242:A Daughter's PCHD19, Autism + Epilepsy Diagnosis: The motivation behind the connected parent-Julie's Story

"I had to teach myself to advocate – no one should leave a hospital with more trauma than they came with."- Julie Walters

We extend our sincere gratitude to our sponsor for this episode, Gebauer PainEase®. We are pleased to provide more information about this product, and we invite you to learn more by visiting their website.

In this episode, Katie speaks with Julie Walters, a mom of two neurodivergent children, entrepreneur, and fierce advocate for inclusion and health equity.Julie shares her deeply personal journey navigating her daughter's epilepsy diagnosis, the challenges of parenting through complex medical experiences and how these experiences led her to create The Connected Parent – a resource hub empowering families to find critical services for children with medical complexities or neurodivergence. Julie's story is one of strength, determination and advocacy. 

Key Takeaways we learn from Julie and Katie's Conversation:

✨ Becoming an Advocate Early:
Julie's passion for advocacy began in childhood, growing up with a mother who had schizoaffective disorder. She learned how to find resources through persistence and necessity.

💡 Navigating Medical Crises as a Parent:
Julie recounts the night she discovered her daughter’s epilepsy through a life-saving baby monitor alert and the emotional toll of multiple seizures, hospital stays, and sleepless nights at the PICU.

🩺 Parent-to-Parent Support:
During one of the hardest times in the hospital, another mom introduced Julie to epilepsy resources – reinforcing the power of community and shared experiences.

🌐 Creating The Connected Parent:
Julie’s frustration with the lack of easily accessible resources for medical and neurodivergent families led her to create The Connected Parent, a platform like Yelp for finding therapists, schools, camps, and more.

👩‍👧 Involving Her Daughter in the Mission:
Julie's daughter, Violet, plays an active role in the platform – from Instagram content to product ideas. Her participation highlights the importance of empowerment and shared purpose.

Links & Resources:
🔗 The Connected Parent: Visit TheConnectedParent.net

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🎙️Meet the host: 

Katie Taylor is the co-founder and CEO of Child Life On Call, a digital platform designed to provide parents, kids, and the care team with access to child life services tools and resources. She is a certified child life specialist with over 13 years of experience working in various pediatric healthcare settings. Katie is the author of the children's book, and has presented on the topics of child life and entrepreneurship, psychosocial care in the hospital, and supporting caregivers in the NICU setting both nationally and internationally. She is also the host of the Child Life On Call Podcast which features interviews with parents discussing their experiences throughout their child's medical journey. The podcast emphasizes the crucial role of child life services in enabling caregivers both at and beyond the bedside.

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