Heartfelt Journey: Kerry Paradis on Raising a Special Needs Child

In this heartfelt episode of "Conversations with Rich Bennett," we sit down with Kerry Paradis as she shares her inspiring journey of raising a daughter with special needs. Kerry discusses the early challenges of recognizing her daughter's speech delay and navigating the complex world of autism, ADHD, and Aspergers diagnoses. She emphasizes the importance of early intervention and relentless advocacy to secure the necessary services for her child. Kerry's story is one of determination, perseverance, and unconditional love, offering valuable insights and support to other parents facing similar struggles. This episode is sponsored by Daniel McGhee and the Victory Team.

Maryland's Premier Photographer | Kerry Paradis Photography

Sponsor Message:

This episode of "Conversations with Rich Bennett" is proudly sponsored by Daniel McGhee and the Victory Team. Daniel McGhee and his team are dedicated to providing exceptional real estate services, helping families find their dream homes with ease and confidence. Whether you're buying, selling, or investing, trust Daniel McGhee and the Victory Team to guide you every step of the way. Visit Homes In Harford County (housesinharfordcounty.com) to learn more about how they can assist you in achieving your real estate goals. Thank you, Daniel McGhee and the Victory Team, for supporting meaningful conversations and community stories.

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Transcript

Rich Bennett 0:00
I had this lovely young lady on months ago and her episode was one of the most listened to episodes. I mean, he's amazing. He took off. As a matter of fact, I think it was Chris Reeves from Voices of Hope. Said he's got to come on and do another episode to outdo you. It's like, Yeah, good luck with that thing. Going to have it. Chris Sorry, She's prettier than you. So, but I have Kerry Paradise on here. We're going to be telling her about her daughter and ask her, How are you doing, Kerry? 

Kerry Paradis 0:37
Thank you so much for having me on. I really appreciate that. And yeah, I just kind of wanted to touch base, you know, with the community just to kind of help people out that might have a child that, you know, is special needs. 

Rich Bennett 0:49
Mm hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 0:50
What kind of direction or some kind of help with navigating the process of it, because it is quite a process. And, you know, the early intervention is very, very important. 

Rich Bennett 1:01
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 1:02
To that. So. Well, when my daughter was younger, she was 19 months old. And I know you're not supposed to compare your children, but we had, you know, a one and a half year old. 

They're 19 

Rich Bennett 1:15
In 

Kerry Paradis 1:15
months. 

Rich Bennett 1:15
lots of parts. 

Kerry Paradis 1:16
So 

Rich Bennett 1:16
We 

Kerry Paradis 1:16
we 

Rich Bennett 1:16
had 

Kerry Paradis 1:16
have. Little girls, ones 

Rich Bennett 1:17
one. 

Kerry Paradis 1:18
like, you know, almost getting ready, turn two, and then we have one that's, you know, three and a half at the time. And, you know, she wasn't really talking much. 

Rich Bennett 1:27
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 1:28
Especially for a girl, You know, that's kind of you know, this is like a delay. 

Rich Bennett 1:31
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 1:32
And I remember, you know, with, you know, boys can maybe take a little bit longer, but for girls, they just start kind, you know, just talking right off the get go. I mean, my older daughter started talking when she was nine months. 

Rich Bennett 1:44
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 1:45
She's like her mother, you know, she likes to talk about. 

It's literally a mini me and. Pretty, pretty great. You see it? It's cute. I'm like, Wow, she's just like me. I mean, we say things the. 

Rich Bennett 1:58
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 1:59
We think the same things are like, you know, we were at the Bel Air Yard sale flea market on Sunday and like there was this basket and then I go and pick the basket up and she comes over. She's like, I knew you were going to go up and pick up that basket. I was just like, Yeah. Anyway, so. 

Rich Bennett 2:14
So. 

Kerry Paradis 2:14
So, you know, we had some concerns, you know, with her not talking. And, you know, we decided to get her evaluated. 

Rich Bennett 2:22
Right. At 19 months. Mm hmm. Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 2:24
And so we were, you know, introduced a child fine, which I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with that in Harford County. 

Rich Bennett 2:30
Child find. 

Kerry Paradis 2:31
Here. So you basically you would take them to an elementary school and you would get them evaluated and. 

Rich Bennett 2:37
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 2:38
They go through a different series of different questions and tests and to make sure her speech is okay. And they passed her. And I couldn't believe it because, like, she was like, barely speaking and it was all jumbled up like you could. 

Rich Bennett 2:51
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 2:53
And some parents are probably familiar with having that with their children is you know with that comes. Frustration. 

Rich Bennett 3:02
Yeah. They're like. 

Kerry Paradis 3:03
They can hit you. You know, they can be 

violent, you know. 

Rich Bennett 3:08
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 3:08
Only frustrated so they can, you know, start hitting and stuff. And my. She never hit my husband, but she sure didn't have any problems hitting me. But she. 

Rich Bennett 3:17
At 19 months. 

Kerry Paradis 3:18
Yeah, she would have. 

Rich Bennett 3:19
Wow. Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 3:21
She was frustrated. She couldn't talk. 

Rich Bennett 3:22
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 3:23
Frustrated she couldn't communicate. 

Rich Bennett 3:26
Yeah. Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 3:28
You know, it's her. She's getting her frustration on. She's, you know, upset that she 

Rich Bennett 3:32
Was that the only thing that she couldn't talk? 

Kerry Paradis 3:36
There's a couple of things, actually. We had noticed she had like some low tone in her arms. Like her arms 

felt like real squishy to me and. 

Rich Bennett 3:45
Really? 

Kerry Paradis 3:47
She very, very hyper. 

Rich Bennett 3:50
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 3:51
Sometimes with the Asperger's, which is categorised in the autism. 

Rich Bennett 3:55
Mm hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 3:55
Now is, you know, ADHD. 

Rich Bennett 3:59
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 4:00
Later we did find out that she had that. And so we got her tested and they passed her through. And I was so upset. And I remember telling my mother in law, you know, like, I can't believe they passed her. And she she's like, well, have him go back. Have her go back and test her again. 

Rich Bennett 4:14
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 4:15
I was like, Okay. And so I did. I was 

Rich Bennett 4:17
Just like in a third, you know, different doctor's opinions. 

Kerry Paradis 4:20
yeah, I was like, I. Get her tested again, because, you know, I just have a gut feeling, you know. 

Rich Bennett 4:24
Mm hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 4:24
Normally when you have that gut feeling, you're right. You. Younger. Kerry sure probably wouldn't have those feelings. But now that I'm a mother, you go with your parental instincts and you have that gut feeling, and it's normally 100% right. 

Rich Bennett 4:37
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 4:37
Knew something was wrong and so took her back and she didn't pass. And you couldn't get more than 19 and a half points and she got 19 points. If she would have said, Ma'am. Two silver to silver. 

Rich Bennett 4:51
Yeah, 

Kerry Paradis 4:52
They would have passed her, but 

Rich Bennett 4:53
but she 

Kerry Paradis 4:53
she 

Rich Bennett 4:53
did. 

Kerry Paradis 4:53
didn't. And they felt she failed. And so. 

Rich Bennett 4:55
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 4:56
Starts the journey of now you can get into the child fine. You can have someone come to your house, a speech about, you know, speech. 

