Born with dwarfism, Becky Curran has made it her life’s mission to represent her community and advocate for many others dealing with disabilities. There are only 65,000 little people in the United States; there are over 300 types of dwarfism. Unfortunately, little people are faced with a combination of negative perceptions built by the media and often find themselves living apart from the general population. Becky seeks to change all that by showcasing her own achievements in the show business industry. She spent several years working in the Equity and Inclusion department at the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ( SAG-AFTRA) and currently serves as Employment Chair of Little People of America. As a motivational speaker and advocate for inclusion, Becky strives to teach acceptance while educating and motivating all people to establish goals and work hard to accomplish them.

On today’s episode, a conversation about writing and journalism with acclaimed novelist John DeDakis. John’s journalistic career is impressive with him serving as a White House correspondent during the Reagan years and as a top tier staffer for the “Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” at CNN. These days, along with writing and publishing successful mystery novels, John is a motivational speaker, educator, writing coach and certified grief educator. We share John’s insights on the state of journalism today and how writing as a therapeutic tool can be life changing.

Today we welcome Jennifer Kaufman, educator, advocate, speaker and the grandmother of a child with autism. Jennifer is here to offer insights from her book, “Grandparents on the Spectrum: A Journey from Both Sides of the Desk.” Jennifer speaks to the people who are closest to autism but often feel the least equipped – grandparents who want to help but don’t know how, and first responders who need practical tools, not theory. She is a leading voice in the autism community offering support and love to people across the country, as well as her own family.