Out Front with FamilyForward Podcast
Out Front with FamilyForward brings forward candid conversations to help bridge the gap between research and real-world parenting. Join our host Sharon Skidmore Stern as we explore topics through a trauma-informed lens to provide you with tangible tips to navigating family life one podcast episode at a time.
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Series One: Staying Connected
The need for humans to have connection now is more important than ever. Despite being easily connected in this digital age, people are feeling more isolated than ever. In this four-part series, we are exploring the importance of connectedness: why it matters, what its impacts are, what support looks like, and how we can reconnect.
Episode One: Staying Connected
Connection looks, sounds, and feels different for each individual. Delve deeper into building connections with your children, family, and community and acknowledge the individuality, vulnerability, and grace that come with it.
Episode Two: Connection Seeking and Child Development
Children and their development are impacted by the connection they receive starting from a young age. That’s why, in this episode, we are emphasizing the need for positive connections in families and how they are beneficial for children with complex trauma histories.
Episode Three: Simplifying the Caregiver Connection
Seeking connection as a caregiver can prove to be complex, as there are so many demands we are asked to meet before our own needs. Use this episode as your guide to establishing connections with your child and other caregivers by prioritizing your needs and making them heard.
Episode Four: The Logistics of Reconnection
Connection building is a matter of building up small gestures and moments over time to create a strong relational foundation. By exploring three different ways to reconnect—imitation and mirroring, co-regulation, and shared focus and collaboration—we bring together ideas from earlier in the series to provide you with simple ways you can connect with your loved ones.
Meet the voices of Series One
Introducing the voices behind FamilyForward’s first podcast series! Sharon Skidmore Stern serves as podcast host and Chief Program Officer at FamilyForward. Joining her are Lisa von Wahlde, Director of Therapy; Jamie Scaccia, Director of Assessments; and Ashley Wagner, Director of Occupational Therapy. With a collective experience spanning over 70 years, these leaders bring a wealth of expertise to each episode, offering a multidisciplinary perspective into the world of parenting.
(Left to right: Jamie Scaccia, Sharon Skidmore Stern, Ashley Wagner, Lisa von Wahlde)
