Join Jess Ronne, author, speaker, and caregiver advocate as she chats with caregivers about the joys and trials of raising a child with disabilities. Jess is also the founder of The Lucas Project, a non-profit which provides recognition & resources for special needs families & associate director of the Unseen film. She & her husband Ryan live in Michigan with their 8 children, including their disabled son Lucas. Her story of beauty from ashes is detailed in her four books. To follow the ongoing saga she can be found at www.jessplusthemess.com
Not What I Expected: Navigating Grief, Hope, and Autism With Ashley Jones
In this heartfelt episode of Coffee With Caregivers, host Jess Ronnie sits down with author and homeschooling mom Ashley Jones, who shares her raw and honest journey raising her seven-year-old son Gordon, who was diagnosed with autism and childhood apraxia of speech. Ashley opens up about the early signs she didn't recognize, the years of navigating therapies, meltdowns, and isolation, and the grief cycle that so many parents of children with special needs quietly live through — from denial and anger to bargaining and, slowly, acceptance.
Ashley and Jess explore what it really means to hold two truths at once: loving your child completely while also grieving the life you imagined for them. From sensory challenges and avoidant eating to the unexpected gift of a mini farm full of goats, chickens, and one very content rabbit, Ashley's story is both deeply relatable and wonderfully specific. Her reflections on therapy, the value of the PCIT program, and learning to navigate the unsolicited opinions of those who mean well but don't truly get it will resonate with any caregiver who has ever felt utterly alone — and found their way through anyway.
To connect with Ashley, visit her website at ashleyljones.com (ashleyljones.com) or follow her on Instagram and Facebook at @AshleyLJonesAuthor.
8 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT
Amy Julia Becker - Honesty, Humility, and Hope: A Path to Wholeness for Caregivers
In this episode of Coffee with Caregivers, Jess sits down with author, speaker, and advocate Amy Julia Becker (https://amyjuliabecker.com/) — mom to Penny, a 20-year-old with Down Syndrome — to explore what it truly means to be made whole. Drawing from her book To Be Made Well (https://amyjuliabecker.com/to-be-made-well/), Amy Julia shares how raising Penny dismantled her own hidden hierarchy of human value and opened her eyes to the freedom that comes from embracing vulnerability and need. Together, Jess and Amy Julia reflect on how disability has been one of the most powerful teachers in their lives — not just about their children, but about themselves.
The conversation moves through themes of healing, distraction, and the mind-body connection, as Amy Julia describes how unprocessed stress and unspoken pain can manifest physically — and how honesty, humility, and hope can create a pathway toward wholeness. She and Jess also speak candidly to caregivers who are living in survival mode, offering practical wisdom about finding community in five-minute pockets of time, seeing your child as a gift rather than a deficit, and letting your body tell you what your heart hasn't yet found words for.
Amy Julia's Links
Website (https://amyjuliabecker.com/)
Book: To Be Made Well (https://amyjuliabecker.com/to-be-made-well/)
Podcast: Reimagining the Good Life (https://amyjuliabecker.com/podcast/)
5 Jan 2026
Tyler Hudson: Hope and Advocacy - Living With the Challenges of Profound Autism
In this episode of Coffee with Caregivers, Jess welcomes Tyler Hudson, an advocate and father of a son with profound autism. Tyler shares his family's journey from Texas to Australia, the challenges they faced with their son Lyric's regressive autism, and the impact of living in a rural area. They discuss the difficulties of elopement, nonverbal communication, and the transition to adulthood for children with autism. Tyler touches on the broader societal implications of the growing autism population and the need for more research and resources. The episode concludes with insights into his advocacy work and the importance of addressing all potential causes of autism.
Inside a recent episode
Not What I Expected: Navigating Grief, Hope, and Autism With Ashley Jones
Published 21 Mar 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And finally, I would add to my list, we went through a child psychology program called Parent Child Interaction Therapy, PCIT, which I highly, highly recommend. And that helped us figure out what were the sensory issues, what were those emotional issues versus what could we actually discipline and how to do that in a way that increased his security instead of decreasing it. And so that made a huge difference for us, but we didn't get that till a year ago. So there was just a lot of juggling. It felt like an everyday juggle. It just felt like today he's in this mood, so this is what we're going to do. […]
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