check out our merchandise. 20% of proceeds go to a nonprofit sponsoring housing and transition programs for those in need.

Conquering Clutter: From Chaos to Clarity

Hey friends! Happy Saturday! 🎉 This week, we dive into one of our favorite (and most dreaded) topics: clutter! Whether you're transitioning to a new phase of life, like going off to college, or just need to clear out space, this episode is for you. 🏠

Join us as we chat with the amazing Kerry Thomas, owner of Conquer the Chaos, and a TEDx speaker on decluttering. Keri shares her unique insights on tackling all types of clutter—physical, digital, mental, and emotional. Get ready to feel motivated and learn practical tips to reclaim your space and peace of mind.

If you enjoy this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, and Spotify. Also, like us on Facebook at Adulting with Autism Podcast, and check out our website, Adulting with Autism, where 20% of merchandise sales go to nonprofits supporting housing and transition programs. 💖

Thanks for tuning in, and happy decluttering! 😊

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Navigating Life's Twists: Stress, Goals, and Digital Detox with Annie Del Rey

Hey friends! Welcome back to another episode of Adulting with Autism, where we explore the ups and downs of adulthood through a neurodiverse perspective. I'm your host, April Ratchford, your friendly occupational therapist mom on the spectrum, here to share stories, tips, and laughs as we navigate this journey together.

Today, I had the pleasure of chatting with Annie Delre, a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. Annie shares her wisdom on stress management, goal setting, and digital wellness. We dive into techniques like neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and emotional freedom techniques (EFT), and she offers some fantastic advice on staying mindful and balanced in our busy lives.

If you're feeling overwhelmed or just need a fresh perspective on managing your time and stress, this episode is for you. Annie's insights on setting SMART goals and practicing digital detox are game-changers!

Don't forget to check out our new Adulting with Autism website for blogs, cool merch, and to join our Facebook group. Let's grow this community together! Share, like, and spread the love.

Thanks for tuning in. Until next time, keep adulting and stay awesome!

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How to Unlock the Power of Nasal Breathing: Transform Your Health with Simple Changes

Hey guys, welcome to Adulting with Autism, the podcast where we dive into the roller coaster of adulthood through a neurodiverse lens. I'm April Ratchford, your friendly occupational therapist mom, proudly on the spectrum and raising an amazing young adult son with autism. Join us as we share stories, tips, and laughs, offering a supportive space for anyone navigating life's twists and turns. Grab your drink of choice, no judgment, and let's embark on this journey together. This is Adulting with Autism.

Hey, happy Saturday, and welcome back to the podcast. I got a question for you. Yeah, I know I'm asking you a question on a Saturday, so deal with it. How are you guys breathing? Are you breathing through your mouth? Are you breathing through your nose? I'll wait. If the answer is you're breathing through your mouth, you might need to listen to this episode. And why? Because breathing through your mouth can have an effect on your mental health, your metabolic function, your posture, and your mood and your anxiety. And no, we're not talking about meditation today. So zip it. We're talking about something that can help you overall in changing the way you sleep and function. You're supposed to be breathing through your nose. and I'll tell you why.

Breathing through your nose is a common thing, not breathing through your mouth. You're losing valuable oxygen when you breathe through your mouth. Also, you're not getting enough oxygen to your brain when you breathe through your mouth. Number two, you're probably walking around sleep deprived and you're ruining your teeth when you breathe through your mouth, not breathe through your mouth, but breathe through your mouth. And you're probably pretty angry, like my son Z. My next guest, Anastasis Tzanis, is a nutrition therapist and a globally sought-after breathwork expert. He's helped countless individuals improve their mental, postural, and metabolic function through private consultations. So just changing your breath can change all those things.

Things even olympic athletes breathe through their nose when they compete and they've been training all their lives to do this it's not something you can do overnight and you this is something you have to start with little by little and train your retrain your body it's not something then you can just slap some tape over your mouth, and go on about your day. It doesn't work that way. If it did, you wouldn't be doing it now, now would you? So sit back, actually listen to this because this might actually change your mood and you might learn a little something. You might actually be a little happier because he hasn't learned anything yet because I'm his mom. He don't listen. So listen to Mama April. since you're probably not listening to your parental unit and learn some things from our guest Anastasis.

