1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,480 Welcome to Unlimited Parenting. As we all prepare for the holidays and wrapping up 2024, 2 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:22,320 we at Idaho Parents Unlimited wanted to reflect on some highlights, challenges, and milestones 3 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:28,800 for us this year. So today, we have Sarah and Melissa to revisit some moments, share 4 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:37,160 some successes, and discuss what's next for 2025. Can you believe it? 2025? It feels 5 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:44,440 wrong to say. It feels very wrong. I know. I'm glad that it feels like 2025. I haven't 6 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:52,780 bought a single present. I actually have a few. I have a few too. Wow, you guys are awesome. 7 00:00:52,780 --> 00:01:00,760 So I wanted to set the stage a little bit before we get started. I looked at some numbers, 8 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:10,360 one through 10. And we supported Idaho Parents Unlimited, so the three of us, supported over 9 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:16,800 600 professionals this year. And you listeners will be hearing this podcast in December, 10 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,440 but it is currently midway through November. So you can expect those numbers to increase 11 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:29,920 a little bit. But supported over 600 professionals this year, we've helped over 1,300 parents. 12 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:37,160 Wow. Just individually, right? This is the number that surprised me. We at iPoll networked 13 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:45,080 with 7,300 individuals from information tables, conferences, federal, state, and local meetings. 14 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:52,600 Wow. That is a lot of people. Yeah. That's a lot of people. And I'm still COVID Allison, 15 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:58,720 so I see a number like that and I'm like, oh, what are we doing? It's far too many people. 16 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,720 Most of them were behind the screen. Can I just put that into perspective? There's, God 17 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:11,120 please do, about seven of us in this office doing that work. Maybe lower than that, five. 18 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:19,120 Yeah. Doing that work. Five is probably a work. We have a team. Who's the fifth? I don't 19 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:23,760 know. Are you counting the regional coordinator? I don't know what she's counting. Well, I 20 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:31,040 don't know what I'm counting. Where are we? I mean, there's three of us in the room that 21 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:37,200 are doing the parent calls and things, but we have a team that helps facilitate and organize 22 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:43,000 some of these activities where we're reaching all these, especially doing tables and things 23 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:49,760 like that. But us three couldn't do that parent one-to-one assistance if it wasn't for the 24 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:58,600 background support. Yeah. We're doing the things. But the heavy lifting is a very small 25 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:05,560 amount of very what? Small amount of people. It is. It really is. So good job, everyone. 26 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,800 Yeah. Good job, everyone. You made me proud of. I know. Was that one of our things? Are 27 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:15,320 we already in the movie? I thought she was just not really sure what's happening. I was 28 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:20,400 painting a picture. I was setting the stage. Okay. Is it set? Okay. So now that the stage 29 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:26,200 has been set with some numbers and you can really feel the impact of all the parents 30 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:32,800 that we've reached this year, as well as professionals. Maybe Sarah, do you want to go first sharing 31 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:46,560 a couple of things that you're proud of? In the year 2024, what were you proud of? I think 32 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:55,760 just recently, mostly because it's probably on the forefront of my mind, things that I'm 33 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:06,600 really proud of is our new partnership with the State Department of Ed and our regional 34 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:20,200 reach with our Idaho Center on Disabilities and Human Development and expanding the resources 35 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:28,800 and training for youths who are moving out of high school into the adult world. And that 36 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:38,120 is through our Resource Service Administration grant that we are a vital partner with these 37 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:45,400 organizations. I'm really proud of that. And we were able to bring on three regional coordinators 38 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:54,360 and have some reach in each part of the state. So I'm really proud about that. It'll really 39 00:04:54,360 --> 00:05:00,500 expand how we are able to serve youth and their families as they try to navigate the 40 00:05:00,500 --> 00:05:10,200 world of adulthood. Yeah, I would agree. Bringing on staff was big for us. Yeah. And going back 41 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:17,760 to a few remote staff, which we haven't done in years. So we grew a little. We did. Grew 42 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:27,960 in my heart. No, no, no. My heart can only grow half a size. What about you? What are 43 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,160 you proud of, Melissa? Well, I thought we were supposed to have three. Did she do all 44 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:37,240 three? Oh, one for now. Oh, well, we can bounce back. Oh, gosh darn. What are your other two? 45 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:47,400 Okay. Well, we just wrapped up our Western States Regional Genetics Network work. There 46 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:54,480 will be no more funding for the regional genetics networks. And so I'm proud. You're proud of 47 00:05:54,480 --> 00:06:00,240 that? Well, I'm not proud of that, but I am proud of the work that we all did in our Western 48 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:06,880 States to do our very best to support the work that we did with the newborn screening, working 49 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:17,280 with our Title V programs, and bringing genetics research to the Western States and for families. 