The Autism Dad

Mariam Shapera is a family doctor. In medical school, she got one lecture on autism, and it was clinical and deficit-focused. Then she became an autism mom, and everything she thought she knew got rewritten by her own son.

In this Seen and Heard episode, Mariam sits down with Rob to talk about raising her nine-year-old son, who is minimally speaking and autistic, alongside his neurotypical older sister and younger brother. She and her husband, also a physician, started noticing differences before his first birthday. He was diagnosed at three. They began ABA and speech therapy even earlier, at two and a half.

Mariam brings a rare double perspective — doctor and parent — and she is direct about what the medical world gets wrong. Clinicians need to trust parents. A child cannot learn while dysregulated, so connection and regulation have to come first. And families have to actually click with their therapists for any of it to work.

What you'll hear:

- The early signs she and her husband noticed before age one
- Why the developmental assessment felt like a list of everything he couldn't do
- The diagnosis day, and the psychiatrist who delivered it with hope instead of fear
- Why he was given "moderate autism" and no level, and why that adds confusion
- Life built around routine and predictability, and how she preps him for change
- A recent win: his speech opening up, starting conversations, sharing wants and likes
- His strengths: perfect pitch, a love of nonfiction, and teaching himself to read
- Her message to other doctors, and to other autism parents

"You really have to trust the parents. The parents know what they think." — Mariam Shapera

ABOUT THE GUEST

Mariam Shapera is a family doctor and autism mom. She and her husband, also a physician, have three children: a nine-year-old son who is minimally speaking and autistic, an older neurotypical daughter, and a younger son. They began ABA and speech therapy when he was two and a half, and he was formally diagnosed at three. Mariam advocates for a more compassionate, parent-centered approach in clinical settings.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Rob Gorski is the founder of The Autism Dad, a blog and podcast dedicated to supporting parents raising kids on the autism spectrum. As a dad of three autistic sons with over 25 years of experience, Rob brings lived experience, honesty, and heart to every conversation.

Rob's book, So Your Child Was Just Diagnosed with Autism, lands December 29, 2026 from Fair Winds Press. Updates and preorder: theautismdad.com/book

SPONSOR

Best Part Kids — a sensory-friendly multivitamin for selective eaters, created by dietitian Brittyn Coleman. Use code THEAUTISMDAD for 10% off at https://BestPartKids.com.

Mightier — a clinically proven app that helps kids build emotional regulation skills through biofeedback-based video games. Visit https://mightier.com and use code theautismdad22 for 10% off.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

More Seen and Heard episodes: listen.theautismdad.com
Preorder Rob's book: theautismdad.com/book

If you found this episode helpful, please follow The Autism Dad Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Visit listen.theautismdad.com for past episodes, resources, and ways to support the show.

You can find Rob at theautismdad.com, on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at The Autism Dad, and on YouTube at The Autism Dad. New episodes drop every week at listen.theautismdad.com.

Justin Bowman had a dream his son would be autistic before the boy was born. Years later, after his son Sawyer was diagnosed with level 1 autism, Justin did what a lot of dads only wish they could do. He built something to help.

Justin is back for a deeper dive than his Seen and Heard episode earlier this season. He's the founder and CEO of VizyPlan, a visual routine and planning app he built for Sawyer and then opened to the whole neurodivergent community. Rob and Justin go deep on the dad-as-fixer instinct, what actually comes after an autism diagnosis, and why you can't fix autism but you can support your kid.

What you'll hear:

- The dream Justin had before Sawyer was born

- Why waiting on evaluation results feels like waiting on the SATs

- The fixer instinct dads struggle with, and a healthier reframe

- The grocery-store meltdowns that inspired VizyPlan

- The moment Sawyer saw himself as the hero character and it clicked

- How VizyPlan handles IEP transcription, social stories, visual schedules, and advocacy

- Why one app beats juggling six

- Privacy: VizyPlan does not train its models on your child's data

"I would have paid any amount of money to help him. Any amount of money." Justin Bowman

Try VizyPlan: 30-day free trial with code theautismdad at vizyplan.com/app. Just $9.99 a month for your whole family.

About Justin:

Justin Bowman is the founder and CEO of VizyPlan and Associate Director of Product Management at Chewy. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he's a varsity hockey coach and autism dad. He and his wife Danielle, a speech-language pathologist, have two kids: Sawyer, turning six and diagnosed level 1 autism, and Peyton, four.

Sponsors this week:

This episode is presented by Best Part Kids, a sensory-friendly multivitamin for selective eaters created by dietitian Brittyn Coleman. Use code THEAUTISMDAD for 10% off at BestPartKids.com.

