S1_Ep-9: Navigating Special Needs Adulthood: Guardianship, Medical Battles & Hope - Specialness Pod

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1. 

   S2 · E3 · 8 Apr 2025 · 54 min

   S2_Ep-3: We Almost Gave Up… Then Came a God Wink - Specialness Pod

   🎙 Specialness Podcast – Season 2, Episode 3What keeps a marriage alive when life gets unthinkably hard? For Kim and Jeff Kribs, it’s faith. In this deeply personal episode, they open up about how their belief in God has carried them through some of the darkest moments of parenting a child with special needs.From failed adoptions to brutal hospital nights, and even moments where they feared for their safety—this episode is filled with the kind of raw honesty and hope that makes you feel less alone.✨ Hear how their faith was tested… and how, time and again, they experienced what they call…

2. 

   S2 · E2 · 19 Mar 2025 · 1 hr 7 min

   S2_Ep-2: Raising a Special Needs Child: The Ongoing Grief No One Talks About - Specialness Pod

   "We had dreams for our life, for our child, for our future… then reality hit." In this episode of Specialness , we open up about something every special needs parent feels—but not everyone talks about: grief . Grief for the child you expected, the life you imagined, and the milestones you’ll never experience. 💬 In this episode: ✔️ The moment we realized Cason’s life—and ours—would be different ✔️ How grief shows up in everyday moments, even years later ✔️ The way we’ve learned to process that grief and find joy in our reality Whether you’re in the middle of your own grief or just trying to…

3. 

   S2 · E1 · 18 Mar 2025 · 55 min

   S2_Ep-1: 87% of Special Needs Marriages End in Divorce—Here’s Why We Didn’t - Specialness Pod

   "The divorce rate for special needs parents is 87%. Here’s why we’re still standing." Welcome to Season 2 of Specialness ! One of the biggest questions we get is: How have you stayed married for 30 years while raising a special needs child? The truth? It hasn’t been easy. The stress, the unknowns, the financial strain— special needs parenting tests a marriage in ways most people will never experience. 💡 In this episode: ✔️ The biggest challenges that nearly broke us ✔️ How we navigated resentment, finances, and emotional burnout ✔️ The mindset shift that kept us from becoming part of the…

4. 

   S1 · E8 · 17 Feb 2025 · 50 min

   S1_Ep-8: The System Isn’t Built for Special Needs Adults—Here’s Why - Specialness Pod

   "When Your Child Turns 18: Guardianship, Medical Battles & The Harsh Reality of Adulthood" "Becoming an adult means freedom—but what if your child will never be able to live independently?" In this episode of Specialness , we take you through one of the biggest transitions in Cason’s life—turning 18. But unlike most teens, Cason wasn’t preparing for college or getting his driver’s license. Instead, we were navigating legal guardianship, mounting medical bills, and the heartbreaking reality that the system isn’t built for special needs adults. 💡 In this episode: The emotional and legal…

5. 

   S1 · E7 · 28 Jan 2025 · 1 hr 6 min

   S1_Ep-7: 1 in 740 Million: Discovering a Rare Genetic Disorder - Specialness Pod

   "What do you do when you’re told your child is 1 in 740 million?" In this episode of Specialness , we dive into one of the most pivotal moments in our parenting journey: receiving the results of Cason's genetic testing. The discoveries? A rare chromosomal deletion (15q25.2), unknown mitochondrial mutations, and a list of conditions that left us with more questions than answers. 💡 In this episode: The emotional rollercoaster of waiting for genetic testing results What it’s like to parent a child with an ultra-rare condition The balancing act of managing diagnoses, symptoms, and treatment…

6. 

   S1 · E6 · 21 Jan 2025 · 1 hr 3 min

   S1_Ep-6: New Meds, New Doctors: What Happens When Nothing Goes as Planned  - Specialness Pod

   “We never imagined we'd be here—new medications, new doctors, and facing words we hoped we'd never hear." In this emotional episode of Specialness , we dive deep into the life-changing moment when our son’s diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder became a reality. As his hallucinations worsened and fear took over his daily life, we were forced to make the difficult decision of trying Clozaril, a powerful but risky medication. 💬 In this episode: The signs that led us to seek new treatment The emotional toll of navigating complex medical systems How we balanced hope and fear in the face of…

7. 

   S3 · E11 · 7 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 10 minNew

   S3_Ep-11: What NOT to Say to a Special Needs Parent

   Can't you control your child? You're so strong, I could never do it. God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Every special needs parent keeps a running list of the things people say, and this week we are going through ours.Jeff and Kim get into the comments they hear from strangers, friends, and family. What they want to fire back in the moment, and what they have learned to say instead to actually educate the person in front of them. They also name the comment that stings the most, the one quietly hiding inside all the others: I'm just glad I'm not you.And they end on the thing they…

8. 

   S3 · E10 · 26 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 13 min

   S3_Ep-10: They Stopped Inviting Us | The Isolation of Special Needs Parenting

   For most people, isolation is a choice. For special needs families, it isn't. It happens to you, and it comes wrapped in a grief that has no recognizable end. Jeff and Kim talk about the two things their community lives with that rarely get named together: isolation and grief, and why the two are so tightly intertwined. The invitations that slowly stop coming. The birthday parties you leave early. The milestones that hit just as hard at 25 as they did at 5. And the quiet decision so many families make to just stop going, because it is easier than being stared at. They also share something…

9. 

   S3 · E9 · 2 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 15 min

   S3_Ep-09: When Special Needs Means Mental Illness, and No One Takes It Seriously

   In the mental health world, there is no blood test. No x-ray. Just a subjective judgment that changes from one doctor's office to the next, and a family left to live with the consequences.Jeff and Kim get honest about the part of special needs parenting that society files under "dangerous" or "crazy" and refuses to take seriously. They walk through Cason's mental health journey from the beginning: the manic behavior at four, the neuropsychologist who suspected bipolar one, the renowned psychiatrist who dismissed it as "just ADHD," and the medication trial and error that made everything…

10. 

    S3 · E8 · 15 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 13 min

    S3_Ep-08: The Special Needs Grief No One Talks About

    When people hear the word grief, they think someone died. For special needs parents, the grief is different. It's the life you planned for and never got to live, and it doesn't fade. It compounds. In this episode, Jeff and Kim talk openly about the grief nobody in the special needs world seems allowed to name. The milestones that never come. The family gatherings where the gap becomes impossible to ignore. The jealousy that shows up watching friends drop their kids at college. And why, after almost 25 years, the grief has actually gotten heavier, not lighter. If you have ever felt guilty for…

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