50 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:24,720 We really learned how to collaborate with our neighboring states and bringing genetics 51 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:34,840 information to our families. And we're hoping to write an impact statement, impact letter, 52 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:40,400 and trying to continue the work the best that we can, because we all know that we share 53 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:48,140 families across our state borders. And those relationships are so important, because we 54 00:06:48,140 --> 00:06:52,720 understand what our families need and how our states work and being able to share that 55 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:58,400 with our partners as we share families that go to other states to receive services and 56 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:05,360 vice versa. So those regional networks are very important, not just in genetics, but 57 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:15,200 in all areas that we serve. And then my last thing that I'm really proud of is bringing 58 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:21,560 healthcare, surprise, surprise, to the conversation of competitive integrated employment. It wasn't 59 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:27,880 already there? No, weirdly, but they're not. I won't let... Color me confused. I know. 60 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:32,960 I will not jump off that soapbox that if we're not healthy mentally or physically, we will 61 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:39,240 not be able to be employed. So we have to teach our youth how to navigate and manage 62 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:46,280 their own healthcare, even if we are supporting them and guiding them for the rest of their 63 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:51,080 life. There are certain things that youth do not want their parents to talk about with 64 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:57,200 them, and their mental health and some of their healthcare might be part of that. So 65 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:03,440 we've got to be able to help them be able to talk to their doctors. Yeah, somebody. 66 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:10,280 Oh, sorry. No, please. That's kind of a role that we are playing in this Pathways Partnership 67 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:19,240 Grant, the F2F as a family. Right. Okay. If it is the last thing I do on this earth, I'm 68 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:25,960 going to transition to a new healthcare. Yeah. Anyway, that's cool. I like it. Those are 69 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:32,520 three things to be proud of. Yes. Okay. What about you, Buttercup? Oh, I'm going... Yeah, 70 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:41,360 you're going to... Not you. Okay. So one thing that I was really proud of this year, and 71 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:47,040 I'm proud of our state for it too, is that for the first time ever, we had a superintendent 72 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:53,440 of public instruction that sought to reach out to special education families to hear, 73 00:08:53,440 --> 00:09:01,800 on kind of both sides of the table, about some issues that we are having, and then really 74 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:06,720 partnered that with administrators, and just kind of opened up the lines of communication. 75 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,920 So I'm really proud that we were able to facilitate and get some parents at the table. Yeah, that's 76 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:17,720 what I was going to say, is that she got in front of parents. Parents. Not just professionals. 77 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:24,880 Correct. And it was in two separate groups. She listened to parents first, and then listened 78 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:32,440 to educators second, and then kind of meshed it all together. And the funny thing was that 79 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:36,360 everybody really is saying the same things. Parents and educators, we just have to figure 80 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:41,880 out how to kind of meet at the... What to do with that. What to do. Yeah. So that was, 81 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:46,880 I think that was a win for us. We were able to reach out to families across the state 82 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:52,760 and get them at these listening sessions. So I was really, I'm proud of that. Has anything 83 00:09:52,760 --> 00:10:00,740 come from that? Yeah. I think something is going to come from that. And that may be in 84 00:10:00,740 --> 00:10:06,120 my... Something that I'm excited about for the new year. Oh, maybe. The little teaser 85 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:10,800 stick around. Stick around to look there. No, we got some really good information that 86 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:15,840 is going to lead to some outcomes. So I'm excited. Yeah. Okay. So my second thing that 87 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:21,080 I'm like... Well, I'm kind of excited. I have a love hate relationship with our state personal 88 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:25,840 development grant. And that is... Oh, it went through some changes. It did. This year was 89 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:30,800 a little bit hard. Thank you for recognizing that. Yeah. So it was Cultivating Readers 90 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:38,240 previously. It is now called SMART 2.0, which is still a literacy