Two moms, no script, autism parenting told straight
Brenda and Kristi, two mothers in South Florida, talk about raising sons on the autism spectrum, often without a script and sometimes over sangria. A calm dental visit, a meltdown in a library and a child's repeated seizures all get the same frank treatment, and they joke whenever there is room for it.
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Disorderly Blondes Autism PODCAST is a running conversation between Brenda and Kristi, two mothers in South Florida raising sons on the autism spectrum. It is not polished, and it makes no effort to seem so. More than once the pair announce that they are working without a script, sometimes with sangria poured and at least one of them shoeless. One intro needs a second attempt after a debate over whether the recorder is running. The stumble stays in. That looseness is useful, because it lets the talk slide from overdue branding photos and a wish to live in Key West into the hardest parts of the week. The parenting material is specific. A child gets through a dental visit while his mother sits in the waiting room, and the moment is treated as the win it is. On another day, a teacher runs forty minutes late and a child ends up screaming and hitting himself in a library until his parent decides it is time to go. In 'Seizures, Sadness, and Silver Linings', the conversation turns to a child's repeated seizures and the grim math of preferring a day of tantrums to another one. One of the two also admits she has been badly down. The same episode still finds time to praise a young teacher who is not jaded yet, and it signs off hoping it was not too depressing. Guests widen the view. Thomas A. McKean, introduced on air as an autistic writer, advocate and comics lover, joins them for a conversation that recounts his diagnosis at the end of seventh grade and the three years he spent institutionalized. The pair use that exchange to air real frustration with advocates whose anger, as they see it, lands on parents, and they ask him outright what such groups want. It is a pointed position, and they don't hedge it. 'Return of the Papis' brings Tim and a second speaker into the mix for COVID-era talk around Jupiter: a surf camp with a few kids on the spectrum, shut down by the city; a cancelled skate camp; and a kid-free trip to a reopened Disney, framed as a scouting run. Titles like 'BACK IN BLONDE' and 'Welcome BACK to the Disorderly Blondes! No script. No sleep. Lots of Opinions.' mark returns from time away. In the first, the two admit they had not recorded in six months after pausing for a special project and then taking on two more. They trace their planning to fall 2018 and joke that the cartoon caricature from their early branding still fits. For a parent who wants company more than a lecture, the show offers two friends saying the hard parts out loud and still finding something to laugh about.
Made for: Suits a parent or caregiver of an autistic child who wants to hear two peers talk frankly about good days and bad ones, and who does not mind rough language and a loose, unscripted format.
What sets it apart: It mixes unscripted, joke-heavy talk between friends with blunt detail about seizures, meltdowns and exhaustion. It also takes a pointed line against advocates the pair see as hostile to parents.
South Florida moms, Brenda and Kristi, candidly discuss MOTHERHOOD and AUTISM while balancing heels, cocktails, and meltdowns. They share the challenges and triumphs that define the parenting journey of their own special needs sons (autism spectrum disorder + CHRNA7 genetic duplication). Together, they provide community support and a lifeline to parents of newly diagnosed children, teens, and adults. Guests bring essential professional information to educate and empower families. The blondes keep it light by coloring outside their tan lines and flipping off the PC police. Never a dull moment.
A library wait and a mouth-tape joke: your messy parenting day has company here.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sleep-deprived studio return turns autism parenting's small wins and sudden derailments into frank, companionable conversation.
Christy Da and Brenda open the Disorderly Blondes Autism Podcast in cheerful disarray, wondering whether the recording has started, running on three and a half or four hours of sleep, and leaving the mouth-tape and Texas snoring bits exactly where they fall.
A warm, sidetracked reunion built from Keys stories, overdue photos, and family chaos.
After six months away, Disorderly Blondes returns with Brenda and Christy settling back into the kind of conversation that feels both familiar and lightly unruly.
Daily TED and TEDx talks hosted by Elise Hu, spanning science, psychology, and creativity.
Pop culture, personal stakes, and room for a tangent.
["Christy Da and Brenda open Disorderly Blondes Autism Podcast with eye patches, mouth tape, three and a half hours of sleep, and jokes about wine and snoring.", "Christy says J.R.'s next step after high school needs an a la carte mix of cooking, volunteering, and short work shifts because there is no permanent solution to autism.", "The conversation moves through Jackson's college dorm move, Dylan's three-day-a-week program and Boca spelling sessions, and Oliver's new medicine, brief July seizure, and class-schedule watch.", "A long Spelling to Communicate section shows Dylan answering Walt Disney questions, moving from three boards to one board, and proving he retains more than the hosts expected."]
Disorderly Blondes Autism PODCAST returns after a six-month break, and Brenda says the pause was a "purposeful hiatus" for a special project.
Thomas McKean describes being institutionalized for three years after an autism diagnosis in seventh grade during the 1970s.
Disorderly Blondes Autism PODCAST’s “S3 E38 Return of the Papis” compares how COVID-19 affected Dylan, Oliver, J.R., and Jackson, including remote schooling, canceled camps, and lost social contact.
Brenda and Christy of Disorderly Blondes Autism PODCAST discuss depression during 2020, their children’s return to school, and the strain of managing autism-related needs at home.