Hi, you can hear me now, right? I can see you now. All right. Sorry, it took me a little bit of time to unmute myself. But anyway, how are you? Good morning. I'm doing well. Thank you for coming on to my podcast. Thanks for inviting me. So can you tell everyone what you do and how you got into it? Sure. So what I do is I'm offering nutritional and breathing consultations. And they are primarily targeted for people that have chronic conditions. Some of them will be genetic with a genetic makeup, up or some would be like as a result of lifestyle challenges.

So how can breathing affect chronic conditions? So breathing, as I'm sure everybody hearing us knows, is a key component of life. We come to this life taking our first breath and the time we stop breathing, it's probably when life is over. And in the process of going about life, this is a function of the body that will happen automatically. It is very important for how we go about life as it is a key contributing factor to how much energy we have. So we breathe because it is helping us produce more energy. Humans rely on the air, on oxygen in order to breathe. But we can breathe efficiently or less efficiently. And depending on how we breathe, it will have a knock-on effect on our metabolism, our nervous system, even our posture.

How can breathing affect your posture? I never thought of that. So imagine you being in a sad place, me feeling grieving someone or feeling unhappy. What would your posture be like at the time? You probably will have rounded shoulders. You will be a little bit compromised. It will not be the same with when you are happy, when you're going about life, you know, in a more positive outlook. At the same time, how would your breathing be? You probably will be breathing more shallow when you're sad. Maybe it will not be there will be no rhythm in the way you breathe and maybe there will be like also like some abrupt changes in your breath so maybe there will be a big inhalation and then there will be a pause or no pause and in general they will like i said if we were to put it in a nutshell there would be no rhythm but this will also reflect reflect your posture and if you were to change your breathing at a time you would probably be forced to change the way you carry yourself. So another way you can think about it is if you think someone with a very strong kyphosis, someone like Quasimodo, rounded back, would you be thinking of this individual woman or a man be breathing well effortlessly? Or you would expect that he struggles with breath. He would probably run out of breath after running for a few meters.

Oh, I have a question. So when people start to exercise and everybody is like, you can't breathe through your nose when you're exercising. Are you supposed to breathe through your nose or are you supposed to breathe through your mouth or is it a combination of both? The way we would breathe, again, will be to a big extent automatic. And it will be automatic, but at the same time, it will vary from one individual to the other. So the best way for the listeners to perceive that is to think of two extremes, two individuals. One being an Olympic athlete, someone that has trained all his life. Let's for simplicity say that he has been a runner. And on the other side, next to him, we have someone unfit, someone that never exercised. Maybe he's a bit overweight. And we set them both to run for the same distance, let's say 1,000 meters, one kilometer. How would you expect each of them to run? I would probably assume that the athlete may be running quite fast, but still breathing from the nose effortlessly and maintaining a good posture, bringing it back to his posture. The second individual would probably be using a lot more his mouth. Now with these two extremes in in mind we know that there is not one way to breathe, and that there might be a more ideal way or a less ideal way but in order to end up breathing in a more ideal way it will not happen just because someone told us to do so but it will be the result of training so if we want to be more like the first man the one that is running effortlessly, he is only able to do that because of all the hours of training that he has done. A lot of the times, people don't perceive running or swimming as breathing training, but it is very much so. So a cardiovascular exercise is a way of breath training.

So just breathing in itself, we have to retrain ourselves just effortlessly to be able to breathe. Is this oversleeping as well? Exactly. You're touching on a very important point here, April. And that's because we are breathing not only during the day and during the night. And obviously during the day, we can be a lot more conscious of our breath. We cannot be all the time conscious as much as we may like. And as much as some people claim that we should, we cannot. I'm not paying attention to my breath now. I'm focusing on speaking with you. But in the night definitely we can you know we have way less awareness or no awareness at all of how we breathe but we still breathe and the way we breathe affects a lot our breath so our brain function and our body's function and in general the oxygenation of all of our organs so then again we cannot do things to encourage nasal breathing during sleep again something that some people will have to work towards, while others will find very easy.