Rich Bennett 5:02
Mm hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 5:03
Your house and, you know, give her speech. And then once she turns three, you can put her into the school system if you choose to, or you can stay with child. Fine. Until they would go to kindergarten and I wanted her in the school system immediately. I want to. 

Rich Bennett 5:16
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 5:17
Sure. Being around other children. So as soon as she turned three, my husband and I, we put her in, 

you know, the school system to have her services. 

Rich Bennett 5:27
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 5:28
So then she was going every week. She would go to speech and then I would get her into. She did 

what 

Rich Bennett 5:38
Basic. 

Kerry Paradis 5:38
is it? It was 

occupational therapy and it was through. Oh, they have an office up in Bel Air, Mount Washington Children's House. 

Rich Bennett 5:49
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 5:50
Office and so 

Rich Bennett 5:51
So we would 

Kerry Paradis 5:51
a 

Rich Bennett 5:51
take 

Kerry Paradis 5:51
her 

Rich Bennett 5:51
her to 

Kerry Paradis 5:52
to 

Rich Bennett 5:52
an occupational therapist. 

Kerry Paradis 5:53
our best 

Rich Bennett 5:53
She 

Kerry Paradis 5:53
she 

Rich Bennett 5:53
would 

Kerry Paradis 5:53
would have 

Rich Bennett 5:53
have 

Kerry Paradis 5:53
her. 

Rich Bennett 5:53
her speech. 

Kerry Paradis 5:54
She would go to regular therapy and we would add gymnastics because that was really good for her. Low tension. 

Rich Bennett 5:59
Right to get 

Kerry Paradis 6:00
Her 

Rich Bennett 6:00
her. 

Kerry Paradis 6:00
muscle built up and my whole varieties was spent, like taking her to these appointments and I. 

Rich Bennett 6:05
That was all on a Friday. 

Kerry Paradis 6:07
On Friday. We would just get it all done like my 

Rich Bennett 6:09
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 6:09
father, you know, doing 

Rich Bennett 6:10
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 6:12
I wasn't working in the recovery field yet, so I had off on Fridays and 

Rich Bennett 6:15
And 

Kerry Paradis 6:15
I 

Rich Bennett 6:15
I 

Kerry Paradis 6:15
would take her from like 9:00 to like 4:00 and we would just get all these appointments in and 

Rich Bennett 6:19
get 

Kerry Paradis 6:19
get 

Rich Bennett 6:20
her 

Kerry Paradis 6:20
her ready, you know, to go 

Rich Bennett 6:21
go 

Kerry Paradis 6:21
to 

Rich Bennett 6:21
to Canada. 

Kerry Paradis 6:21
kindergarten. And, you know, that's. 

Rich Bennett 6:23
That had to be hard, not just on you, but on her as well, I would think 

Kerry Paradis 6:27
He was really hard on her, 

Rich Bennett 6:28
know 

Kerry Paradis 6:28
you know, because 

Rich Bennett 6:29
because. 

Kerry Paradis 6:29
it's exhausting. 

Rich Bennett 6:30
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 6:31
Hiring for her. And like in the meantime, you know, you're taking her to get tested because you know that there's some. So like you're going down to Mt. Washington Children's Hospital. Going to trellis out in Hutt Valley to get her tested. And, you know, these appointments are very hard to come by there. 

Rich Bennett 6:46
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 6:47
Takes a long time to get in with these people, to get these appointments. And, you know, we get her all prepared and she's doing so well. Just so proud of her. She was doing so amazing. And then COVID happened and. 

Rich Bennett 6:59
Oh, God. 

Kerry Paradis 7:00
Asked all of her service. 

Rich Bennett 7:01
And so here 

Kerry Paradis 7:02
You 

Rich Bennett 7:02
you. 

Kerry Paradis 7:02
are. You have. 

Rich Bennett 7:03
Have. 

Kerry Paradis 7:04
You know, this child who has went through all these all this therapy and to get her prepared for kindergarten and here she is ready to go to kindergarten. And there's not there's nothing. 

Rich Bennett 7:15
And. 

Kerry Paradis 7:16
I was homeschooling her and that obviously did not go well. But, you know, along the way there would be like different people that would be like, she's she's fine. 

Rich Bennett 7:26
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 7:27
And you're like, No, she's not fine. Like Chad and I always were like, Something's not right. And she would fall for chair or she couldn't buy her shoes. And there was just little things that we noticed that were not right and. 

Rich Bennett 7:38
As she's getting older. 

Kerry Paradis 7:39
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 7:40
Right. Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 7:41
You know, here she is in kindergarten and now she's doing really well. And then we're trying to move forward and then everything gets shut down. So it's really frustrating for us because we did put in the work and. 

Rich Bennett 7:52
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 7:52
And she put in the work. Right. And we were proactive about it and got her in services when she was 19 months old. And I what I want the community to know is like, if you have any like feeling in your heart or in your gut that something might be wrong, just go and get your child. 

Rich Bennett 8:07
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 8:07
Because, you know, if you wait till like kindergarten or if you wait till later in elementary or middle school, it's just going to delay that whole process. 

Rich Bennett 8:14
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 8:16
It's a process, you know, and a lot of people are not familiar with the process. And that's why I was so grateful to come on the show is because when this was all happening and I was going through this, people would reach out to me and ask me because they had a child that had the same thing. 

Rich Bennett 8:30
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 8:31
They had a child that wasn't speaking. They had a child that was hitting or biting, and they weren't sure how to handle the situation or if something was wrong or if they're just being a kid or, you know. 

Rich Bennett 8:42
They're going to 

Kerry Paradis 8:42
Talk, 

Rich Bennett 8:42
tell. 

Kerry Paradis 8:42
they'll be fine. They just haven't talked yet. And you got you know, you go with that gut feeling because, you know, being a photographer, I see it with children all the 

Rich Bennett 8:51
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 8:51
time. And, you 

Rich Bennett 8:53
You 

Kerry Paradis 8:53
know, 

Rich Bennett 8:53
know, 

Kerry Paradis 8:53
you 

Rich Bennett 8:53
you 

Kerry Paradis 8:53
have 

Rich Bennett 8:53
had 

Kerry Paradis 8:53
your clients that are 

Rich Bennett 8:54
really. 

Kerry Paradis 8:54
really down to earth and really cool and like you're working with their child who's three years old and. 

Rich Bennett 8:59
This. 

Kerry Paradis 8:59
That's for 15 years. So you know that this child's not speaking right? And the mom will say, Yeah, we kind of have some concerns. 

Rich Bennett 9:06
Yeah, I would say. Like what? 

Kerry Paradis 9:07
Well, I have a daughter that had issues like that, you know, and it's it's nothing. I'm not calling anybody out on it. You're not, you know, trying to put anybody down or hurt anybody's feelings. Like, I'm just trying to help 

Rich Bennett 9:17
Help 

Kerry Paradis 9:17
you. 

Rich Bennett 9:17
people. Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 9:18
With the situation because you know the resources for it. It's hard in Harvard. 

Rich Bennett 9:24
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 9:24
I'm sure you've heard that. 

Rich Bennett 9:26
You're one of the things lacking, too. Besides, resources are support groups, and you're being supportive. You're helping people. 

