In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast, powered by CoachArt, co-hosts Greg and Roxanne chat with Lacey, whose 10-year-old son Levi is one of CoachArt’s newest members.&nbsp;At just 3 days old, Levi was diagnosed with craniosynostosis and cleft palate. Since then, Lacey and her family have experienced all the ups and downs that living with a chronic illness entails, without a community of like-minded parents and families ... until she found us here at The UpBeat! Now Lacey’s ready to share some advice and stories about how her family has navigated the journey of Levi’s illness, including its effects on his schooling, his friends, and his parents.&nbsp;CLICK HERE for the full article.
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3 Tips for Dealing With "Information Overload" After Your Child's Diagnosis

In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, co-hosts Greg and Roxanne sit down with CoachArt parent and board member, Elena, to discuss her family’s experiences with chronic illness.&nbsp;Her unique journey began when her son Brad was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor at the age of 14. 

Much of Elena’s guidance centers on communication. And sometimes it’s hard to take stock of all the avenues of communication that will experience stress as the family navigates their new path — between the diagnosed and their family; between the diagnosed and their peers; within the family including the diagnosed; between the parents of the child; and all other relationships that exist within and around a family.&nbsp;

For more tips and resources on communication when dealing with a childhood chronic illness, visit our full post.



Communication Tips for Families of Kids Impacted by Chronic Illness

In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, co-host Greg is joined by special guest host Elena, one of CoachArt’s board members (and our interviewee on podcast episode 3), as they sit down to chat with CoachArt’s marketing director, Roxanne.&nbsp;

Roxanne switches seats from co-host to interviewee and shares her experience with pediatric cancer. Her daughter, Aleyna, was diagnosed with Wilms tumor at age 6.&nbsp;Roxanne provides tips and advice on how to help your child navigate the social pressures encountered by children with chronic illness and tells a touching story of how a little note to a classmate’s parents led to a big gesture from new friends.&nbsp;

Click here for the full blog post.



3 Amazing Nonprofits for Kids Diagnosed With Cancer

In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, our host Greg sits down with Megan Gallagher, a 23-year-old mental health advocate and motivational speaker, to discuss her experience with an issue familiar to many families impacted by childhood chronic illness — severe anxiety.
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After years of her own fight with crippling anxiety and panic attacks, Megan now travels the country speaking to middle and high school students about managing their anxiety, loving themselves, and being in tune with their bodies.

Read the full blog post here to for Megan's easy-to-implement remedies on how to combat severe anxiety.


Anxiety in Children as a Result of Their Illness: How to Identify it & 5 Ways to Combat it

In this week’s episode of&nbsp;The Upbeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, our host Greg is joined by Felicia Ford, an amazing single mother whose 17-year-old daughter Faith was born with cerebral palsy.&nbsp;

Felicia shares her inspiring story of how her frightening experience at Faith’s birth motivated her to dive in and do all she could for Faith and for parents in similar situations.&nbsp;

Read the full blog post here for Felicia’s wonderful advice on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).


A Parent’s Journey with Individualized Education Plans

In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, our co-hosts Greg and Roxanne are joined by Brandon, whose son Aiden has been a long-time CoachArt student. 

Aiden was diagnosed with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM), a rare autoimmune disorder that poses numerous challenges, both great and small, for him and his family. Brandon discusses his experience throughout the diagnosis process, including the initial emotional impact on his family, and also shares how he’s learned to help Aiden and their family thrive on a day-to-day basis.

One of the issues that Brandon faces, and that affects every family impacted by childhood chronic illness, is finding appropriate activities for their child. CoachArt’s goal is to assist in that process and there are also other helpful resources to find fun, healthy activities for children impacted by chronic illness. Read the full blog post here to check out our suggestions.

The UpBeat podcast&nbsp;is powered by&nbsp;CoachArt, a nonprofit organization that provides FREE art and athletic activities to families impacted by any childhood chronic illness – such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy and more.
If you have a child that may qualify for CoachArt programs, visit:&nbsp;CoachArt.org.


Activities for Kids With Chronic Illness

In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, our co-hosts Greg and Roxanne are joined by Denise, an ice skating instructor who’s been giving lessons to children with special needs for 22 years at the Oakland Ice Center in Oakland, California.&nbsp;

A competitive figure skater growing up, when Denise was 16 she saw Olympic champion Dorothy Hamill conduct a skating program for children with blindness and immediately knew her life had changed. Denise started the adaptive skating program in Oakland and has gone on to help children with special needs in many ways — she’s now even an official school inclusion assistant and a certified autism movement therapist.&nbsp;

In Denise's interview, she shares her many experiences helping the lives of kids and adults on and off the ice, including the wonderful story of an autistic child’s 5-year journey to learn to skate.&nbsp;She has a unique perspective on the benefits of ice skating for special needs children, which we found instructive here at CoachArt, as we strive to provide a range of athletics programs for children in the same situations.&nbsp;

For the full blog post and additional resources to find adaptive sporting programs near you, visit our website.

The UpBeat podcast is powered by CoachArt, a nonprofit organization that provides FREE art and athletic activities to families impacted by any childhood chronic illness – such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy and more.

If you have a child that may qualify for CoachArt programs, visit: CoachArt.org.


The Benefits of Ice Skating for Kids With Special Needs

In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, our co-hosts Greg and Roxanne sit down with their very special guest Marc — Roxanne’s husband.&nbsp;

Marc opens up about what it was like to be there for their daughter Aleyna’s cancer diagnosis when she was 6 years old. He also shares stories of their ensuing cancer fight and gives tips on navigating the emotional strain of it all.&nbsp;

We previously spoke with Roxanne in The UpBeat Podcast Episode 4 and hearing two unique viewpoints from the same family was eye-opening. When a family is rocked with a life changing event like cancer, each individual is affected in such unique ways.

Thinking about Marc and Roxanne, we found some other good resources for recognizing and understanding how different people cope in different and equally effective ways — and we wanted to share some of our favorites. Read the full blog post here.

The UpBeat podcast is powered by&nbsp;CoachArt, a nonprofit organization that provides FREE art and athletic activities to families impacted by any childhood chronic illness – such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy and more.

If you have a child that may qualify for CoachArt programs, visit:&nbsp;CoachArt.org.


How I Learned to Cope With My Child's Cancer Diagnosis

In this week’s episode of The UpBeat Podcast powered by CoachArt, our co-hosts Greg and Roxanne are joined by Nomi, a CoachArt student who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in 2014. Now 16, Nomi beat cancer thanks to a bone marrow transplant from her sister. She’s here to discuss the emotional and physical journey of her illness and how art was an important part of that battle. 

Nomi shares some tips on how to find an artistic and creative outlet and how it can help anyone, especially those impacted by chronic illness. At CoachArt, we’re always very excited about spreading the benefits of artistic endeavors and we wanted to share some other information we’ve found.&nbsp;CLICK HERE to read the full article.

The UpBeat podcast is powered by&nbsp;CoachArt, a nonprofit organization that provides FREE art and athletic activities to families impacted by any childhood chronic illness – such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy and more.

If you have a child that may qualify for CoachArt programs, visit:&nbsp;CoachArt.org.