What kind of things can people do that are simple to kind of correct this? Because I know for my son, I noticed at nighttime he snores really badly. But he's always complaining that he's tired, even though he can sleep 10 to 12 hours. Very good point. And he talks on so many things at the moment, and I will try to touch on a couple of them. And one being that it's not the more we sleep, the more rested we will be. Similar with not the more we eat, the more energy we're going to have, right? So as far as the things that we can do to improve our quality of sleep and better breathing through the quality of sleep. The main thing is, as I kind of hinted from a previous answer, is that we need to encourage nasal breathing only. And in order to encourage nasal breathing, we have to make sure we don't mouth breathe. The only way to ensure that is by taping our mouth. So this may come as a surprise to some of people in the audience, but there are tapes that are very safe and they are specific for mouth taping. But any 3M microporous tape, medical tape, 2.5 millimeters will be big enough to help us seal our mouth and as a result breathe through our nose.

At the risk, I don't want to oversimplify the whole thing, though, and say that everybody will find that easy or possible. A lot of people, because of their poor respiratory function, will find that suffocating. And again, in these cases, they will be not able to tolerate keeping their mouth shut for long periods of time. But it's only a matter of regular practice until they get used to that. The benefits that one will experience if he or she is to do that are many. But if I was to highlight some of the most obvious ones would be, like you said, snoring. It does not mean that snoring will be eliminated if someone tapes their mouth, but in some cases it does. And overall, the snoring reduces both in volume, because we cannot snore as loud from the nose as we can from the mouth. It will be like feeling more rested next morning. A lot of people experience the following. They wake up much sooner. And in the beginning, they feel confused because they are stuck in the paradigm of, I need to sleep more to get rested. But then they wake up and think, I woke up. Does that not make sense? I was hoping I would sleep more. No, no, no. You now got enough rest, the rest that you need. That's why your body wakes you up. And of course, less dehydration because obviously we lose water by keeping our mouth open, better mouth hygiene, less cavities in the mouth, better immune system, less likely to have blues and stuff as the nose functions as part of the immune system and a defense towards bacteria and viruses that are are in the air. There are more, but just these are some of the very evident ones.

So if someone wanted to try to tape their mouth, would it be better to try it while they're awake and just kind of do it in little increments? Absolutely, yeah. Some people will not find any problem with taping their mouth first night and sleeping through the whole night with the tape on. But not everybody is on the same starting place. And for sure, nothing prevents people from taping their mouth for 20 minutes at a time while they are awake, while they go about doing stuff at home, cooking, reading book. And once they get accustomed to that and they realize that they are still alive after 20 minutes of no mouth breathing, then they can start trying at night.

So once people start nasal breathing, how does that change the body and change their sanity? Very, very, very interesting question. Again, with each of these questions, we can go off and speak for hours. In a nutshell, in order for any organ, any system to function in our body, and I will try to keep it very basic in terms of the science, but I think even for all of our listeners, I think it would be good to bring it down to a little bit of the organs and systems level. It needs energy to function. Your liver needs energy to function. your brain. Actually, liver and brain are very energy expensive organs in the body. The heart, even the muscles, of course, which everybody would think of them in terms of exercise. But in order to produce energy, the organs need two things, oxygen and glucose or fatty acids. So these are the raw material. If one of the two is missing, then there will be less energy produced. used. So in order for us to encourage the good supply of oxygen into our organs, we need to ensure, okay, we take air in, which we do anyway, as we said, it's an automatic process, but the delivery is efficient. Now, in order for the delivery of the oxygen to be efficient into the organs, we need to have a good circulatory system. And if we have good circulation, of course, the supply will be more efficient. But we also need to control our blood gases. Now, we have three gases, one being oxygen. Everybody knows of that. The other one being carbon dioxide and the third one being nitric oxide. I will keep the analysis now at the basic level, but we can go a step further if you wish. Nitric oxide and carbon dioxide allow the oxygen to enter into to our cells to be used. So while everybody has plenty of oxygen into their blood, it does not mean that they have plenty of oxygen into their organs. And the more we breathe from the nose, we keep healthy levels of carbon dioxide and nitric oxide. And as a result, we are able to support our organs with oxygen. Let's say we have some people that like exercising. The more they manage to breathe from the nose during exercise, the more they will keep nitric oxide and carbon dioxide levels healthy, the more their muscles will have energy. Let's say someone is doing some mental cognitive activities. They are going through an exam. They are trying to think through a problem for work. If they want to be more efficient in terms of solving this problem, they need to supply their brain with oxygen. Again, they need to keep their mouth closed and maintain nasal breathing.

