January 19, 2021
This week, we meet with Jordan Brandt, Fraser Mental Health Professional and Anti-Racism Committee Lead and Nancy Baldrica, Fraser Chief Marketing and Development Officer about the steps Fraser is taking to becoming an anti-racist organization and meet the needs of Fraser's BIPOC staff and community. In addition to outlining the goals of the initiative, Jordan and Nancy also dive into the unique disparities that BIPOC and non-English speaking clients face in receiving mental health services and how Fraser is trying to address this challenge.
Learn more about Fraser's diversity commitment here.
December 10, 2020
Organizations like Fraser serve an increasingly multicultural community, providing crucial early intervention services to more and more diverse families. This week, we spoke with Fraser staff Kristina Doyle, Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist and Dana Fernandez, Occupational Therapist, about how Fraser and other organizations can best meet the needs of bilingual families and and children. We go into the process of language development and acquisition in children in multilingual homes as well as the signs a child may need early intervention services.
![FraserCast E16 - Creating Sensory-Friendly Holiday Experiences]()
October 20, 2020
Holidays and family gatherings can be overwhelming for individuals with autism and special needs due to large crowds of people, eating new foods away from the comfort of home, and an abundance of other stimuli in an unfamiliar environment.
Gina Gibson, OTR/L, Fraser Sensory Inclusion Specialist, is here to offer tips on how to make the holidays and cultural gatherings more inclusive to children and family members with sensory needs. With the COVID-19 pandemic still present, Gina also provides extra advice on making virtual family gatherings more accommodating and as well as tips for when large in-person gatherings can resume. Whether it's finding a sensory-friendly Halloween costume or easing your family member into trying new foods, you'll be sure to learn a thing or two about how to create an inclusive holiday environment in this episode of FraserCast
Our sponsor for this episode is U.S. Bank, who is also our presenting sponsor for this year's Fraser Annual Benefit. Join us for a magical night on Saturday, October 24 for a virtual benefit helping families and individuals with autism, special needs, and mental health challenges. Learn more at www.fraser.org/benefit. Thanks for supporting the podcast!
October 7, 2020
Through a collaboration of several state agencies, the Minnesota Department of Human Services put together a valuable website for parents and caregivers who have children with autism: the Minnesota Autism Resource Portal. This resource helps families and individuals with autism throughout their lifespan, and was created with the needs and concerns of Minnesota families at the forefront. This week, we sit down with Minnesota DHS staff Nicole Berning and Kim Hicks to learn more about how this came to be and how families can make use of this portal.
Our sponsor for this episode is U.S. Bank, who is also our presenting sponsor for this year's Fraser Annual Benefit. Join us for a magical night on Saturday, October 24 for a virtual benefit helping families and individuals with autism, special needs, and mental health challenges. Learn more at www.fraser.org/benefit. Thanks for supporting the podcast!
September 22, 2020
Early intervention services aim to help children birth to age 3, focusing on areas such as physical skills and social skills. Such services have also been in higher demand as awareness increases. Sarah Elrashidi, Fraser Assistant Director of Preschool Center-based Day Treatment walks us through the kinds of early intervention services there are at Fraser, why the demand continues to increase, and how such services have been adapting to telehealth during the pandemic.
August 4, 2020
Pat Pulice, Fraser VP of Integrated Healthcare joins FraserCast again, this time to discuss Whole Person Healthcare. This week, we walk through the many different factors affecting several different dimensions of our health beyond physical and mental health including Adverse Childhood Experiences, anxiety, financial or emotional stress, and access to services. If you'd like to learn more about the bigger picture about our health and mindful activities, tune in to this week's episode to learn more or contact the Fraser Hope Line.
June 25, 2020
In the spirit of Fathers Day, we spoke with Fraser father and board member, Randy Pattee. Randy's son Emmett was diagnosed with autism. As Emmett grew, so did his needs. This week, Randy walks us through his experiences of parenting a child with special needs as well as navigating group homes and services at Fraser.
Our sponsor for this episode is Fox Rothschild LLP. Thanks for supporting the podcast!
June 15, 2020
In this week's episode of FraserCast, we meet with Abby Vavra, Fraser Public Policy and Compliance Counsel. Abby provides updates to Fraser programming and provides insight into how Fraser and other nonprofits work with the legislature to represent individuals with special needs in public policy.