Mightier emotional-regulation games (code theautismdad22, mightier.com)

About Rob:

Rob Gorski is the founder of The Autism Dad, a blog and podcast dedicated to supporting parents raising kids on the autism spectrum. As a dad of three autistic sons with over 25 years of experience, Rob brings lived experience, honesty, and heart to every conversation.

My book, So Your Child Was Just Diagnosed with Autism is out on Dec. 29, 2026. Updates and preorder: theautismdad.com/book

You can find me at theautismdad.com, on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at The Autism Dad, and on YouTube at The Autism Dad. New episodes drop every week at listen.theautismdad.com.

Liz Covington's son Bennett was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD at age four. The autism diagnosis didn't come until he was ten. Now he's 18, in college, and just spent two hours shoveling the driveway in a snowstorm without being asked twice. That's the kind of win that doesn't make the highlight reels but means everything to families like hers.

In this Seen and Heard episode, Rob sits down with Liz, a Utah mom of four, for a 15-minute glimpse into what level 1 autism parenting can actually look like. They cover late diagnosis, the daughter who has friends at school but can't handle anything else after, and why some autism families feel like they don't belong inside their own community.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Why ADHD and ODD diagnoses came years before autism for Bennett

What the win looks like at 18: independence, problem-solving, and no resistance

The ten-year-old daughter who masks at school and crashes at home

Why "high functioning" families can feel invisible inside the autism community

The school principal who misread Bennett's nervous laugh as disrespect

The phrase Liz heard too many times: "autistic kids don't do that"

Why every kid wants to be connected, appreciated, and seen

"Every kid is good. They all want to be connected. They all want to be appreciated. And they're all trying their best." — Liz Covington

ABOUT THE GUEST

Liz Covington is a mom of four based in Utah. Her oldest son Bennett, 18, was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD at age four and with autism at age ten. He is now in college. Liz's ten-year-old daughter is believed to be on the spectrum and is awaiting formal evaluation. Liz advocates for autism families whose kids' challenges aren't visible on the surface.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Rob Gorski is the founder of The Autism Dad, a blog and podcast dedicated to supporting parents raising kids on the autism spectrum. As a dad of three autistic sons with over 25 years of experience, Rob brings lived experience, honesty, and heart to every conversation.

Rob's first book lands early 2027 from Quarto. Updates and preorder: theautismdad.com/book

THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY ALGONOT

This episode is presented by Algonot. Algonot makes science-backed supplements developed by Dr. Theoharis Theoharides, a Yale-trained researcher who has spent decades studying neuroinflammation, mast cells, and the brain. Every product is third-party tested for purity and free of common irritants. Visit algonot.com and use code ROB5 to save on your order.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

More Seen and Heard episodes: listen.theautismdad.com

Algonot supplements (use code ROB5): algonot.com

Preorder Rob's book: theautismdad.com/book

If you found this episode helpful, please follow The Autism Dad Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Visit listen.theautismdad.com for past episodes, resources, and ways to support the show.

You can find Rob at theautismdad.com, on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at The Autism Dad, and on YouTube at The Autism Dad. New episodes drop every week at listen.theautismdad.com.

She got kicked out of five indoor playgrounds with her autistic son. Then she built her own. Today, We Rock the Spectrum has over 200 sensory-friendly, inclusive gyms in eight countries, and her son Gabriel just earned an academic scholarship to Loyola Marymount University.

In this episode, Rob sits down with Dina Kimmel, founder and CEO of We Rock the Spectrum Kids Gym, and Christopher Reyes, autism dad and owner of the Clovis, California location, to talk about what an autism family can build when the world tells them no.

What you'll hear:

• How one mom turned daily occupational therapy at home into a global sensory gym franchise

• Why Gabriel's scholarship proves a diagnosis is a baseline, not a prophecy

• Inside the gym: zip lines, crash pits, sensory tunnels, trampolines, and 12 pieces of OT equipment

• The "play with a purpose" philosophy behind every piece of equipment

• Christopher's path from nurse to owner of Central Valley's only sensory gym

• Parents Night Out drop-off addressing California's childcare shortage

• Big news: We Rock the Spectrum is now Medicaid waiver and Medi-Cal approved

• The My Brother Rocks the Spectrum Foundation grants for open play and respite

"This was all inspired from these two children that I have. I had no idea the need. I had no idea there were so many of us." — Dina Kimmel

About Dina:

Dina Kimmel is the CEO and founder of We Rock the Spectrum Kids Gym, a sensory friendly inclusive franchise with over 200 locations in eight countries. An autism mom first, Dina launched the first location in 2009 after seeing her son Gabriel thrive on OT equipment.