Kerry Paradis 9:35
Yeah, there is a real big black eye. I do feel like they are more aware of it now. And her. They wanted us to go out to like Owings Mills, Rockville. And I'm like, Do you understand? Like, I live in Hartford. Can you want me to drive to. 

Rich Bennett 9:47
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 9:48
Her services, like on a Wednesday night. Like how? 

Rich Bennett 9:51
Plus the driving you're doing all on Friday, 

Kerry Paradis 9:54
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 9:54
too. I mean, she's. 

Kerry Paradis 9:56
Yeah, but it was good, you know? You know, you have to do what you got to do for your kids. You. 

Rich Bennett 10:00
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 10:01
I have had these two daughters and I'm like, you know, I'm not going to not get her where she needs to be. I'm going to do whatever I can. And then, you know, once we had gotten her in, you know, elementary school for kindergarten, it was just not good for her. 

Rich Bennett 10:18
Hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 10:19
It really wasn't. You know, there's a lot of kids in school and they need these services and so do other kids. You know, my daughter's not the only one that needs services and fighting for that. The services was more than I could have ever imagined. I didn't realize that it was going to be so hard to receive services in Hartford. 

Rich Bennett 10:37
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 10:38
Child. And I'm not going to mention any names or any schools or anything like that, but it was a real headache and. 

Rich Bennett 10:45
You know, I'm really disappointed because 

Kerry Paradis 10:46
You know, my husband and I 

Rich Bennett 10:47
food 

Kerry Paradis 10:47
moved to that neighborhood 

Rich Bennett 10:49
for 

Kerry Paradis 10:49
for 

Rich Bennett 10:49
this. 

Kerry Paradis 10:49
the schools to have our daughter go to this. 

Rich Bennett 10:51
Mm. Here we are. 

Kerry Paradis 10:52
Fighting for services that she. 

Rich Bennett 10:54
And you shouldn't have to. Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 10:56
Diagnosed with ADHD, Aspergers. She's got low tone a speech issue and they're not trying to give her her services. And 

Rich Bennett 11:05
She's 

Kerry Paradis 11:05
it's like, what else do you need? And not to mention, not only do we have her tested at the school, but we also went to outside help it 

Rich Bennett 11:11
not. 

Kerry Paradis 11:11
now Archant in Children's Hospital. 

Rich Bennett 11:13
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 11:13
And Charles and I had all this documentation from these doctors that she cannot learn in a classroom with 30 children. And the fight for that was just something I just can't even explain to you. It was just so upsetting and hurtful to know that you have a child that needs. 

Rich Bennett 11:28
Hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 11:30
Or, you know, wanting 

Rich Bennett 11:30
Dad, you got a fight? 

Kerry Paradis 11:32
to get. 

Rich Bennett 11:32
Yeah. It's ridiculous. 

Kerry Paradis 11:33
Taxpayers are paying to. 

Rich Bennett 11:34
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 11:35
And it's like my child deserves this services. 

Rich Bennett 11:38
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 11:38
And I shouldn't have to fight for them. 

Rich Bennett 11:39
No. I mean, you hear it all the time. Oh, we got to. 

We're going to do this for our children, the children of the future. Well, we need to help those children, too. Yeah. You know, don't be pushing them off. Say, you know. Oh, no, no, no. They're fine, you know? Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 11:58
Just get her through here and like. 

Rich Bennett 12:00
Yeah, well, I hate to say, but that's one of the biggest problems with the school systems, is they want to rush kids through. 

Kerry Paradis 12:06
That's absolutely true. 

Rich Bennett 12:07
You 

Kerry Paradis 12:07
I 

Rich Bennett 12:07
know. 

Kerry Paradis 12:07
mean, look at how the kids who got to graduate with COVID. 

Rich Bennett 12:10
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 12:11
You know, I mean. 

Rich Bennett 12:12
How was your other daughter with that while this was going on? 

Kerry Paradis 12:16
She was great. I mean, she's she's very lucky to have an older sister. Her sister. 

Rich Bennett 12:21
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 12:22
A patient with her. 

Rich Bennett 12:23
Good. 

Kerry Paradis 12:24
When they were younger. When? When the girls were younger. She would be great. I mean, I remember this one time we were driving to 

her occupational therapy appointment, and she was so frustrated that she couldn't communicate with me and she threw a glass 

kombucha bottle at my when my windshield. 

Rich Bennett 12:44
A hold up. Back up a glass. What model? 

Kerry Paradis 12:47
I like that. Healthy, like. 

Rich Bennett 12:50
Okay. Okay. I was like, What in the world is a kabuki? 

Kerry Paradis 12:55
A glass bottle, right? 

Rich Bennett 12:56
Right? Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 12:57
Glass thing and. 

Rich Bennett 12:58
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 12:58
I've been through it. 

Rich Bennett 13:00
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 13:01
Yeah. It's like a probiotic drink. It's got like. 

Rich Bennett 13:04
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 13:05
Good for your gut or. 

Rich Bennett 13:06
Didn't break the window, did it? 

Kerry Paradis 13:07
Now. I didn't write the winner. 

Rich Bennett 13:08
Good. 

Kerry Paradis 13:09
Gary, you're driving. 

Rich Bennett 13:09
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 13:11
You know, like four years old does that. So. 

Rich Bennett 13:14
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 13:15
Yeah. So, like, once we got her talking, you know, she was starting to talk. She wasn't as frustrated and wasn't, you know, like that. But then comes other things with Aspergers, right? 

Rich Bennett 13:24
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 13:24
They're very particular. You know, I'll tell you one thing, though. Like Alana, she's sleeping in nowadays and ah is dressed and ready to go to school. I mean she's. Her room is immaculate, like she'll come and clean her room and then she's. 

Rich Bennett 13:36
This year, the daughter of Asperger's. 

Kerry Paradis 13:38
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 13:39
Wow. Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 13:40
Yeah. And so, like, she's going to I mean, she would be incredible. I mean. 

Rich Bennett 13:45
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 13:46
Or another, you know, I mean, she goes by the beat of her own drum. She doesn't care what anybody thinks about her. She very hard worker. Like if you give her a task, she's completing it. You know, she's very, you know, particular likes to be on time. 

Rich Bennett 14:00
Which is pretty amazing to me because you said she's also got ADHD. 

Kerry Paradis 14:05
And she is on medication for the ADHD. 

Rich Bennett 14:07
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 14:08
Asperger's that is like they're known for, you know, they are very high functioning, you know. 

Rich Bennett 14:13
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 14:14
Functioning, which is, you know, wonderful. And God gives you what 

Rich Bennett 14:18
Almost 

Kerry Paradis 14:18
you. 

Rich Bennett 14:18
like it balances out in a way, I guess. Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 14:21
He was younger. 

Rich Bennett 14:23
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 14:23
It was a mess. 

Rich Bennett 14:24
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 14:24
You know, her room was always a mess. Everything was a mess. But as she gets older, I can see her growing and understanding it more. 

Rich Bennett 14:32
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 14:33
You just got to be very patient, you know? And God obviously thinks I have a lot of patients because. 

Rich Bennett 14:37
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 14:37
This little girl and I don't want to disappoint her, you know, And like we talked in the last show, I mean, that's one of the reasons I stopped drinking is because, you know, my daughter needed me there to. 