based initiative. We are 91 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:45,560 the family engagement contractor focus. That's why we are involved in this grant from that 92 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:55,360 perspective. And so while it has been a ton of work, like you said, with the transition, 93 00:10:55,360 --> 00:11:00,320 I'm excited to continue to be a part of it. And I'm excited that the focus is kind of 94 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:07,640 shifting back more towards children and youth with disabilities, where it had kind of shifted 95 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:15,680 further away from that. And obviously, I have a soft spot in my heart for children with 96 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:20,080 disabilities and that way we exist. And that was the beginning of the program was it was 97 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:24,880 about that. So to see it deviate from that was especially hard for us. Yeah, absolutely. 98 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:29,120 And now we're back and I think we're on the right track. We have some great schools being 99 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:34,720 involved and now we have a couple different ways that we are accessing these parent tracks, 100 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:39,200 whether it's a systemic school based or maybe individual teachers have parents that have 101 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:44,600 been identified. So there's a few different ways that families can become involved in 102 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:50,800 this project should they want to or their schools. So I'm excited about that. Is that 103 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:55,360 everything you're excited about? No. And then we had to cut her off. She was so excited. 104 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:59,480 She sent me pages and pages and pages of things she was excited about. I said, Melissa, you 105 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:04,480 got to stick with three. I know. I did. We're just doing so many great things. Someone's 106 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:10,960 got to cut her off. Personally, I am excited that I the first time in our history, I think 107 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:16,600 we have now we have an executive director as well as a PTI director. And I'm excited 108 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:22,760 to add that on. I think that, yeah, right. This is the first time ever. And so because 109 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:28,360 we are growing, we are now having the opportunity for us to have that individual growth. And 110 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:32,680 I'm really excited that I have been given that opportunity. So yeah, Melissa Vian over 111 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:39,160 here is the PTI director for Idaho Parents Unlimited. Oh, yes. So I thought I was giving 112 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:45,240 something away. I was like, are we waiting for your plaque before I announce it? I don't 113 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:51,720 know. Scary things like I now have I'm in charge of like writing a grant and stuff. 114 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:58,120 But it's also exciting that maybe, you know, we can have some new not not new things that 115 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:03,440 we can do, but we potentially we can start whenever a baton is passed, there's always 116 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:09,160 a lot of new energy and ideas. And I'm excited for me. That's a really good way to put it. 117 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:14,440 Thank you. Thank you. That's it. What about you? I would love to share some things that 118 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:20,120 I'm proud of. Incidentally, they are none of the things that you mentioned. I'm excited 119 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:27,480 that I pull was recognized nationally through the SIPR. So the Centers for Parent Information 120 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:33,680 Resources. So every state has a parent training and information center, at least one they 121 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:41,640 are population based. And about nine of us were selected to be in what's called a circle 122 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:50,000 of expertise. So I pull was selected for the first so we are the inaugural members. And 123 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:57,160 we are looking at early childhood education. So that's been very exciting. It's been very 124 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:03,600 exciting to go to a new conference that I had never been to before. I went to New Orleans, 125 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:09,920 which I New Orleans I don't I'm probably going to get roasted. However, I say it, NOLA. I 126 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:15,280 had never been there before peak hurricane season was the best time of my life. And all 127 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:21,360 by yourself all by my south. We conquer and divide. And that's what we do around here 128 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:26,640 anymore. Just conquer and divide. It was very exciting. It was really exciting to network 129 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,360 with other parent training and information centers and to see, you know, there are people 130 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:36,160 who have a staff of 21 and we have a staff of basic leave. There's three of us that do 131 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:42,040 this. And it was really interesting to see how we're all going towards common goals and 132 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:47,440 to really figure out what can we take from across the nation and put in one centralized 133 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:53,080 location so that everybody gets the top tier resources. So it was really cool to be recognized 134 00:14:53,080 --> 00:15:03,240 nationally like that. Federally. That is really cool. I also wrote that I am jazzed. I am 135 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:11,080 