Transcript of Sonia Hebden: When Hope Wins: Parenting Autism, Trauma, Mental Illness, and Finding the Light Again

Lisa, tell them about our new show.

We have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me.

I'm Lexi Ioannou. We're 2 best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart.

And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions. And at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all.

Now in my 30s, being the founder of New Shoes, good taste is my business.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast, the true crime comedy podcast all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on an amazing guest.

Ooh, I scammed them.

What?

I could talk to you for an hour.

You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, this is Kylie Breakman.

Angela Giarratana.

Jeremy Culhane.

Patrick McDonald.

And we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists podcast.

The improvised character comedy podcast where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft.

Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants.

And we do a little Halloween sometimes.

Does the Pope dress up?

He, he winks on Halloween.

He gets right up next to the microphone.

You can—

I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hitting You never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween.

Listen to Artist on Artist on Artist on Artist every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On Big Lives, we take a single cultural icon—

People like Jane Fonda, George Michael, Little Richard.

And we pull apart the story behind the image, discovering forgotten interviews that change exactly how we see these giants of our culture.

We're here for the messy, the brilliant, the human version of our heroes.

I'm Emmanuel Jochi.

I'm Kai Wright.

And this is Big Lives.

Listen to Big Lives on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The new NFL season is here, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 61. It is in the name, NFL Daily. You'll have fresh content in your feed every day, all season long. That game-winning drive, maybe it's Herbert, maybe it's Geno, maybe it's Mahomes. We'll have the highlights. If Fernando Mendoza or any of those rookies are balling out, we'll break down the tape. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and an all-star cast of co-hosts as we preview and recap every game. Listen to NFL Daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Brett Coleman.

And I'm Trevor Sikema.

If you love football and want to understand what's really happening on the field, check out our show, NFL Pro. Every week we break down the biggest plays, trends, and matchups using exclusive next-gen stats insights and NFL content you will not find anywhere else.

Whether you're new to football, a fantasy football fanatic, or a diehard fan, NFL Pro will help you analyze the game like a pro. Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Whether you're a seasoned NFL fan or new to the game, there's one place to keep up with all of it. The league's newest podcast, The NFL Report, hosted by me, Andrew Siciliano. It is your home for everything football. Breaking news, expert analysis, game picks, and hear from your favorite players, too. Join me and an all-star cast of experts for everything you need to know from around the league. Get new episodes of The NFL Report Monday through Friday all season long. Listen to The NFL Report podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What if everything you thought you knew about autism and mental health wasn't the full story? Today's conversation might change the way you see it. Welcome to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide, where real conversations and lived experiences inspire understanding and hope. I'm Tony Mantour. This is where understanding begins. If this kind of conversation matters to you, then follow the show so you don't miss what comes next. What does it take to keep going when your family is facing autism, severe mental health challenges, trauma, and unimaginable obstacles? Today, we're joined by author, speaker, and homeschooling mom, Sonya Hebden, whose extraordinary journey inspired her book, The Crazy Mother's Guide to Parenting Exceptional Children. Today, Sonya shares powerful lessons about hope, resilience, faith, parenting through crisis, and why no family should ever have to face these challenges alone. This is an honest, emotional, and deeply encouraging conversation you won't wanna miss. Thanks for joining us today.

Thanks for having me on. That's awesome.

Oh, it's my pleasure. You describe yourself as the Christian Addams Family. Can you tell me what that means to you?

Oh, it means a very unique family where the most bizarre things happen. At the most unexpected times. And our lives has been something that should be in a film, but it's real.

Okay.

Very unusual stories, parenting stories, where I will sit after the incident and think, was this real?

Can you give me an example of that?

I can give you an example. My daughter, she has autism, but she also has multiple personalities. She has an alter who's just like Rik Mayall from Drop Dead Fred and The Young Ones. Do you know Rik Mayall?

Yeah, okay.

Yeah.

So that Rick character, the real out-there, and that is Genevieve. When she comes forward, she's, everybody, I'm out!

Where are you?

It could be 4 o'clock in the morning, and I will hear that scream echoing down the hallway. And then I'll hear— she'll put the Teletubbies on, and then I hear, time for Teletubbies! Time for Teletubbies! It's like, oh, she's out. I'd open the door, and there'd be a line of fruit. She got my entire fruit bowl and put an entire line, like a trail, For me to find her.

