Meg began her career in the mid-1980s in sales for the hospitality business at The Drake Hotel in Chicago.  After her husband, Steve, finished graduate school they relocated from Chicago: first to Philadelphia and eventually to Florida.  During these years, Meg shifted gears and began working in event management with Reed Exhibition Companies. One of her favorite clients was the International Fancy Food Show.  As her family grew, she formed her own event planning business in 1993.   In 2003, they returned to the Chicagoland area with their three children Phil, Doug and Lucy. In 2012, she launched Yogini LLC and co-created the Zen of Slow Cooking with her business partner, Jane McKay.

As a parent of a child with complex learning challenges Meg is a passionate advocate for children with learning disabilities.  She served on the Board of the Central Florida Learning Disabilities Association, and on board and as President of the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Learning Disabilities Association.

Meg received the Business Leadership Award from the Specialty Food Association.  She and Jane have also earned awards for their commitment to employing adults with developmental disabilities, as well as the Specialty Food Association’s 2017 sofi award for best new spice.

When Meg isn’t experimenting in the kitchen with one of Jane’s delicious creations or selling one of their Zen spice blends, you’ll find her enjoying her family, on her yoga mat, watching old movies or traveling the globe.

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https://www.thezenofslowcooking.com

Episode 1: Finding Zen with Meg Barnhart

For parents with a special needs child, working with the school may be a daunting process. Where do you begin and how do you navigate the system to ensure that your child receives the right program and services? In this episode of “Empowered Not Impaired” podcast, Mike introduces you to long-time educator Dr. Edward Aldarelli, who stresses it is important for parents to build a collaborative relationship with the school, voice their expectations for their child and be at the team table.

Episode 2: Meaningful, Engaging, and Personalized Learning with Dr. Edward Aldarelli

Anthony Ianni wasn't going to let autism define him. The former college basketball player was 14 when his parents sat him down to tell him he was diagnosed at a young age with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), which is on the Autism Spectrum (ASD) along the same lines as Asperger’s syndrome. His parents also shared that doctors told them Anthony would barely graduate from high school and would struggle throughout his life. When Anthony heard this prognosis, he was determined to prove everyone wrong. He did just that. Today he is a highly sought after motivational speaker and author of a forthcoming book “Centered: Autism, Basketball & One Athlete’s Dreams.”

Episode 3: Centered: Autism, Basketball, and One Athlete's Dreams by Anthony Ianni

The biggest financial question parents of special needs children have is “how can they ensure their child will be able to maintain the quality of life when they're no longer around to provide support?” Financial expert Matthew Siegel shares with Mike Ciavolino on Episode Four of the “Empowered Not Impaired” podcast that it begins with determining the goals of your family upfront and writing them down.

Episode 4: Financial strategies to help special needs parents reach their goals with Matthew Siegel

How do parents handle stereotypes of their special needs children? SuperParent Jamie Rahrig supports her son, Jackson with down syndrome by never letting him say, “no I can’t.” Jamie shares with Mike Ciavolino on Episode Five of the “Empowered Not Impaired” podcast about how her son has shattered stereotypes with his feats in powerlifting.

Episode 5: Shattering Stereotypes with SuperParent Jamie Rahrig

Empowered not Impaired Podcast featuring Tyler McNamer

Full Name: Tyler Allan McNamer
 
Title: Author, Speaker, CEO
  
Bio: Tyler McNamer is an International Best Selling author, speaker, and CEO of his company Autismworks. 

Tyler was diagnosed with autism at 2 years old and was completely nonverbal until 6. At 12, he began speaking in full sentences. Tyler overcame adversity and triumphed against all odds and captured his story in his bestselling book Population ONE: Autism, Adversity, and the Will to Succeed he wrote at only 17 years old. 

Tyler didn’t stop there, he just recently released his second book Becoming ONE: Autism, Adolescence, and Transition to Adulthood. A sequel that picks up where Population ONE left off-- inside the mind of autism. 

Tyler McNamer and his work inspires thousands and sparks a new narrative of autism from transforming disability into unique ability. As Tyler so brilliantly puts it in his second book-- I am not an autistic writer, I am a writer with autism. 
 
Website URL:  
 
AutismWorks or www.autismworks.com 
 
Resources (free download? Free webinar/upcoming events?):
 
Upcoming Webinar on March 27th (time is TBD)- Questions About Autism, Answers That Work (autismworks.com)
 
Free downloadable resources- Free Resources for Parents of Children with ASD (autismworks.com)
 
Social Channel URLs:
 
YouTube- AutismWorks - YouTube
Facebook Autismworks- (2) AutismWorks | Facebook
Facebook Population ONE Book- (2) Population One | Facebook
Facebook community group- (2) AutismWorks - Transforming Disability Into Unique Ability | Facebook
Instagram- AutismWorks (@autismworks_aw) • Instagram photos and videos

Tyler McNamer. Thriving in life with autism while encouraging others.

Empowered Not Impaired Podcast 
About the Podcast: The Empowered Not Impaired Podcast features stories of Empowerment and Inspiration of people with Autism.  Each Friday, your host author, speaker and autism Dad, Mike Ciavolino, will share his experiences as a Dad to teenage triplets, two of whom are on the Autism spectrum.  Mike will also interview a variety of fantastic guests including parents, educators, therapists, key stakeholders in the special needs community and people on the spectrum themselves. Join us and listen in today!

Empowered not Impaired Podcast

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