Rich Bennett 14:45
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 14:46
And to be there for her to be able to take care of all these things and make sure that she's going to turn out okay. And yeah, she'll be dressed ready with her uniform on. We actually won't have taken her out of that school and we put her in private school at Open Bible Christian Academy in Kingsville. And she loves it. She has. 

Rich Bennett 15:03
Here's it in Kingsville. 

Kerry Paradis 15:05
You know, if you're driving down Bel-Air Road, that big bull that's on the side of the road. Right back in there. A lot of. 

Rich Bennett 15:11
Really? I never heard of it. 

Kerry Paradis 15:14
Yeah, Open Bible Christian Academy. And she has 11 kids in her class and she's thriving and. 

Rich Bennett 15:20
That's good. You can focus more. 

Kerry Paradis 15:23
You know, they're not just passing through. 

Rich Bennett 15:24
Mm hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 15:25
I remember one of the IEP meetings that we were in. You know, here I am fighting for services, and they're like, There's nothing. She's doing great. And, you know, Chad and I are sitting there like, No, she's not. She's. 

Rich Bennett 15:37
No, she's not in. 

Kerry Paradis 15:39
Kid, man, we know that something's not right. And, well, she's like, well, she got an A on this math test. And I pulls out this. And my husband and I, we knew how bad she was struggling with math. 

Rich Bennett 15:49
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 15:49
I had a math test that she actually did in my purse and it was a 40%. And I pulled it out and I said, Oh, like this test here. The one that she got a 40%. They don't have like a leg to stand on, you know. But you're. You know, these. These 

Rich Bennett 16:02
These 

Kerry Paradis 16:03
parents, 

Rich Bennett 16:03
parents. 

Kerry Paradis 16:03
these. 

Rich Bennett 16:03
These poor parents are. 

Kerry Paradis 16:04
Like, look, 

Rich Bennett 16:04
Looking for an advocate. 

Kerry Paradis 16:05
the kids 

Rich Bennett 16:05
So 

Kerry Paradis 16:05
are. They're 

Rich Bennett 16:05
they're 

Kerry Paradis 16:05
paying. 

Rich Bennett 16:05
paying for an advocate. 

Kerry Paradis 16:07
Then like they're not getting what they need out of that advocate. 

Rich Bennett 16:10
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 16:11
The resources that they need and they're paying all this money. I mean, we paid like 20 $500. Didn't get anywhere with one of the advocates. 

Rich Bennett 16:16
Jesus. 

Kerry Paradis 16:17
And then we wind up coming across. Someone had recommended Mary Siebert to us and you can get Grant for it. 

Rich Bennett 16:25
I knew that name. 

Kerry Paradis 16:26
She. Well, she's she's the bulldog of. 

Rich Bennett 16:28
Okay. She said she 

Kerry Paradis 16:31
It 

Rich Bennett 16:31
is. 

Kerry Paradis 16:31
is a special woman. She's like the bulldog of Harvard County for being an advocate and. 

Rich Bennett 16:37
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 16:38
She wants to retire, but she's got all these kids. She's in her seventies and she's like, I just can't wait. 

Rich Bennett 16:44
Really? 

Kerry Paradis 16:45
Yeah. She walked in the room. They were all just in their face. 

Rich Bennett 16:49
I know. 

Kerry Paradis 16:49
Tell. 

Rich Bennett 16:50
We got a 

Kerry Paradis 16:51
A 

Rich Bennett 16:51
new. 

Kerry Paradis 16:51
new advocate she's going to become. 

Rich Bennett 16:53
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 16:54
Go. Do you want to do it at Zoom? No, We're coming in like we're. 

Rich Bennett 16:57
I love it. Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 16:59
I could do this. There's a zoo, and we're talking about my child's education. 

Rich Bennett 17:02
Yeah, I remember 

Kerry Paradis 17:02
Remember go into that meeting 

Rich Bennett 17:03
the 

Kerry Paradis 17:03
after 

Rich Bennett 17:03
Adderall 

Kerry Paradis 17:04
all the COVID stuff and 

Rich Bennett 17:05
going 

Kerry Paradis 17:05
going in 

Rich Bennett 17:05
in 

Kerry Paradis 17:05
there 

Rich Bennett 17:05
there. 

Kerry Paradis 17:05
and they're like, well, this is our like our first meeting, like after COVID, the exact first one in person. Okay, we'll get it together. It's like, this is your job, Like you teaching our children, like our education, like this is. 

Rich Bennett 17:16
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 17:17
Into me to make sure she gets her services. Like if we want to have a meeting in person, like that's what we're going to have to do here, you know? 

Rich Bennett 17:24
Just. 

Kerry Paradis 17:24
Just interesting to see the dynamics of like Mary, you know, Mary Seeber being there at Mary Jo. Sorry. Let me get her name right. Mary Jo Siebert being there and like, you know, the principal and assistant principal, which then wound up leaving that school, which that was real fun after all that happened in my. At those services. But, you know, that's okay. Like, no hard feelings. You know, it just I have to do what I have to do for my job. 

Rich Bennett 17:48
Yep. 

Kerry Paradis 17:48
Like I got to fight for my kid. And you can't. You can't judge me or hate on me because I'm trying to do what's best for my child. That's it. I mean, that's all I was trying to do. And thank God I was sober for all that, though, because, Wolf, I. That. Would that test? No. 

Rich Bennett 18:03
All this stuff, you know, actually with you, because with you working for ACR and you've got a lot of non-profits around for recovery, do you know of any any room for Asperger's? There's groups, but. 

Kerry Paradis 18:17
But there there was a facility that was supposed to be open in Bel Air and then, like, they couldn't get enough attendants. And so. 

Rich Bennett 18:23
Really? 

Kerry Paradis 18:24
KNAPP Yeah, but I do believe there is a new 

Rich Bennett 18:27
Who 

Kerry Paradis 18:27
place 

Rich Bennett 18:27
plays it? 

Kerry Paradis 18:28
I just opened in Abington. I saw it on on the Facebook business page. I can't think of the name right off the top of my head right now. And for. 

Rich Bennett 18:36
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 18:37
But, you know, the other thing with that is you got to be make sure that they take insurance, because then if they're. 

Rich Bennett 18:42
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 18:42
Your insurance, then 

Rich Bennett 18:43
You're. 

Kerry Paradis 18:43
you're paying out of pocket for these services. I mean, the amount of money that Chad and I paid for her to have all these services like, you know, you're paying for private speech and then you have speech in the school because you're trying to knock it all out. So I we had a private. 

Rich Bennett 18:55
I have a therapist 

Kerry Paradis 18:56
That 

Rich Bennett 18:56
that. 

Kerry Paradis 18:56
will come to the House. She had speech at the school. 

Rich Bennett 18:58
And insurance doesn't cover a lot. 

Kerry Paradis 19:00
Now you're. 

Rich Bennett 19:01
What? 

Kerry Paradis 19:02
Yeah. And then. And then, you know. With the insurance, like covering those doctor bills like in Mount Washington is. 

Rich Bennett 19:07
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 19:09
The medical bills from that, you know. But you got to do what you got to do. 

Rich Bennett 19:13
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 19:14
Make it work and figure it out. Well, yeah. Then you know, we had lot. 

Spatulas and then, you know, you're paying for a tutor. I mean, it was a lot. 

Rich Bennett 19:24
It's just a damn shame that the insurers insurance won't cover a lot of that. 

