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Rising Above Ministries is lifting up the special needs community through support, encouragement, inspiration, and community.
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
About Sara
Sara currently lives in Houston with my husband, Dustin, and her son, Camilo. She was raised in a single-parent household with two brothers who both have autism. She has a degree in social work and has only worked a little in that field. She's been a stay-at-home mom ever since their son joined their family through adoption from Colombia in 2022. He was 6 at the time and is now 9. He has cerebral palsy, fine and gross motor control delays, an intellectual delay, a speech delay, hearing loss, and ADHD.
About this Episode
In this conversation, Becky Davidson and Sara discuss Sara's journey through adoption, particularly focusing on her experiences with her son Camilo, who has special needs. They explore the emotional challenges of adoption, including trauma, depression, and the importance of community support. Sara shares her insights on parenting a child with special needs, the joys and challenges they face, and how her relationship with God has evolved throughout this journey.
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Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
About this episode
In this conversation, Becky Davidson and Larah discuss the journey of parenting a child with autism, exploring themes of faith, advocacy, and personal growth. Larah shares her experiences with her son Graham's autism diagnosis, the impact on her family, and how it has deepened her understanding of God. They also delve into the importance of seeing autism through a gospel lens and the role of the Holy Spirit in parenting. In this conversation, Larah and Becky discuss the challenges of parenting children with autism, focusing on understanding emotional behaviors, the importance of advocacy, and the role of faith in navigating these experiences. They share personal stories and insights on how to approach parenting with love, responsibility, and spiritual guidance, emphasizing the significance of communication and understanding in fostering positive relationships with their children.
About Larah
Larah Roberts is a Bible teacher, author, podcaster, and Instagram content creator at Raising Autistic Disciples. She is passionate about encouraging and equipping others to grow in personal discipleship—and having fun while doing it. Raised in Louisiana and now calling North Carolina home, Larah shares life’s adventures with her college sweetheart, Collin. Together, they co-authored How to Advocate & Stay Christian, a practical resource on navigating advocacy with a gospel lens. Beyond ministry and writing, Larah’s greatest joy is being a mom to three fun and energetic kids who keep life exciting. She loves road trips, collecting earrings, cheering for every team in the WNBA, reading, naps, and deep conversations over coffee.
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Instagram: @raisingautisticdisciples
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
About Susanna
About the Episode
In this conversation, Susanna Zekas shares her journey as a mother of three boys, each with unique needs, including Down syndrome and autism. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of special-needs parenting, the impact of early diagnoses, and the importance of community support. Susanna reflects on significant breakthroughs in her children's lives and her hopes for their futures as they transition into adulthood. She emphasizes the significance of understanding grief, connecting with other families, and finding joy in adversity through love and gratitude.
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Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
About Kaylee
Kaylee Lazaro is a wife and a mom. She has been married to her husband for 10 years. They have two young boys with a rare condition called Cohen Syndrome. Kaylee and her family live in Alaska and they love the outdoors. They enjoy taking their boys kayaking and biking during the summer months and fat tire biking and sledding in the winter months. Kaylee has learned through her special-needs journey that God is good all the time and that everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God.
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Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
About Leslie
Leslie is a new medical parent, with a 10-month-old daughter, Evelyn. She grew up in the Cookeville area and has stayed in Tennessee her whole life. Her husband, Cole is an Ohio native and moved down to Tennessee after meeting Leslie at Lee University, in Cleveland, TN. They got married in 2019 and waited to start trying to have kids until their 5th anniversary, when they discovered it wasn’t going to be an easy journey for them. They went through multiple miscarriages before finding out they were pregnant with twins in 2023. One of the twins didn’t make it past 9 weeks, but Evelyn stayed strong throughout the pregnancy. After 41 weeks of pregnancy, Leslie went into an induction and ended up having an emergency c section, that started their journey into the medical world with caring for Evelyn. It is a walk they didn’t anticipate and has taken them by a storm, but one God called them to walk, one step at a time.
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Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
About Kim
For the past several decades, Kim has led children’s and student ministries at the local church while also leading initiatives around adoption and foster care. Kim was also Director of Training and Development at a Cincinnati nonprofit working with multi-system involved youth. As an adoptive mom and advocate for kids and teens who have experienced trauma or are neurodivergent or disabled, her passion is creating spaces for all kids—regardless of their background, behavior or unique needs—to belong, contribute and grow. Through speaking, writing and coaching Kim works with parents, church leaders and organizations to equip volunteer and staff teams, strengthen families and support parents. She has a Masters in Family Ministry, Masters in Business Administration, is a Trauma Free World Affiliate Trainer, a TBRI Practitioner®, and a frequent speaker on topics related to trauma, disability, and neurodivergence and the author of the new book, Boundless Hope for Every Child.
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Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
About Carrie
Carrie M. Holt is a wife, homeschooling mom of four, writer, speaker, and podcast host. She is passionate about encouraging special-needs parents to identify, accept, and thrive in the grieving cycle that is an on-going part of the journey.
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By the Brook early bird tickets
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
About Camille
Camille Block was raised in a suburb outside of Los Angeles, over the mountain from beautiful Malibu, where her father worked as a college professor of business at Pepperdine University. At three and a half years old, Camille’s comfortable life took a dramatic turn with the birth of her brother—a healthy baby who lost oxygen at birth, causing a lifelong disability for him and a character-forming emotional imprint on her.
Finding a voice for her brother, Camille has also uncovered her voice for many other silent sufferers. Hope for Secondhand Suffering: Tools for the Heart When You Can’t Fix Your Loved One’s Pain is a memoir and spiritual journey of a sister who wrestles honestly with universal cries of the heart, such as the question of why, along with grief, justice, faith, God, and hope. She comes alongside readers, step by step, offering personal anecdotes, honest insights, practical tips, and her own spiritual reflections to help others facing similar struggles.
Through the publication of Hope for Secondhand Suffering, Camille seeks to help silent sufferers feel seen, heard, and known—equipping them to find their unique purpose, as she continues to find hers.
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Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
About Mandy
Mandy is the wife to Dustin and mom to Dylan, 11, and Madison, 14, who was born with Spina Bifida. Professionally, she has been a high school teacher for nearly 20 years and loves working with students in FCCLA, the student organization she sponsors. Personally speaking, she’s obsessed with Christmas, loves to shop and entertain in our home, and is a huge Elvis fan. Her family is very active in their church.
About the Episode
As special-needs parents, we have to make decisions daily for our children regarding their care. There are times when decisions come our way that may have life-altering effects. What do you do when those decisions come your way? How do you process through making difficult decisions regarding our children with disabilities?
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Tuesday Feb 11, 2025
Tuesday Feb 11, 2025
About Max
Max Brooks is a 16-year-old passionate about all things theatre and singing. Despite being born with a rare condition called congenital central hyperventilation syndrome (CCHS), which significantly impacts his breathing, Max has never let it hold him back from pursuing his dreams. His love for the stage and performing shines through in every role he takes on, whether in school productions or community theatre. When he’s not rehearsing or performing, Max works at Chick-fil-A, where he’s affectionately known as Clay’s brother. His determination to overcome challenges and follow his passions inspires everyone around him.
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