excited. I the momentum of this podcast is insane. The reach has like quadrupled over 136 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:18,320 this year. Not only did we hit a thousand downloads, but it's just and trust me, I know 137 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:23,200 in the grand scheme of things, a thousand downloads is just like a little drop in a 138 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:29,120 bucket. So don't think I'm delusional. I am, but not about that. I am just excited that, 139 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:35,560 you know, I anticipated it being very much like our webinars where 10 people would listen 140 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:41,780 to one episode and that's not at all what's happening. And so I just think it's really 141 00:15:41,780 --> 00:15:47,880 cool that we can, we found a different vehicle to share the knowledge that we have and people 142 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:54,600 like it and people are listening. And I think that that is very cool. And hopefully every 143 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,280 episode that someone listens to, they can just take, even if it's just one thing away 144 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:04,600 from it, that makes their lives easier. I'm excited for an episode that'll be coming in 145 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:10,120 January about caregiver burnout and how to help yourself. There's going to be some more 146 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:15,260 authors. There's just a lot of really cool stuff going on and I'm excited to be a part 147 00:16:15,260 --> 00:16:21,120 of it. Be a part of it. That's all you. Yeah. Well, so she is. I have a podcast people. 148 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:26,480 I'm still a part of it. Okay. I just have a really loud voice. What can I say? Good 149 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:32,520 job. I'm also really excited about new community connections. So we always talk about how we 150 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:38,000 have a seat at every table and if they're talking about anything related to children 151 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:43,040 or youth with disabilities or special healthcare needs, you're going to see iPoll there. But 152 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:48,400 I found a new one. I found a couple of new ones this year that iPoll had not been on 153 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:53,820 or been a part of and I signed up for it. And that was exciting for me and exciting 154 00:16:53,820 --> 00:16:59,960 for iPoll to make new connections and get in front of other people who can help spread 155 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:05,480 our message. Yeah. That was it. Those are my top three. Okay. Thanks for allowing me 156 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:12,360 to share. Wonderful. Sarah, what are three things that we, two, three, even one really, 157 00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:19,440 that we brought this year? Three. When we were prepared. We were asked to prepare. Okay. 158 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:26,280 I would like to clarify that you are always asked to prepare. Don't we just come. But 159 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:33,640 I would like. I carried. Nice. Good job. I carry this podcast on my back, baby girl. 160 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:40,520 Good job. I'm curious. Three things to hear from you guys that we did this year that we 161 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:47,240 had never done before. Well, one thing, and I think it's Melissa, you kind of talked about 162 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:53,920 it earlier, is that we collaborated with our state superintendent. That has never, ever 163 00:17:53,920 --> 00:18:02,040 happened since the four, in the 40 years that we have been around, that I have ever heard 164 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:10,800 that a state school, public school superintendent collaborated in the way in which she did this 165 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:20,300 year. Reaching out to families who have kids with disabilities. And we were at that table. 166 00:18:20,300 --> 00:18:27,320 We were asked to help generate families to participate. We got families at that table. 167 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:35,760 They wouldn't have been there if we didn't help. So that is fantastic. And then we are, 168 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:42,120 like I said, these regional networks are really important in growing our reaching and growing 169 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:52,280 our resources and vetting who we are as an organization. We hosted our, we're the regional 170 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:57,480 center in our TA center, technical assistance center for parent centers in region D, which 171 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:05,560 is the western part of the United States, parent centers. And we hosted our regional 172 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:13,640 gathering where we brought in parent centers. All of our region D centers came to Boise 173 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,520 and we had our conference here. And it's been, we've never done, I don't think we have ever 174 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:24,760 done that. They've never come to Idaho. We've always gone to Washington, Oregon, California, 175 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:35,200 Las Vegas, we've been to Nevada, Denver, but never Idaho. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas. 176 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:41,880 Never Idaho. Never. And I think that they were, a lot of them were very pleasantly surprised 177 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:48,440 about our community and they loved visiting. So I think something magical happens. 178 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,720 It's so nice to you when you walk along the Boise river, when you're on the green hill, 179 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:52,720 something. 