Mothers On The Frontline

In this episode, we listen to Fidelia from Northern California. Fidelia has three children: two sons with behavioral challenges and a 11 year old daughter with anxiety. She shares her journey of mental illness, motherhood, incarceration, and advocacy. Transcription [music] Women’s voice: Mothers On The Front Line is a non-profit organization founded by mothers of children with mental illness. We are dedicated to storytelling as a method of both children's mental health advocacy and caregiver healing. Our podcasts consist of interviews of caregivers by caregivers out in the community. This results in less polished production quality, but more intimate conversations rarely available to the public. Caregivers determine how they are introduced and the stories they share. We bring these personal experiences to you with the aim of reducing stigma, increasing understanding, and helping policymakers recognize and solve the real unmet needs of families dealing with America's current children's mental health crisis.

Today we speak to Bree Jackson, a mother and autism advocate from middle Georgia who has a parent support chapter called Puzzle Pieces of Love.

In this episode we listen to Kaytra MacDonald, a mother from Delaware and Family Peer Supporter from Champions of Children with Mental Health.

In this episode, we listen to a mother of three children with mental health diagnoses who works as a Family Partner with North Carolina Families United. She discusses the barriers families face when trying to get their children services and her own experience of moving her family to another county in order to get mental health services for her child.

In this episode, Nate tells us about his journey adopting his young son from the foster system and how the trauma of his son's early life has left a complicated matrix of diagnoses.   Transcription Voice: Welcome to the Just Ask Mom podcast where parents share their experiences of mothering children with mental illness.  Just Ask Mom is a Mothers on the Frontline production. Today we will speak with Nate, an adoptive single Father of 8-year old Ricky. Nate is a military and railroad veteran and lives in Iowa. Tammy: Tell us a bit about yourself before or after you had your son, just tell us a little bit about you? Nate: Back in 2014 I chose to-- well I guess I should go back even further—when I was 30, I told myself that if I wasn't married with 2.5 kids by the time I was 40, it was time to do something. So I did something and when I was 40 in 2014, I got license to adopt. The end of October in 2014. And that's when the road started. A road that I had never been down and very few people in my family ever h

In this episode, a mother shares her experience of the recent diagnosis of her son with Asperger's Syndrome. She discusses the journey to the diagnosis and how well-meaning, but often misguided advice from family and friends can make this already difficult journey all the more painful. She discusses her son's experiences being bullied in school and the pain of watching your child grow up without friends. Transcription Voice: Welcome to the Just Ask Mom podcast where mothers share their experiences of raising children with mental illness.  Just Ask Mom is a Mothers on the Frontline production. Today we will speak with a mother whose son was recently diagnosed with Aspergers. Tammy: Tell us something about yourself. Mother: That makes it really tough. Tammy: I know. Mother: Right? You think it’s all easy and then you are like…. I’m a middle age woman that is a mother of a single child. We’re on the path for a diagnosis of Asperger’s. This was a recent diagnosis, or process of a diagnosis, for us. It was a b

In this episode, we speak with a mother of three. Her eldest son has Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). She discusses how the condition affects the family dynamic and what a good day looks like. Transcription Voice: Welcome to the Just Ask Mom podcast where parents share their experiences of mothering children with mental illness.  Just Ask Mom is a Mothers on the Frontline production. Today we speak with a mother of three. Her eldest son has Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). Tammy: So why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? Mother: I have 3 kids, 3 boys, ages 1 to 12. My oldest son has a mental health diagnosis. He's right now diagnosed with the DMDD. Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. He was severely violent, had to be removed from the home for a total of about a year and 8 months, 2 different placements. Now he's in the home, he's non-violent for the most part but I have worked and then trained to restrain him, if need be. And I also went to school and have my Bachelor’s

In this episode, Alissa shares her journey as a single mother raising 5 children, both biological and adopted through the foster system, and having a wide range of special needs, including physical, intellectual and emotional disabilities. She discusses how to stay centered in the tough times and how self-care is required before we are able to give to others, including our children.   Transcription Voice: Welcome to the Just Ask Mom podcast where mothers share their experiences of raising children with mental illness.  Just Ask Mom is a Mothers on the Frontline production. Today we are speaking with Alissa, a mother of five children, including biological children and children adopted through the foster system. She works in Human Services helping other families with mental health needs as well as other special needs. Tammy: Well, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, to get started. Alissa: My name is Alissa Tschetter-Siedschlaw. I am a mom of five. I've been a single mom for ten years, althoug

