Ep. #23 – Youth on Living with Special Needs
The panel for this week’s episode includes: Emma, Martin, Neil, and Shelby, along with special guests Julie Bond Genovese and Karin Harvey-Olson.
If you are able to tune in LIVE, the Youth can also answer and/or discuss your questions LIVE. The topic that they have chosen to discuss is Living with Special Needs.
If you want to learn more about living with disability and special needs, here is a great video to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Sh8ZuGbMI (Also check out Zach Anner’s YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ZachAnner
For more information about Julie Bond Genovese, please visit https://nothingshortofjoy.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/NothingShortOfJoy/
For more information on the YEAH (Youth for Education, Advocacy and Healthcare) Council, please visit https://yeahnh.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/YEAH-Council-267404923281292/
Special Guests:
Julie Bond Genovese
Hi friends! I’m Julie, mom to two teen boys, partner to my hubby Bill, author of my award-winning memoir, Nothing Short of Joy, an inspirational speaker, creative living coach, artist and life-long student of personal growth. In 2005 when I went to sign my son up for kindergarten, I was overwhelmed by the rules and underwhelmed by the love. The reality of giving up our previously unfettered life to the system was crushing. So we took the leap. Funny thing – the difficulties in being born a dwarf prepared me, in essence, to live and flourish outside the lines. Unschooling has inspired my family to unfollow the current educational Belief Systems (BS) and instead follow our own inner truth and the enthusiasm, wisdom and wonder within our kids. We’re learning how to use challenges as a springboard to spirit, to live a more wholehearted life and to create a joyful world we feel proud to call home. You can find me at www.nothingshortofjoy.com
Karin Harvey-Olson
Karin Harvey-Olson is a homeschooling/unschooling mother of 4 children.
She works part time as a facilitator for a youth council on disability rights and special healthcare needs. In addition to that Karin and her family provide care for a deaf young adult who lives with them. She is also a certified leader for Attachment Parenting International, and a certified Baby-Wearing instructor.
When not working or spending time with her family, Karin pursues her many passions, including Music, Theater, Attachment parenting, homesteading, natural family living, and all things Disney!
You can read about Karin and her family on their blog, www.harvey-olson.net
Recently Karin has also started a band with her husband and kids, and you can hear them at fb.me/SquareCirclesBand.
The Youth for Episode #23
Emma
Emma is 14 years old and going into high school. She has 4 cats and a dog, and loves music, art, books, and learning new things.
Martin
Martin Harvey-Olson is an unschooled kid who is all about creative expression through music. He has been following his passions for years – cosplay, art, martial arts, gymnastics, but most of all music. He has taught himself to play multiple instruments, and is working on mastering multiple musical styles and genres, although his favorite is Rock/Alternative.
https://www.facebook.com/Hangmans-job-966463330136159/
Neil
Neil Karkhanis is 14 years old and attends South Jersey Sudbury School, a democratic free school where the students decide how to spend their time. He enjoys discussing politics, education, world events and nutritional science. He has been involved in community theater since the age of six. He spends a few months out of the year living in Tampa, FL and the rest in New Jersey. He’s very excited to have this platform to share views and ideas with others.
Shelby
My name is Shelby – I am 13 and I live in Colorado. I am homeschooled and I have an interest in art.
Producers for Youth on Subjects of the World are Anne Boie, Jim Flannery, Martin Harvey-Olson, and Tanya Sharkey.
Anne Boie
Anne Boie is an entrepreneur and partner in work, family and play to her husband, David Leahy. She is a dedicated unschooling mother of the four Leahy children, ages 4- 16. The Leahy family has lived in Suburban Dallas, Rural Grayson County, Texas, and several years ago after the birth of their fourth child, they decided to pursue their dream of a more exciting urban location, as close to New York City as they could manage financially. After researching several options with the help of their children, they chose Hackettstown, New Jersey, located between New York City and Philadelphia, and moved their warehouse of more than a million Lego bricks, two dogs, three cats, four children, one Nana (David’s mom) and all their belongings halfway across the country. They have been happily living there for 3 years now, and are always eager to meet and talk to both experienced and new unschoolers.
Anne was very excited to take on the role of co-producer of the For the Love of Learning show, as a means of exploring ideas about education from people all over the world, and to help create a better world by showing parents that there is another way, they don’t have to blindly follow the crowd when it comes to education and raising happy children.
She is even more excited to take on this new role as lead producer for Youth on Subjects of the World. This amazing group of young people will give you hope for the future of our world.
Jim Flannery
At first glance, Jim’s career may seemed scattered across different fields and topics. However, an emerging theme he’s noticed in his work is to empower people who are powerless. This may sound cliche, so let’s try to be more specific: Jim wants to unlock doors and liberate people who are trapped inside. More specific? He wants to help students trapped in school, elderly people trapped in nursing homes, psychiatric patients trapped in institutions, and inmates trapped in prisons.
To achieve these lofty goals, Jim brings many different skills to the table. For example, he is an experienced startup entrepreneur, trained biomedical engineer, strong public speaker, self-taught web developer, self-satisfying comedian, eccentric physics teacher, and mediocre painter. To keep himself sane, he likes reading, rock climbing, skateboarding, and traveling.
While he doesn’t mind fighting alone, success requires a team.
Let’s talk about coordinating our efforts to create a better world.
Here is my home on the internet.
Martin Harvey-Olson
Martin helped create Youth on Subjects of the World, along with Neil Karkhanis, Marley Richards, and Anne Boie. He is now a big part of our team of producers.
Tanya Sharkey
An unschooling mom, I’m colorful, passionate, and eternally seeking truth. Queen of TMI:-) Say it like it is, wear it on my sleeve, can’t be fake, the word is always on the tip of my tongue and I can’t figure it out. Like to always have a destination on the calendar. A proud cat-lady, love the universe, fresh air, the wind blowing my hair, authenticity. An information junkie, and always on a quest to reduce our family’s carbon footprint to the best of our ability:-).
“Podcast sponsored by Peer Unschooling Network”