About Christopher:

Christopher Reyes is an autism dad and owner of We Rock the Spectrum Clovis. He's father to Jacob, six, level two, and Roxanne, four, level one. He opened his location to serve the Central Valley community.

Resources:

Find a location: https://wrtsfranchise.com/locations

Clovis: https://werockthespectrumclovis.com

This episode is brought to you by Mightier, a clinically proven app that helps kids build emotional regulation skills through biofeedback-based video games. Visit mightier.com and use code theautismdad22 for 10% off.

Also brought to you by VizyPlan. Built by a dad who gets it, VizyPlan uses AI to create visual routines with photos of your actual child. Visit vizyplan.com/app and use code theautismdad for your first month free.

About Rob:

Rob Gorski is the founder of The Autism Dad, a blog and podcast dedicated to supporting parents raising kids on the autism spectrum. As a dad of three autistic sons with over 25 years of experience, Rob brings lived experience, honesty, and heart to every conversation.

Rob's first book lands early 2027 from Quarto. Updates and preorder: theautismdad.com/book

You can find me at theautismdad.com, on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at The Autism Dad, and on YouTube at The Autism Dad. New episodes drop every week at listen.theautismdad.com.

If you have a neurodivergent kid who will only eat five foods, you already know that picky eater does not begin to cover it. The sensory processing, the oral motor challenges, the gut issues, the trust that gets lost every time a safe food changes slightly. And somewhere underneath all of that is a parent who is genuinely worried about whether their child is getting what they need to grow, think, and feel good.

That is exactly what Brittyn Coleman, the Autism Dietitian, has spent the last decade working on. And in this episode she shares something she has been working toward for ten years: Best Part Kids, the first sensory-friendly multivitamin built specifically for neurodivergent children and selective eaters. We cover what is actually in it and why, how to evaluate any supplement your kid is currently taking, why sneaking vitamins into food is often doing more harm than good, and what to do instead.

What you will hear in this episode:

Why selective eating causes nutrient deficiencies and which nutrients are most at risk

What to look for in any multivitamin for a neurodivergent child

Why most supplements on the market are not designed for kids with sensory sensitivities

Why sneaking supplements into food can backfire and how to introduce them the right way

What makes Best Part Kids different and why it took ten years to build

Why iron is intentionally left out of the multivitamin and how to address iron separately

The importance of bioavailability and chelated minerals for selective eaters

How to find Best Part Kids and get 10% off your first order

ABOUT THE GUEST

Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD is a registered dietitian specializing in children on the autism spectrum and neurodivergent kids. Known as the Autism Dietitian, Brittyn helps families expand their child's limited diet in a sensory-friendly way so kids can get the nutrients they need to feel their best and thrive. With over a decade of experience working with selective eaters and a deeply personal connection to the autism community through her brother, Brittyn brings both clinical expertise and lived understanding to every family she works with. She is the founder of Best Part Kids, a sensory-friendly multivitamin line created in partnership with Harkla, built specifically for neurodivergent children and designed to fill nutritional gaps without compromising on taste, texture, or trust.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Rob Gorski is the founder of The Autism Dad, a blog and podcast dedicated to supporting parents raising kids on the autism spectrum. As a dad of three autistic sons with over 25 years of experience, Rob brings lived experience, honesty, and heart to every conversation.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

VizyPlan — If your mornings feel like a battle before the day even starts, VizyPlan was built by a dad who gets it. The app uses AI to create visual routines with images of your actual child doing each step. Not stock photos. Not generic pictures. Your kid. Your home. Your routine. Calming tools, social stories, advocacy support, all in one place. Visit VizyPlan.com/app and use code theautismdad for your first month free.

Mightier — Mightier is a clinically proven app that helps kids build emotional regulation skills through biofeedback-based video games. It meets kids where they are and gives parents real tools to support them at home. Visit mightier.com and use code theautismdad22 for 10% off.

RESOURCES MENTIONED


Best Part Kids — bestpartkids.com | Instagram: @bestpartkids | Use code THEAUTISMDAD for 10% off your first order


Harkla — sensory tools company and Best Part Kids co-creator | harkla.co


Past Brittyn Coleman episodes — listen.theautismdad.com

If you found this episode helpful, please follow The Autism Dad Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Visit listen.theautismdad.com for past episodes, resources, and ways to support the show.