In this episode, a mother and grandmother from Iowa talk about the difficult journey of changing diagnoses, medications, and symptoms during the early childhood of their son and grandson who has Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, and ODD. They discuss the importance of support groups, recognizing your own needs (especially when they might be different than the needs of your family members) and making sure to honor them. In their case, the need to be social and get out with other people.   Transcription Speaker: Welcome to the Just Ask Mom podcast where mothers share their experiences of raising children with mental illness.  Just Ask Mom is a Mothers on the Frontline production. Today we will speak with a mother and Grandmother from Iowa. Today they will be speaking about their elementary school-aged son and grandson who has Tourette’s Syndrome.   Tammy: Today we're doing something a little bit different. We have a mother-daughter pair. I'm going to ask you both to just tell us a little bit about yourselves? Mom:

In this episode, a Grandmother tells us about raising her grandson who experienced trauma and suffered from several conditions, including ADHD, anxiety, bipolar, and learning disabilities. Please note that this story discusses child abuse and may be triggering for some of our listeners.   Transcription Speaker: Welcome to the Just Ask Mom podcast where mothers share their experiences of raising children with mental illness.  Just Ask Mom is a Mothers on the Frontline production. Today we will speak with a Grandmother who is raising a grandson with mental health and learning disorders. Tammy: Okay. Alright. So just to begin, just tell us a little bit about yourself before or outside of mothering, just about who you are. Grandmother: Okay. I’m a mother of two boys who are grown, and um, they seem to have a fairly happy life, one has moved back to go to school, and one of them is still living on his own. After my second marriage, my husband had a son, who was a substance abuser and he abused his young son whe

https://mothersonthefrontline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/JAM004.mp3 In this episode we speak to Paula, the adoptive mother of two boys from foster care. One son has PTSD, Trauma, and Autism. The other son has ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, and Anxiety. Paula talks about the importance of not taking your child's behavior personally, the gift of adoption,  and the importance of laughter. For a transcript of the podcast, go to https://mothersonthefrontline.com/podcast-transcripts/ Resources Mentioned in this Podcast 99 ways to To Drive Your Kids Sane by Brita St. Clair. - This little book is full of wild ideas and hysterical humor to bring the laughter back into a home with an emotionally disturbed child. Need a good laugh? This book will do it! It includes lots of "one liners" and silly, fun ways to help parents avoid anger around tough topics. Written by a very experienced and loving Therapeutic Mom with years of success helping tough kids heal. Transcription Female Speaker over music: Welcome to the Just Ask

https://mothersonthefrontline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/episode-3.mp3 In this episode, Emily talks about her journey raising a young son with Tourette's Syndrome. She talks about the importance of community building on many levels, including strengthening relationships within the family and marriage, her church, her son's school, and the larger community. By educating those in their lives about Tourette's Syndrome, her son can be himself and feel part of a supportive and understanding community. She also discusses the importance of intentional planning of self-care and ways to make it happen. Topics include: Tourette's Syndrome, Self-Care, Family, Community, Advocating for your child at school. Resources mentioned in this podcast: Tourette Association of America  - (Formerly known as the Tourette Syndrome Association) focuses on awareness, research, and support. https://tourette.org/ The book: The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner Transcription Speaker: Welcome to the Just Ask Mom Podcast, where mother

https://mothersonthefrontline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/episode-2.mp3 In this episode, a mother reflects back on her experience raising children with schizophrenia decades ago. She discusses the difficulty of coming to terms with the diagnosis of schizophrenia, how the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Family-to-Family program helped her and her children through this journey and the importance of self-care. Topics discussed include schizophrenia, agoraphobia, NAMI, self-care, Transcription: Female Speaker: Welcome to the “Just Ask Mom” Podcast, where mothers share their experiences of raising children with mental illness. “Just Ask Mom” is a Mother's on the Frontline production. Today we will hear from a mother and active Mental Health Advocate. She has an adult son with early onset schizophrenia. Tammy: So tell us about yourself? Mother: Well I'm considered elderly now, not middle aged. [laughs] I have lived with severe mental illness in my family for close to 18 to 20 years now.  I origin

Anna discusses raising a son with childhood-onset schizophrenia on a Midwestern farm, the journey to the right diagnosis & medications, and what there is to celebrate.   Transcription: SPEAKER: Welcome to the ‘Just Ask Mom’ podcast where mothers share their experiences of raising children with mental illness. ‘Just ask Mom’ is a Mothers on the Frontline production. Today, we will speak with Anna, the mother of a son with early onset schizophrenia. Anna: My name is Anna and I'm from the Midwest and … oh, gosh. I went to college for computer information systems, got my degree, worked for the railroad for a number of years in information systems and married a farmer. So it's quite a diverse life. Tammy: Yes. Anna:  Yeah, that's a little bit about me. Tammy: Very cool. Anna: I always wanted to be a mom. Growing up, you know, I always imagined myself with five kids and when I got married to my husband, I mean, I just really imagined our life as a typical farm family, lots of kids and dogs and, you know, runn