Kerry Paradis 19:28
They covered, they covered the medical side of it, but nothing when it came to like this. 

Rich Bennett 19:32
But even the tutor, because that's part to me, that's like therapy. 

Kerry Paradis 19:36
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:36
That's that's helping them learn. That should be covered. 

Kerry Paradis 19:40
You had the therapy. Some of the therapy that we had put her in. 

Rich Bennett 19:45
But not all of it. 

Kerry Paradis 19:46
But not all of. 

Rich Bennett 19:47
There. 

Kerry Paradis 19:48
And then if you wanted to go see like a special therapist, you know, somebody recommends like a. It works really well. You know, children with Asperger's and then they don't accept insurance. Will you still want your child to go see her? Like, what are you going to. 

Rich Bennett 19:59
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 20:00
It out, you know. But I just wanted to make, you know, the community more aware of like, you can't give up. 

Rich Bennett 20:07
No, no, absolutely not. 

Kerry Paradis 20:08
And, you know, it will come to a point where you will decide what's best for your family. Your kid can get the services from, you know, the school system and everything could be completely fine. You know, I know plenty of children that have gotten their services and been very successful through school, but that early intervention and advocating for your child is just so, so important. And I mean, if you guys could see Aria now, I mean, she's just thriving. 

Rich Bennett 20:31
She has her speech now. Very good. She. 

Kerry Paradis 20:34
She's doing really good. It's really. 

Rich Bennett 20:37
That's also. 

Kerry Paradis 20:38
Yeah. And how she manages her ADHD, you know. 

Rich Bennett 20:42
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 20:42
I know that she's taking medicine, but at the same time, the maturity really helps with all that. You know, having 

Rich Bennett 20:49
Having to 

Kerry Paradis 20:49
the Asperger's 

Rich Bennett 20:49
ask 

Kerry Paradis 20:50
and then, you know, having the ADHD, 

Rich Bennett 20:52
any. 

Kerry Paradis 20:53
which is common. Or navigate that. It is very common to have both navigate that and understand it and just talk to her about it like. 

Rich Bennett 21:02
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 21:03
Younger, You couldn't really communicate with her because she couldn't talk well. But now that she's older and you can talk to her, you just ask her. Just like a normal conversation that I'd have with you. Like, What's wrong? 

Rich Bennett 21:12
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 21:13
What's bothering you? Like, why are you getting all upset? Why are you getting off stressed out? Are you getting frustrated? And I mean, it could be as simple as I'm hungry. I'm hungry. You know, It's like, okay, let's get something to eat. It's like something so tiny like that. They will make such a big deal about it because they can't handle that stress. 

Rich Bennett 21:27
Hmm. 

Kerry Paradis 21:28
They get really overwhelmed and stressed very easily. And so just keeping her calm, you know, and just talking to her and having eye contact and just making sure that she knows that like everything's going to be okay. You know, she she you know how I said she likes to go by the beat of her own drum? It's like Aria's way, you know, And 

Rich Bennett 21:45
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 21:45
it. You know, you're ten. You know I'm 43. You know, Mommy Does I? You've made it ten years on this earth, right? I'll say to her kidding around or something. 

Rich Bennett 21:54
And 

Kerry Paradis 21:55
Or 

Rich Bennett 21:55
we're 

Kerry Paradis 21:55
like, 

Rich Bennett 21:55
like, Mom. 

Kerry Paradis 21:55
Mommy's made it 43 years. And these are. 

Rich Bennett 21:57
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 21:58
Like it's okay. 

Rich Bennett 21:59
Like that. 

Kerry Paradis 22:00
Telling you something because we might have an idea. Honey, we. 

Rich Bennett 22:03
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 22:04
You know, but they are really set in their ways. 

Rich Bennett 22:06
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 22:07
Like their way or the highway. And there are no like budget on that. So it's interesting to see now, like so being so particular, like I was doing her hair the other day and I didn't have a pink hair tie. And as I was doing her hair, I was like, This is going to be a problem. It's going to be a little bit of a meltdown. It's going to be a situation. And I was like. I don't have a pink hair tie. And she was like, And that's okay, Mommy. That's okay. Like that is right that it's okay, honey. And she would just also like she would do things like throughout, you know, her growing up and people will come over to us and be like, you know, she's really special, right? And. Random people like, you know, if we would be down the beach and there's like another family, they come over and they're like, Your daughter lives Incredible. But your daughter, she is really special. And there's something with her that is just something so special about her. And, you know, that's why I can't wait to see, like, what happens in her future, because she is. She is. 

Rich Bennett 23:03
What's one of the things that she loves to do? 

Kerry Paradis 23:05
She loves art. She loves. 

Rich Bennett 23:06
Really? Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 23:07
She loves to draw. She loves music. Not much of a team sport player. We went down that route. We tried lacrosse, soccer. She does love. She does love art so much. We did some cooking classes with her. 

Rich Bennett 23:24
Oh. 

Kerry Paradis 23:25
Like the gymnastics because she's creative. 

Rich Bennett 23:27
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 23:28
Be creative. And so this fall, we're going to get her into running because it's just. 

Rich Bennett 23:33
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 23:34
Other independent. 

Rich Bennett 23:35
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 23:36
And swimming and so. Pumped. She can't wait. And let me tell you something. If you tell Aria you're going to do something for her. Oh, you're doing it. If 

Rich Bennett 23:43
You 

Kerry Paradis 23:43
you 

Rich Bennett 23:43
like. 

Kerry Paradis 23:43
like it, we're going to get you a new bathing suit for it. She will talk to you about that bathing suit until she's got five of them. And then you'll buy her five bathing suits and she wants more. Like she was so into the. 

Rich Bennett 23:55
She's gotta love where you're living now that she's done 

Kerry Paradis 23:59
Got markers, you know, times markers. I can't even tell you. She's got more markers than any kid out there. She's got so many markers and it's never enough. And like, that's one of the things with Asperger's is, like, never enough. 

Rich Bennett 24:10
right. 

Kerry Paradis 24:10
And so there's a concern, you know, and like I've told Chad this and you being in the field that I'm in is like, you have to recognize that behavior because it's addictive behavior. Somebody you're buying 125 markers for and then they want more markers. That is a that's a sign. 

Rich Bennett 24:24
There. 

Kerry Paradis 24:25
You know. And so you have to be aware of that because it's never enough. They always want more, you know, and that is a red flag and that's very common. And being in the field that I'm in, you see that when you're working with these people who. 

Rich Bennett 24:37
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 24:38
They have ADHD, they have Asperger's, they have these, you know, things that when they use drugs or they drink, they feel like other people. They feel normal, like other people. So then they drink and drug and then it's a whole snowball. 

Rich Bennett 24:51
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 24:52
So I think in a really positive way, you know, it's really good that, you know, I work in that field now. 

Rich Bennett 24:57
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 24:58
Now that I am sober and I'm present and I recognize all of it because I see it, you know, I see it firsthand in the community. And then when she's acting that certain way, that's a that's a behavior that she. 

Rich Bennett 25:09
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 25:10
That's going to, you know, could turn out in a negative way if you don't correct it. You know, and just talking about it, you know, just like we all do with our, you know, our AA meetings, like, you know, make sure you're talking about your issues, make sure you're talking about your problems, you know, reaching out to people. It's the same. Things are like sitting down with her at the kitchen table and just talking to her normal and asking her is good. Does a girl it's a makes a huge difference just to just talk to her like a normal person. 

