Ep. 136 – Three Diagnoses, One Mother: How I Hold it All with Stephanie

In this powerful episode of Autism for Badass Moms, host Rashidah sits down with Stephanie Williams, engaging in conversation that dives into the reality of parenting multiple children with autism. Stephanie Williams is a 38-Year-Old social work professional, entrepreneur, speaker, and founder of Fostering ConNeEXTions Inc.

Stephanie is a single mom raising three sons, ages 15, 13, and 11-all on the autism spectrum. Her journey is one of resilience, advocacy, and purpose.

She shares how her oldest son experienced early regression, leading her to fight for answers, diagnosis, and services. Her middle son's early aggression and his transformation into academic success. and her youngest son's later diagnosis and use of 504 accommodations. With limited support, Stephanie had to teach herself how to navigate systems-including learning to drive just to access specialists.

Stephanie speaks candidly about faith, alignment, and resilience-and how she turned pain into purpose through her nonprofit and entrepreneurial platforms.

In this episode, we discuss:

00:00 Badass Moms Welcome

01:03 Parenting Multiple Autistic Kids

02:01 Meet Stephanie Williams

04:45 JJ Early Signs and Diagnosis

09:14 Pushing For Answers and Services

11:12 Learning To Drive For Care

13:59 Trauma Safety and Support

17:57 Advocacy as a Legacy

19:18 Raj Teen Years and Growth

22:53 Meltdowns Elopement and Finding Help

29:25 School IEP Battles and Wins

32:19 Introducing the Youngest

32:27 Texas Move Miracle

34:32 Youngest Diagnosis Talk

36:59 504 Plan Breakthrough

39:47 Honor Roll Advocacy

43:44 Writing Autism Story

46:56 Pain to Purpose

49:52 Fostering ConNEXTions Mission

53:06 Alignment Over Balance

54:32 Find Her Online

57:29 Merch with a Message

59:30 Advice for Moms

01:02:28 Audacity Mic Drop

01:03:19 Final Wrap and Guest Call

Connect with Stephanie:

Be sure to follow and stay connected.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/stephaniespeakspurpose

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fosteringconnextions

Tik Tok: Steph.Speaks

Substack: stephaniespeakspurpose.substack.com

Virtual Support Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GT1e8H3GSVD31GpfdPt7kL?mode=gi_t

Make sure to check out her Merch: www.destinedtoconquer.com

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