Finding Common Ground

About Finding Common Ground

Many families feel like they're treading water, especially those living with autism and other developmental differences. As your hosts, we get it, and we know this frustration all too well. In response, we've created tried-and-true strategies that help everyday people achieve extraordinary things. Even those who might have doubted themselves can borrow our confidence, follow one of our "blueprints," and with a supportive community cheering them on, make the impossible happen. Each success inspires those coming up behind us, creating a ripple effect of positive change—Which is why we'll never run out of content!Our podcast tackles tough issues head-on with unfiltered conversations focused on solutions. We won't avoid "the elephant in the room"—in fact, we'll invite it to dinner! Our unique format appeals to people from across the globe, offering strategies that turn efforts for one into advocacy for the greater good. We breakdown topics like innovative housing, effective self-advocacy, and healthcare complexities, guided by our audience on what to cover next. Each episode offers fresh perspectives, featuring many guests you won't find on mainstream platforms. We intentionally invite differing viewpoints because finding common ground with those we see as obstacles is the surest way to create new and innovative solutions. Join our Supporter's Club and check out our merch. Let’s ensure the A/I/DD community's voice is heard. If you want to dig deeper, schedule a session with us. We happily work one-on-one, develop trainings, and offer public speaking engagements to assist individuals and organizations in promoting things like inclusivity and equity. Join our community, plant seeds of positive change, and before you know it, you'll be moving mountains with us! Want to support our mission and access exclusive content? Join our Supporter's Club and check out our merch. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss).

Publisher

ROC Vox Podcast Network

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Jul 2024

Latest episode

10 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

61 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Jul 2026

   Beyond the Spectrum: Profound Autism and Advocacy with Tyler Hudson and Jillian Eisloeffel

   What happens when the autism your family lives with doesn't look anything like what society imagines? In this episode of Finding Common Ground: Dadability, Steve sits down with Tyler Hudson and Jillian Eisloeffel, two parents raising sons with profound autism, to talk honestly about the reality behind the headlines. Tyler, dad to 18-year-old Lyric in Tasmania, Australia, and Jillian, mom to 11-year-old Bob in New York's Hudson Valley and vice chair of the National Council on Severe Autism for New York, share what daily life actually looks like: self-injurious behavior, services that fall through the cracks, and a school and disability system that too often has no place for the kids who need it most. Together with Steve, whose own family includes children on the spectrum, they open up about the unspoken pressures dads face, why so many fathers walk away, and why they chose to stay. It's a conversation about grief, hope, advocacy, and love, and about what it really takes to build a life for a child the world doesn't quite know how to see. Tyler also previews his upcoming book, The Missing Lyrics, out July 15th. This is a raw, unfiltered look at profound autism, autism advocacy, and special needs parenting from two voices who refuse to stay quiet. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss). Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com (https://rocvox.com).

2. 

   22 Jun 2026

   Representation, Inclusion, and Belonging: with Autistic Youth International Founder Rebecca Tarrant

   Steve sits down with Rebecca Tarrant, founder of Autistic Youth International and the US coordinator for Neurodiversity Pride Day. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rebecca is a law-school graduate, an autistic advocate, and a mom to Jackson, a level-three non-speaking autistic child whose diagnosis set her on an entirely new path. In this conversation, Rebecca and Steve explore what true inclusion looks like for neurodivergent and disabled children and young adults. They talk about inclusive book drives, sensory-friendly festivals designed from the ground up, the dangers of deficit-based thinking, and why over-medication of misdiagnosed autistic kids is a crisis hiding in plain sight. Rebecca shares why strengths-based approaches and lived autistic experience in leadership make all the difference, and why every child deserves more than just an hour at the party.   From Charlotte to Uganda, Autistic Youth International is building a more neuro-affirming world, one book, one festival, and one community at a time. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss). Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com (https://rocvox.com).

3. 

   3 Jun 2026

   From Green Card Lottery to Chief Diversity Officer: Dr. Hirah Mir's Inspiring Journey

   What happens when someone who grew up receiving food stamps, living in Section 8 housing, and navigating government services as a new American child becomes the Chief Diversity Officer for New York State's largest agency? You get Dr. Hirah Mir — and her story will move you. In this powerful episode of Finding Common Ground: Dadability, Steve sits down with Dr. Hirah Mir, Executive Lead for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at OPWDD (the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities). Dr. Mir shares her remarkable journey from immigrant to PhD holder to leading a 13-person DEI team serving nearly 20,000 employees — driven every step of the way by her own lived experience with disability, poverty, and government services. Together, Steve and Dr. Mir explore what it truly means to serve families with developmental disabilities — including the groundbreaking family leadership academies held in partnership with Georgetown University, the fight for language access for the 60+ languages spoken across New York's DD community, and why fathers and youth voices must have a seat at the table in advocacy spaces. Dr. Mir also shares her upcoming documentary, American Nightmare, American Dream, which follows her and three other women across a decade as they navigate government services, pursue higher education, and ultimately give back through public service. This is a conversation about compassion, community, and the belief that good government — when it listens — can change lives. 🔑 IN THIS EPISODE Dr. Mir's journey from Pakistan to Section 8 housing to earning her PhD How lived experience in government services shaped her career at OPWDD The Georgetown University leadership academies for self-advocates and families Why language access matters — OPWDD now provides services in over 60 languages The importance of father involvement and youth voices in disability advocacy Steve's story: from welfare and potatoes three times a day to a national bus initiative for families The American Nightmare, American Dream documentary How New York State is leading the country in person-centered disability services CONNECT & FOLLOW Subscribe on YouTube | Rate & Review on your favorite listening app Join the Facebook community to continue the conversation Support the show and help us keep Finding Common Ground Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/finding-common-ground--6199849/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss). Recorded at ROC Vox Recording & Production Studios in Rochester, NY. Learn more at rocvox.com (https://rocvox.com).

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

4,469

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

79

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

0

Contact Finding Common Ground

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.