Rich Bennett 25:34
So how many more parents do you know that have kids with Asperger's? 

Kerry Paradis 25:38
There's. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And not just that, just in general, the IEP, you know, they need to have that 

Rich Bennett 25:44
From 

Kerry Paradis 25:44
I. 

Rich Bennett 25:44
around here. 

Kerry Paradis 25:45
Yeah. So like I remember with when the process started, like we would just be on the soccer field and like, parents would come over and be like, Hey, you know, I heard, you know. 

Rich Bennett 25:53
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 25:54
Having trouble with his IEP. My son has an IEP or like I can get my daughter and IEP and sometimes they would be like seven or eight years old, right? And because 

Rich Bennett 26:01
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 26:01
he. 

Rich Bennett 26:02
This. 

Kerry Paradis 26:02
Zippy when she was younger and it's like, you know, three years old when she goes into the school system. And now you have parents who did didn't know. 

Rich Bennett 26:09
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 26:10
Kept the child fine and didn't get him in the school system at three. And now they're kids, you know, eight. And now they can't get this IEP because they didn't get it when they were younger because there's so many children that need it. 

Rich Bennett 26:20
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 26:20
How many children in need, especially after COVID? I mean, the delay of their learning is across the board, right? It doesn't matter if you have Asperger's or anything. It's just in general, kids are being. 

Rich Bennett 26:32
Behind. 

Kerry Paradis 26:32
Right. 

Rich Bennett 26:33
Mm. Ah. 

Kerry Paradis 26:34
Are paying for tutors, paying for private school, doing all these extra things because they're behind, because 

Rich Bennett 26:40
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 26:40
they're just like you said, they're just pushing them through. And you know, when you're talking. I mean, education is so important. It's like, are we missing the big picture here? Like, listen, I could never be a teacher. Okay? 

Rich Bennett 26:51
Yeah, so much credit to people who are teachers I mean or has been so. 

Kerry Paradis 26:56
Blessed to have some of the best teachers and we're so. 

Rich Bennett 26:59
The fortunate. 

Kerry Paradis 27:00
But you know, some kids aren't fortunate and. 

Rich Bennett 27:02
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 27:03
Teachers and they have teachers that don't care or just push them through, you know, And that's a problem. 

Rich Bennett 27:09
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 27:09
Dressed because it's like you're not doing anything about it. What? Like we know there's an issue. What's the solution? Like, why are we going to keep doing this round and round? Merry go round. 

Rich Bennett 27:20
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 27:21
Education. Is anyone going to change it? Like you have to stand up for your child's education or they're just going to keep going and pushing them through and. 

Rich Bennett 27:30
Yeah. It's a damn shame. It is a shame. 

Kerry Paradis 27:31
It really is. And you know, the whole thing. 

Rich Bennett 27:35
With COVID. 

Kerry Paradis 27:37
Was so terrible for everybody. But children really suffer the most from 

Rich Bennett 27:41
Oh, big time. 

Kerry Paradis 27:42
Really. 

Rich Bennett 27:42
Big time. 

Kerry Paradis 27:44
The social aspect, you know, being behind, then coming back to school. Then they shut down again and then they went back again. I mean, it was just. 

Rich Bennett 27:54
We've talked about it before because addiction went up. Your the mental health crisis went up. Suicide went up and. It's not on the decline right now because now you have the COVID babies, too. Well, not yet. They're still young. But I mean, you're see, it still affected a lot of people and still is 

Kerry Paradis 28:17
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 28:17
because a lot of those young kids, you took away their social activity and now a lot of them don't know how to. Yeah, It's. 

Kerry Paradis 28:27
And 

Rich Bennett 28:27
It's. 

Kerry Paradis 28:27
then there's. Just like I didn't go back to school. Right. 

Rich Bennett 28:29
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 28:30
You know what? I'd rather just learn from him. So then they just, you know, did homeschooling or, you know, did it on the computers and then look at that like they didn't get to graduate, they didn't get to go to prom, that is. 

Rich Bennett 28:39
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 28:40
Are things like the high schoolers. 

Rich Bennett 28:41
Yep. 

Kerry Paradis 28:42
You know, and it's just a real shame. And I think that it needs to be talked about more, I think. 

Rich Bennett 28:48
Yep. 

Kerry Paradis 28:49
It needs to pull together and make a change of that. I know they're looking to put a trade school here, I think over in Edgewood. I heard. 

Rich Bennett 28:57
Oh, really? Okay. They just need to bring the change back into the schools, 

Kerry Paradis 29:01
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 29:01
period. I mean, when I went to school, we had wood shop, metal shop and all that. You know, they need to bring all that back. 

Okay. I want to ask you this, because this is something that everybody I've talked to, I really never asked this question, and I should. But was your daughter. What's one of the biggest things you learned? Not about her, but from her? 

Kerry Paradis 29:27
Patients. 

Rich Bennett 29:29
Really? Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 29:31
I mean, I've always had pretty good patients because I photograph newborns. 

Rich Bennett 29:34
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 29:35
But understanding her. 

Rich Bennett 29:36
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 29:37
You know, getting upset and yelling doesn't work. 

Rich Bennett 29:40
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 29:42
So just kind of taking a deep breath and like having that composure. And then just like I said, just talking to her like normal. What a difference. 

Rich Bennett 29:48
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 29:49
Listen, we're all parents. We all get frustrated. We all have our moments, right? You know, I'm not No one to judge, but. 

Rich Bennett 29:54
Right now. 

Kerry Paradis 29:56
You know, a neighbor and you're yelling your kids running down the street and you're trying to get him in the car and your neighbors like, Hey, you look like a crazy person. Like you get in the car. You know, it can be hectic sometimes. But the biggest thing I learned from her is perseverance, because she never gives up. She never does. 

Rich Bennett 30:13
I love that. 

Kerry Paradis 30:13
She just keeps going at it. And it's pretty incredible to see her now. Like she just wants to learn like. 

Rich Bennett 30:21
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 30:22
Kayaking this weekend. Right. And she hadn't really been in. And I'm showing her how to do it and she's really wants to learn it. 

Rich Bennett 30:29
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 30:30
Show me how to do it. And it's like, okay. And so I'm doing it with her, with her paddle and her she's doing it at the same time. And then we have like, a thing like my daughter, my older daughter, Alana was like one, Was this the right side? And two is the left side. So it was like one, one, two. And then like, you know, the. 

Rich Bennett 30:46
Uh huh. 

Kerry Paradis 30:47
We're like two, two, one. And Ari got it. And I was like, Man, And I like playing soccer. You know, she used to play soccer for in Brazil. And she just get the ball and score. She doesn't want to be a team player. She just wants to take the ball and go, you know, but that's you do it. You got to just teach her, you know, she just needs to be coach. But when Ari doesn't want to do something, she don't want to do it. She's she's done. Like when I said that beat of her own drum, she's like, I'm not playing soccer. I don't want to do anything to do it. 

Down soccer. She did horseback riding, lacrosse. We did art classes, cooking classes. I'm not really feeling that cooking anymore. I'm like, Okay. Like, she's like. But it's good. Like let. 