So could this be the reason why a lot of people tend to overeat? They're not efficiently breathing. Get energy and so they're just overeating to compensate for the energy they actually need. Yeah. So this is a theory that has been put forward by a few people and there might be some validity in that. The interlink between breathing and eating is on many levels. On a very biochemical level, the diaphragm, which is one of the primary breathing organs, sits just above the digestive tract. So, you know, it attaches to the liver. It sits just above the small intestines. So the movement of the diaphragm facilitates better digestion. Also, we have another link is how the breathing affects the nervous system. Them who listening to to to us now does not know that when they are stressed their eating will not be disrupted some people will end up eating more some people will shut down their appetite but definitely stress will affect everybody's eating habits so if they are calmer if they are breathing more efficiently and as a result they are calmer they are more likely to make better eating choices whether we will be confusing and we are not efficient in terms of any we will be confusing the lack of energy because of lack of glucose with the lack of oxygen because of poor breathing that's like as i said something that you mentioned is a theory that is put forward by some people i think it is not confirmed by science and not something that i have seen necessarily in practice but this does not mean that necessarily it's not true so it might be as well.

How can lack of breathing correctly affect our movement? So again, I like a lot of times to use parallelism, so I hope some of the listeners relate to that. And I would bring back this example that we said of the two individuals, the athlete and the unfit one. The way that one carries himself is going to be different from the other, and the way one breathes will be different from the other. If someone is staying in a calm state, his posture will be better. He will be able to pay attention to how he carries himself. The more unfit person will probably be panting more, breathing more heavily, also having a more stressed nervous system and as a result not be able to compose himself and carry himself efficiently enough. Actually, there were studies that they found that people that nasal breathe or people with good respiratory function, even if someone does not breathe nasally, if they have good respiratory capacity, they have better economy, running economy. Running economy is a term in science that is used in terms of how efficient one's movement is. It can be running economy is used also for swimmers. Of course, it's used for runners as well. So the better the breather is, the better his running economy. As a consequence of that, another study found that those that breathe efficiently, have good respiratory capacity, will also be less likely to be injured. Probably because of what we just said. If someone is carrying himself more efficiently, is paying attention to his posture, he's less likely to trip over or to do something that is not favorable. And as a result, injure himself.

That is amazing what your breathing can do if you're breathing properly. For sure. So say you're a young adult and you have figured out your breathing has been terrible. Just by correcting your nasal breathing, could you reverse all the damage you've done to your body? So as i'm sure you know there are many reasons why someone's someone someone may have symptoms, in in in in in his life so a lot of the times we spoke earlier about sleep we may you mentioned about someone that wants to improve his cognitive functions these are not going to be affected just from breathing so sleep for example when i'm consulting people i may end up having to look into their nutrition. So to say that because of them improving breathing, that everything will be sorted out would probably be an exaggeration. But without a doubt, if breathing is really compromised, there will be an improvement in the symptoms and the individual will be a step closer to living a healthier life. The question in that case that a lot of the listeners may have is, so how do I become a better breather? And as you already hinted, nasal breathing more is a very good starting point. And I would definitely agree with that. One thing that is often perceived when people start hearing about the importance of nasal breathing is that they think that now that they know how good nasal breathing is, all All they have to do is just close their mouth. I want to highlight here that this is not that simple. You know, if that was the case, everybody that would have read a book on nasal breathing and its importance would be a nasal breather by now. But that's far from the case. It is in order for someone to be more of a nasal breather, and it's not a black or white, it's not that because you are aware of its importance or because you try