180 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,720 In the summer, it's just like, wow. 181 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:59,000 Yeah. And then they get themselves an ice cream potato and they're sold. 182 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,880 They go to the still and then people are happy. 183 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:06,960 I think you're right. That was a really, that, yeah. And this, I'll be totally honest with 184 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,920 you. This question was super hard for me. 185 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:09,920 Really? 186 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:10,920 This question was so hard. 187 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:16,280 I had a hard time that I'm like, okay, what did we do? And I mean, cause we do, we do 188 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:21,240 so much. And we're very habitual. We're always going to do fuels for life. We're always going 189 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:26,400 to do early years. We're always going to do our, always around the state and yeah, you're 190 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:33,280 right. Trainings. And we, we get, like you said, opposite of what you said, when the 191 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:38,920 baton gets passed, new ideas come out and we try when we do our planning retreat and 192 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:45,120 our training and we try to think of new ways to reach families. And maybe one of you guys 193 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:50,560 will talk about the things that we've never done before. But those are just things that 194 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:57,400 came to my mind that in the eight and a half years or eight years that I've been here that 195 00:20:57,400 --> 00:20:58,400 we've never done before. 196 00:20:58,400 --> 00:20:59,400 What about you? 197 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:00,400 My three things, Melissa. 198 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:04,400 Okay. I had regional staff. That was one. So, but I'm going to, so that's my number one 199 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:05,400 but perfect. Yeah. 200 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:07,600 Yeah. I mean, and we have done that before. 201 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:08,600 We have. 202 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:09,600 It's not just for transition. 203 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:14,720 Yeah. Yeah. And now we're kind of bringing it back. So that's something new. The other 204 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:21,580 thing that's new is a partnership that we have kind of formed with a Spanish speaking 205 00:21:21,580 --> 00:21:28,400 group to really try to arm some partnerships and help in that area with the Los Senores. 206 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:33,840 So we have put on a couple training classes about IEPs and Medicaid and the systems of 207 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:38,520 supports in the state. And we're really still looking to beef that up and help support that 208 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:44,840 population in collaboration with that group. The other thing that I don't think really 209 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:48,120 any of you, I don't think, I really don't think you picked this one. 210 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:49,120 Oh, I'm excited. 211 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:54,440 I know. We as a, as an office participated in CliftonStrength. 212 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,960 Oh, did you pick that? 213 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:57,960 No. 214 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,720 It was my, it was the only one I could pick. 215 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:02,720 Oh no. 216 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:03,720 I have something for you. 217 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:04,720 Oh my God. I stole it. 218 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:05,720 That was my favorite though. 219 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:06,720 Oh no. 220 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,880 I'm doing it right now. I thought for sure you would have said a podcast. 221 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,760 Yeah. I mean, what do you mean? We did a podcast in 2022. 222 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:15,760 Oh, we did. 223 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:16,760 Yeah. Oh, sorry. 224 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,520 Well, have we done a year in review podcast? 225 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:20,520 Yeah, we did. 226 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:21,520 Last year, sorry. 227 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:22,520 The year goes by. 228 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:23,520 Man, it does. 229 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:24,520 Anyway, sorry. 230 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,040 Sorry. You could edit it out and you could take CliftonStrength. 231 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:33,000 We did CliftonStrength as an organization. And I think it was really helpful to understand 232 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:40,880 how some of our peers work, what some of their driving mechanisms are and how, I don't know, 233 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:45,800 it just helped me understand people different in the organization and maybe it helps work 234 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:50,920 better with some people. So I'm excited that we did it. I hope that we continue to do some 235 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,160 team building exercises from it. 236 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:54,160 Yeah. 237 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:55,440 It was very eye opening. 238 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:56,440 It was. 239 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,440 And it was kind of hard. 240 00:22:58,440 --> 00:22:59,440 It was hard. 241 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:03,320 There were parts of it that were just a little bit like, ooh. 242 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:04,320 Uncomfortable. 