Rich Bennett 31:32
Then she does gymnastics? Or is that your other daughter? 

Kerry Paradis 31:35
Gymnastics, they boasted gymnast. 

Rich Bennett 31:36
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 31:37
Quite a few years when they were younger. But now Alana plays soccer and then. 

Rich Bennett 31:42
Okay. 

Kerry Paradis 31:42
To be doing the swimming and running. I'm sure that's going to be. 

Rich Bennett 31:46
You know, you know, it's going to be one of the next things dance. 

Kerry Paradis 31:49
Now we're not. Now we're past the dance. I missed it. Thank God. 

Rich Bennett 31:52
Oh, okay. 

Actually, I. 

Kerry Paradis 31:57
Credit. 

Over. I My gosh. Now. 

Rich Bennett 32:02
Our kitchen 

Kerry Paradis 32:03
And 

Rich Bennett 32:03
together. 

Kerry Paradis 32:03
together we 

Rich Bennett 32:03
We 

Kerry Paradis 32:04
got 

Rich Bennett 32:04
got 

Kerry Paradis 32:04
it. 

Rich Bennett 32:04
it. 

Kerry Paradis 32:04
Okay. We're good. Yeah. They would have probably got into that when they were like, you know, five, six. We I think we missed it. Chad and I are like, I think we missed it. You know, He was like, okay, 

Rich Bennett 32:13
Now, 

Kerry Paradis 32:13
we're. 

Rich Bennett 32:13
you said she likes music. Does she like playing music or just listening to it? 

Kerry Paradis 32:19
She just like is listening to it right now. She's going into fifth grade, so. The instrument might come out well. 

Rich Bennett 32:25
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 32:27
Sometimes her coordination is not, you know, where it would need to be, but you never know, right? She surprises us every single day. I mean. 

Rich Bennett 32:34
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 32:35
That goes by and she's so witty and like, when you. Think she's listening. Oh, she's listening. And she'll. 

Rich Bennett 32:40
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 32:42
You know. Oh, that was exceptional. And. 

She'll say something and it's like the perfect word fits with whatever word. 

Rich Bennett 32:52
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 32:53
And we're like, Where did that come from? Like, she's smarter than all of us really is, but she thinks we're a bunch of idiots. She's like, You people have no idea. I know more than any of you, you know. 

Rich Bennett 33:02
Oh, God. 

Kerry Paradis 33:03
Differently now. And that's why they have 

Rich Bennett 33:05
Have 

Kerry Paradis 33:05
to. 

Rich Bennett 33:05
to be taught differently. Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 33:07
In smaller classrooms and in. 

Rich Bennett 33:08
There's just. 

Kerry Paradis 33:09
You know, everybody takes a different way, you know, And it's just you got to you know, you got to figure out what makes your child tick and just advocate for that. 

Rich Bennett 33:16
Mhm. 

Kerry Paradis 33:16
Sure that, you know, you're 

Rich Bennett 33:18
You're 

Kerry Paradis 33:18
just 

Rich Bennett 33:18
just trying 

Kerry Paradis 33:18
trying to 

Rich Bennett 33:18
to 

Kerry Paradis 33:18
do the best job you can for them because you're the parent. You know, they 

Rich Bennett 33:22
they 

Kerry Paradis 33:22
got 

Rich Bennett 33:22
got. 

Kerry Paradis 33:22
all these other children and it's hard for the teachers and for the school system to keep up with it. So you have to advocate for your child. I mean, that's. 

Rich Bennett 33:30
Then you guys are doing an awesome job. 

Kerry Paradis 33:33
Yeah, she. 

Rich Bennett 33:33
I mean. 

Kerry Paradis 33:34
Gosh, I 

Rich Bennett 33:34
I 

Kerry Paradis 33:34
should. 

Rich Bennett 33:34
should have you meet her. 

Kerry Paradis 33:35
Her. You would love her. She's, um. Everyone's. 

Rich Bennett 33:36
It's always like that. 

Kerry Paradis 33:38
A thing like and would 

Rich Bennett 33:39
She could sit here with us on an episode and join in. She was. Oh, she should probably take over. 

Kerry Paradis 33:44
take over. 

Rich Bennett 33:45
Okay, that's funny. I've had it happen before with kids. 

Kerry Paradis 33:49
I remember, you know, Chad and I, we would like say like certain things or whatever. And the R.A., she would just, you know, be so witty and just like, know it and say it or. 

Rich Bennett 34:01
Mm. 

Kerry Paradis 34:02
It's kind of like, you know, shock and surprise, you know, and it's like every single day it's something new. It's like she she's never it's never a dull moment, you know? 

Rich Bennett 34:13
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 34:13
You know, and it's like kids are kids, too, right? You know, don't have expectations and you won't be disappointed, really. I mean, like, people have all these expectations and then they're disappointed. It's like, look, just live in the moment. Just enjoy the day. 

Rich Bennett 34:26
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 34:26
Just try to live your life the best you can and do the best you can as a parent and have your child go along on the journey with you. I mean, that's really all you can do. And we we had an experience. She was four and L.A. was six. And, you know, as a parent, you know, I take her kids to Disney World. And I remember when we got on the on the bus, we had breakfast in the morning and it was like $25 waffles. And I was like, this is going to be good. 

Rich Bennett 34:53
Damn. 

Kerry Paradis 34:56
She threw up all over the table and I didn't even know what to do. I just took the train, just like threw it in the trash can. And we get on this bus and it is hot. You know, I'm one of those crazy moms that, like, went spring break because we were going to go to Florida and see my my parents afterwards. And it's so hot. We're the second to last people to get on this bus and we get on. There's no air conditioning. It's so hot. 

Rich Bennett 35:17
Oh, God. 

Kerry Paradis 35:18
And R.A. just starts throwing up all over Chad, and he. 

Rich Bennett 35:20
Oh. 

Kerry Paradis 35:22
Trying to catch it in a shirt. 

Rich Bennett 35:23
Oh, God. 

Kerry Paradis 35:24
And this is before COVID. So people were actually friendly and. 

Rich Bennett 35:27
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 35:28
Energizer and stuff, and we get off there. I mean, we look like crazy people. We have my husband has no shirt. He has no shirt. Security guard wants to take us back to our resort. We're like, No, we have a ride at the Fastpass, at the fast pass, whatever it was called. What is. What is? 

Rich Bennett 35:44
I don't know. I'm the. 

Kerry Paradis 35:46
Dale there were that. What is it when you think it's a fast pass where you don't have to wait in line? 

Rich Bennett 35:52
Okay. Almost like an easy pass for the tolls, but it's a fast pass to go. Gotcha. 

Wait. 

Kerry Paradis 35:59
Lines. We had like one at like 1020 in the morning and it was all the way in the back of the park because you start at the back my. 

Rich Bennett 36:04
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 36:05
Really in the Disney World and help me plan the trip. And so here we are walking thousands of people walking to Disney World. I didn't have expectations, but I did think we would walk into Disney World as a family and see the Magic Kingdom just. 

Rich Bennett 36:17
Right. 

Kerry Paradis 36:18
I mean, just something little. 

Rich Bennett 36:19
No. 

Kerry Paradis 36:19
Now. 