 

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Unlocking Brain Power with Dr. Rebecca Jackson

Hey friends, welcome back to Adulting with Autism! I'm April Ratchford, your friendly occupational therapist mom on the spectrum, sharing this amazing journey with my son. Grab your drink of choice, no judgment here, and let's dive into today's episode!

Have you ever wondered if you can retrain your brain? Spoiler alert: Yes, you can! It's called neuroplasticity, and today's guest, Dr. Rebecca Jackson, is here to tell us all about it. Dr. Jackson, an industry leader in brain health, joins us to share her insights on how to enhance brain function for a happier, more productive life.

We talk about everything from the power of sensory input to the importance of physical movement. Plus, Dr. Jackson offers practical tips and exercises to help strengthen your brain at any age. Whether you're on the spectrum or not, there's something valuable here for everyone.

Don't miss this enlightening conversation! And if you want more, check out Dr. Jackson's book, "Back on Track," filled with tips to help kids and adults thrive. Find all the details in the show notes. Until next time, keep being your incredible self and keep adulting!

Oh, and if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, leave a review, and hit that subscribe button. Let's grow this community together! You can also join our Facebook community at Adulting with Autism Podcast for more support and resources.

Thanks for tuning in, and stay awesome! This is April Ratchford, signing off from Adulting with Autism.

https://drrebeccajackson.com/

Back On Track-Dr. Rebecca Jackson

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How to Navigate Midlife Changes: Embracing Self-Care and New Beginnings

Hey friends! 🌟 Happy Saturday and welcome back to Adulting with Autism! I just got back from a much-needed vacation and boy, did I miss you all (but not the humidity!). Big shoutout to Linda for taking care of our kitties and veggie garden while we were away. You rock, Linda! 🎉

Today's episode is all about embracing change, especially for us women hitting our mid-40s. Life might not be exactly where we envisioned it, and that's totally okay. Sometimes, it's time for a shake-up! Joining me is Elizabeth Cush, a licensed clinical professional counselor and women's life coach. She's here to share her wisdom on how we can navigate these transitions, set boundaries, and find our inner joy again. 🌈

Elizabeth dives into practical self-care tips, the importance of setting boundaries, and how to take small steps towards big life changes. Whether you're feeling burned out or just ready for something new, this episode is packed with insights to help you on your journey. 🚀

Grab your favorite drink, get comfy, and let's dive into this transformative conversation. And remember, it's never too late to start living the life you truly want. 💖

Stay awesome, keep shining, and see you next week! 🌟

Love,

April Ratchford

Awaken Your Wise Woman Podcast

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From Piano Prodigy to Career Coach: Unlocking Your True Potential

Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Adulting with Autism, the podcast where we dive into the rollercoaster of adulthood through a neurodiverse lens. I'm April Ratchford, your friendly occupational therapist mom, proudly on the spectrum and raising an amazing young adult son with autism. Join us as we share stories, tips, and laughs, offering a supportive space for anyone navigating life's twists and turns. Grab your drink of choice, no judgment, and let's embark on this journey together. This is Adulting with Autism.

This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Anthony Kuo, a career satisfaction coach who transformed his life from a Juilliard-trained pianist parents to helping others find their true calling. Anthony shared some incredible insights on how parents can decode their kids' love for video games into valuable skills and career paths. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one!

As we wrap up another awesome episode of Adulting with Autism, just remember we're all in this together. Keep being your amazing self, celebrating wins big and small, and facing whatever life throws your way with a smile. Thanks for tuning in. And until next time, stay awesome and keep shining bright. Oh, and if you want to help our podcast grow, don't forget to share it with your friends, leave us a review, and hit that subscribe button. This is April Ratchford signing off from Adulting with Autism.

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