243 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:08,720 Yeah, but in a good way. I mean, I think we learned stuff about ourselves. 244 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:09,720 Yeah. 245 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:10,720 Yeah, I did. 246 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:11,720 For sure. 247 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:12,720 Anyways, sorry. 248 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,360 No, it's okay. I'll go back to the podcast thing because while we've done a podcast since 249 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:21,760 the beginning of 2023, I think, January. 250 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:22,760 It was? 251 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:25,760 It was January of 2023 when we released the first one. 252 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:26,760 Wow. 253 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:27,760 Gosh. 254 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:31,640 I'm not going to stop for that one minute because remember, 2022 was when I first got 255 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:37,160 hired. And then we went to OSEP and I came back from OSEP and I was like, I'm going to 256 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,640 start a podcast. And I had that whole PowerPoint presentation called So You Want to Start a 257 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,800 Podcast and it had like all this information in it and I was so proud of it. And Angela's 258 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:50,240 like, yeah, go for it. Like, please be my guest. 259 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:51,240 Time flies. 260 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:59,560 Yeah. But you know, we have had some authors on in 2023 and we interviewed some parents, 261 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:05,480 but we now have people who have created their own companies and worked with Fortune 500 262 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,480 companies. And it's a lot more. 263 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:09,480 Your? 264 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:14,600 It's impressive. Yeah, a little bit. You know what I mean? Because we aren't having to be 265 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,120 your guests anymore. You have like actual, legit people. 266 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:20,120 People are my favorite guests. 267 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:24,280 I know, but they're like actual. Not that we aren't people. 268 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,280 We don't have our own websites. 269 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:27,280 Yeah. 270 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,600 Like, iPool has a website, but we don't have our own websites with our own people. 271 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,920 There it is on the website. I don't have a website. 272 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,800 If I have a website with my name in it, don't go to it because I don't know what's on there. 273 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:43,720 It's not vetted. It's probably terrible. Just don't click out. Click out. 274 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:49,360 I can't, like I said before, this question was super hard for me because a lot of my 275 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:54,720 stuff are things that repeat from my first answers, right? Circle of expertise. Nobody 276 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:59,520 did that. Those new community connections that I made. iPool had never been a part of 277 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:06,800 that before. So a lot of the stuff that I was proud of were things that had repeated 278 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:10,920 from my prior questions. So this one was difficult for me. 279 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:17,520 I will go for the last one. I'll go first. Two things that we're excited for next year. 280 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:22,440 Again, I hate to do it, but the podcast, I'm excited to see where it goes for next year. 281 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:32,000 I'm excited to get a lot more of our articulates, our self-paced guided modules into Spanish 282 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:39,760 and potentially other languages. I'm excited for the potential opportunity. Oh, I'm so 283 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:45,080 surprised, Melissa, you did not say this, but I am excited for the opportunity to potentially 284 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:52,360 present in front of our regional, our nationwide parent centers because this year Melissa presented 285 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:58,720 at OSEP. I am surprised you did not say that. I did not say that. I forgot about that. Yeah, 286 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:04,160 I was not. I'm proud I am. Not only did she present at the Office of Special Education 287 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:12,360 Programs Conference that we do every year, presenters quoted her the next day in their 288 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:21,720 presentations and I was like, why can't that be me? Why Sarah? No, I'm just kidding. I 289 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:27,360 went on her. Yeah. And then we had Sarah and I walked around DC trying to find flowers. 290 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:32,240 They were like right then. And that was at first for me, you could take flowers on an 291 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:37,980 airplane. But you can't take the water bottle that's hidden at the very bottom of your backpack. 292 00:26:37,980 --> 00:26:43,640 You get caught in the, you get patted down. They're like, what is happening? Yeah. Whoops. 