Chad's with Ariana's shirt, waiting outside and I'm going into the Emporium gift shop to get a shirts and all, everything. And I walk in and I just start crying. And the lady is like, Oh, it's okay, how can I help you? She's like, throwing up. And she's like, It's okay. Like, she gives me, like, shirts and my hand sanitizer waves and says, This is on Mickey. And I'm just like, all. 

Rich Bennett 36:41
Oh, wow. 

Kerry Paradis 36:43
Well, they don't want you to leave, and you know they don't. 

Rich Bennett 36:45
Well, yeah, they were. Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 36:47
Two grand there that day. And we walk out and the security guard comes over. He's like, Mrs. Paradise. And I was like, Yeah, He's like, I have your husband and daughter over in the gift shop. And I gave him free shirts and I was like, You don't have to do that. They already did that. And he was like, And here's free face passes. You can ride the rides all day and not wait in lines there. 

Rich Bennett 37:05
While. 

Kerry Paradis 37:06
Dad, Mom and Dad. You hear that? You just have your kid throw up on you. 

Rich Bennett 37:11
Oh, no. 

Kerry Paradis 37:12
Oh. Lions because it was crazy. Like Chad and I were like, Are these people really waiting two and a half hours in line to go on a go cart? 

Rich Bennett 37:19
Uh huh. 

Kerry Paradis 37:20
Your young children. You're waiting two and a half hours. How are you doing that? Like, how were you waiting two and a half hours in a line in the hot heat? To go and to go pack. The place is a zoo, right? That's why you should go in October. Needless to say, we are not Disney World people. We do not. We're not doing Disney anymore. But it was a great experience. And I tell you, Ari was in this phase that that at that age where she would do this thing with her nose, where she would, like, scrunch it up. And I've never seen our daughter smile so big. I mean, she's literally in this magic kingdom, right? Because, you know, my girlfriend's like, Oh, you got to have the Magic Kingdom lunch with the princesses. 

That great idea. 

Rich Bennett 37:59
She's sitting here in the. 

Kerry Paradis 38:00
Her autograph book and her pen. And she's like, She smiles and says. 

Rich Bennett 38:03
Oh, God. 

Kerry Paradis 38:05
And it was all worth it to me because 

Rich Bennett 38:06
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 38:07
that, you 

Rich Bennett 38:07
Just seeing the smile alone. 

Kerry Paradis 38:08
just. 

Rich Bennett 38:09
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 38:10
You know, and like you can never replace that Not. And it was just it was so worth it. And then we did you know, we did the animal kingdom for Alana because she kind of. Thing. But yeah, I mean, you know, getting them outside, you know, they'd love to be outside. So getting those kids outside is so big, especially for. 

Rich Bennett 38:27
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 38:28
You know, they like to explore, you know, their brains are constantly, you know, moving. So it's like, you know, Disneyworld was probably like heaven for her. She was like, this is like. 

Rich Bennett 38:38
And I'm. Yeah, I'm glad I never. 

Kerry Paradis 38:41
I'm like this 

Rich Bennett 38:42
Went there because 

Kerry Paradis 38:42
for. Well, 

Rich Bennett 38:43
my daughter got scared of Chucky Cheese 

Kerry Paradis 38:45
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 38:46
and she was all Mickey Mouse. She would have freaked out 

about it. 

Kerry Paradis 38:51
she did. 

Rich Bennett 38:51
Wow. 

Kerry Paradis 38:52
Did she really talk? She really took to it. It was really special. So I can see why. Parents. 

Rich Bennett 38:57
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 38:58
Love to go there, but man, you got to take like, a second mortgage on your. 

Rich Bennett 39:04
And my neighbors go at least once a year. 

Kerry Paradis 39:07
Lot of people who go all the time. I know. I don't know. They must have a. Tourism 

Rich Bennett 39:11
I don't know. I mean, I went there one time, but it wasn't for me to go into Disney World. Even though we stayed at, I guess, the resort. 

Kerry Paradis 39:19
spring. 

Rich Bennett 39:19
There's no I don't know. It was a me and a buddy of mine. We went down for the Viper Nationals in 96. 

Kerry Paradis 39:25
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 39:25
And Chrysler put it on and we stayed there. And then Planet Hollywood, when that was the thing, but never went inside the park for anything. Because the whole time we're down there, it's just you're either racing, eating. 

Kerry Paradis 39:41
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 39:41
Yeah, whatever. So I saw the Beach Boys. That was pretty 1200 is like 1200 people there. 

Kerry Paradis 39:47
When you have kids with you either. So. 

Rich Bennett 39:49
Well, my daughter wasn't born yet, but my son was because my son was big into at the time. Hercules and. 

Kerry Paradis 39:56
Oh, okay. 

Rich Bennett 39:57
Who is the Pumbaa? The Lion King? 

Kerry Paradis 39:59
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 40:00
Oh, yeah. So he was big, but no, he wasn't. He wasn't with me. 

Kerry Paradis 40:04
with you? 

Rich Bennett 40:04
No, it was me and a friend of mine that went down 

Kerry Paradis 40:08
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 40:08
at all. But. 

Kerry Paradis 40:09
So, yeah, he's not there. 

Rich Bennett 40:11
My son's been there before. I think he liked it. 

Kerry Paradis 40:13
Yeah. Well, you and your buddy aren't going to go to Disney World together, okay? 

Rich Bennett 40:17
No. 

Kerry Paradis 40:17
Now, Right. 

Rich Bennett 40:18
Do you know Lulu? Yeah. Actually, I got some homework for you now. 

Kerry Paradis 40:23
Okay. Oh, boy. 

Rich Bennett 40:26
Easy if they're interested. I want you to talk to some other people. There have kids with Asperger's. Maybe get three or four more and let's do a roundtable discussion about it, because. Because everybody's experience is different. Yeah, absolutely. 

Kerry Paradis 40:41
And it doesn't even have to just be Asperger's. It could just be, you know, delay speech, DeLay like. 

Rich Bennett 40:46
Well, anything autism, too? Yeah, 

Kerry Paradis 40:49
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 40:49
yeah, yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 40:50
A learning disability. 

Rich Bennett 40:51
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 40:51
And just say across the board learning disability. 

Rich Bennett 40:53
I'm going to be keeping you busy a lot. And I. 

Kerry Paradis 40:56
I like. I like to stay busy. 

Rich Bennett 41:00
Me too. 

Kerry Paradis 41:01
Busy. 

Rich Bennett 41:01
Me Do you have anything to add, Kerry? 

Kerry Paradis 41:03
No, no. I just really appreciate you having me on the show. And, you know, hopefully I, you know, gave some advice to some parents that might be, you know. 

Rich Bennett 41:10
I learned a lot. 

Kerry Paradis 41:12
Looking for, you know, an ally to get their kids some resources, you know, because that early intervention is so. 

Rich Bennett 41:19
Yeah. 

Kerry Paradis 41:20
Jordan. 

Rich Bennett 41:21
And actually those of you listening, if you have any questions about it, then just contact me and let me know. And that way, when we do it again, because be better. Like we have a group of people, I can bring the questions up and we can discuss it. 

Kerry Paradis 41:36
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 41:36
So. 

Kerry Paradis 41:36
that'd be great. 

Rich Bennett 41:37
Sounds good to me. Okay, 

Kerry Paradis 41:38
Okay, cool. 

Rich Bennett 41:38
cool. Thanks, Carrie.