293 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:52,280 That was funny. That was funny. I'm also excited for 40 years of iPoll. iPoll is older than 294 00:26:52,280 --> 00:27:01,080 I am. I mean, just by a few years, by a hair. Right? The 40th anniversary of parent centers 295 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:07,160 is crazy. And iPoll has been around since the beginning. And if you think about it, 296 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:13,680 1985, I think that's pretty cool for I know Madonna way before Nirvana. I have heard that 297 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:20,560 song. You too. Don't worry. That's not going to get flagged because once again, it is off 298 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:29,160 key and terrible. So the system won't pick it up. But 1985, holy guacamole. I was living 299 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:35,260 my best life. Were you streets in my neighborhood? I don't, I was gonna say my gosh, what were 300 00:27:35,260 --> 00:27:41,520 you like four, five? Yeah, five, six. You'd have been six. I can count. Seven. I was seven. 301 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:46,640 No, you would have been eight because you're two years apart. Well, 77 plus five. Eight. 302 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:52,760 Yeah, I was just living the best calculations just above my head. Trigonometry. I was negative 303 00:27:52,760 --> 00:28:01,720 four. Well, all right. Because Taylor Swift and I are the same. Oh, my gosh. What about 304 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:08,680 you guys? What are you excited for? I had celebrating 40 years. I didn't have that one. 305 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:14,920 That's a good one, guys. Excited for that. And then expanding our reach to our youths. 306 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:21,720 Yeah, that's a really good one. From your bucket. Yeah. We have the potential to do 307 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:28,880 some really cool things. Yep. So for those of you who don't know that are listening in, 308 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,920 Melissa has already mentioned that she has been awarded and accepted the PTI director 309 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:41,640 role, which is for education. And we've kind of, while Sarah and I have not been crowned 310 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:47,440 queen region in these areas, we have also kind of, Sarah, you are taking the lead for 311 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:54,040 RSA, that transition to adulthood space. And I'm kind of taking the lead for all things 312 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:59,600 health care. Family to Family Health Information Center. Yes. So we've kind of taken the big 313 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:06,920 grants and divvied them up, except for Melissa, who also gets the dig. You're welcome. What? 314 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:14,920 I don't know. Kind of part of the PTI. Oh, it's still big. Yeah. Wait, can we help her? 315 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:20,280 No, I don't. You mind? I don't know. This is a kidding. Anybody want to help tonight? 316 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:27,400 No, I'm just kidding. Oh, yeah. You have the parents call tonight. Yeah. I have to do a 317 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:34,920 pre-trip safety check for Sarah and I. Mobile vehicle. Family and Community Engagement Conference 318 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:41,120 tomorrow. We're doing everything. Yeah. All of the time. I will have to say, October kicked 319 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:51,320 my booty. Yeah. I was in Sandpoint, Moscow, Coeur d'Alene, Pocatello. Yeah, Sarah did 320 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:58,200 the iPool regionals. Sure. Oh my gosh. That week. Right. In two weeks. And I survived. 321 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:02,800 Yeah. I don't know how. She survived. She's a live podcast. She didn't get sick, but I 322 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:08,680 got strep throat and I didn't do anything. I will have to say, last week, I felt it. 323 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:20,840 I think after the election and a few things in Idaho, Friday afternoon, it hit me. Well, 324 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:28,320 it started hitting me Wednesday. Yeah. Emotionally, physically, I had to take some time. And I 325 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:34,680 think that, you know, and that's something to bring up that we field all these calls 326 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:40,440 and we help families and we are the families that are calling our office. And eventually 327 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:46,080 it will catch up to us. We love what we do and we're passionate about it. That's why 328 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:52,440 we're here doing the work. But I can't wait for the Caregiver Burnout podcast. Yeah. You're 329 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:58,600 going to love it. I know. It was so good. Because it is real. I'm super excited and 330 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:05,240 it's real. And we feel the feels that you all feel and we care so deeply about the work 331 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:14,200 that we do here. Yeah. But I'm excited to hit Sun Valley tomorrow and learn how to help 332 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:21,840 our community schools and see their need because that's beyond just our families with disabilities 333 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:27,920 and special healthcare needs. These are families and communities, rural communities that need 334 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:34,520 everything. Everything. Everything. Yep. Food, clothing, shelter, toothbrushes, everything. 335 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:50,600 So name something else. Child care, everything. Thank you so much everyone out there for listening 336 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:57,680 in and know that if you are in Idaho or planning on moving to Idaho and have questions on systems 337 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,920 or services for children with disabilities, please consider reaching out to us on our 338 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:14,540 website at iPull Idaho. That's I-P-U-L Idaho.org or by calling us at 208-342-5884. Be sure 339 00:32:14,540 --> 00:32:31,400 to tune in next time. Until then, this has been Unlimited Parenting. Thanks for listening.