Wow, that's interesting. Can you expand on that?

So Jenny is my daughter's main alter now.

Okay.

And a couple of years ago, we had some medical appointments in Brisbane, and we were coming back and we wanted to pick up some takeaway. And there was this great hamburger place on the highway just before we got into town. So my husband went in to order dinner, and I was there with my 2 kids. I noticed my daughter started twitching, and when she twitches, I know Jenny's coming out.

Okay.

Parked behind us was a huge semi that was going to the chicken factory. It had hundreds and hundreds of chickens in cages that were going to be processed.

Right.

So she turns around, hi, Smelly. She calls everyone Smelly. Hi, Smelly, I'm out. Hang on, what are the chickens doing in the cages? And she wanted To get out of the car and free the chickens.

Okay, so what happened next?

So, I had to quickly hit the child safety lock, and my son's trying to restrain her. I'm just, you know, hubby, hurry up. So, he finally comes back with the takeaway, and I unlock it so he could get in and lock it again. You know, if she had gotten out, there would have been hundreds of chickens on the highway, and it would have been a real game of crossy road.

Yeah, that could have been a disaster.

That's just an example of the unusual things that became norm for us. That's why I've always considered us to be an Addams Family, because she's like Wednesday, Wednesday Addams, just like that.

I believe it's about 5 years ago that you nearly lost your daughter.

Yeah, I did.

Can you give us a little bit of information about that journey that went along with that situation that you had to go through?

When a child hits puberty, especially a girl, they have a lot of hormonal issues, especially if they're on the spectrum, and that can actually cause severe mental health issues. And a lot of parents don't know that. So before our daughter hit puberty, we were recommended to see some specialists, some gynecologists in Brisbane at a children's hospital that focused on mental health and hormones for girls. So we had the meeting and they told us, they said, look, we're going to tell you that a majority of girls, once they hit 13, the hormones and they're on the spectrum, they actually have severe mental health issues because of the hormones. You need to treat it with birth control, the insert implant that stabilizes the hormones. You know, she was only 12 and they said, wait a couple of years and come back.

That's a lot to digest. What was your thoughts on it?

I felt, you know, I think it's this extreme Or, or, you know, so she hit puberty and we just watched her and we saw her mental health steadily decline. And I wish I would have gone— gotten her straight back to the gynecologist and explored that route to stabilize hormones.

Right.

And I was diagnosed with PMDD, which is a severe form of PMS that incorporates Suicidal depression every month.

Wow.

I had battled this for years and ever since I was 20. So I had mental health diagnosis of PTSD, severe depression, clinical depression. But it wasn't until I was 40 that it was finally diagnosed that it was actually a hormonal imbalance the whole time, not a mental health issue.

Finding that out, what happened next?

Once it was treated, I've been stabilized in that area for like, um, 13 years now.

Okay.

So I want parents, especially of girls, who see, um, mental health declining once they hit puberty, please go and see a gynecologist and explore this area.

Right.

Because a lot of them haven't. You know, that's one thing I wish I acted on instead of being, oh, I can't have a child on the pill. You know, she's so young.

Yeah.

I should have done it.

Now, during those years, you were basically on a suicide watch.

Yeah.

What kept you going when you felt completely exhausted?

My faith. I have been a Christian now for, um, 15, 20 years.

Okay.

When I was at my lowest, I would just pray. And my husband— I'm very lucky that I have a supportive husband. We've been married now for 28 years.

Nice.

He was the optimist. So he'd be like, we'll get through this. God will get us through this. You just have to take it day by day.

Okay.

I would go in the shower absolutely exhausted. I would cry and just get it all out. I would sit on the shower floor hysterical, and then I'd get out, and then I'd be back in fighter mode. My husband actually gave up his career. He worked in records management and also a trained editor working for a government, um, the government education system, editing online programs. Gave up his career to become a full-time carer with me because we've got 2 kids, so that I sleep in the afternoon.

Wow, that's great.

We'd take shifts, but I'm lucky. A lot of people, especially single parents, don't have that.

Right, right.

I really admire them to be able to raise kids with special needs, especially depression and suicidal ideation, right? And doing it themselves. They deserve medals, honestly. They really do.

Yeah.

And they're not recognized, right? You know, and the battle behind doors.

Yeah.

It's all kept, you know, hidden.

A lot of times when it's kept behind closed doors, it's because people fear that judgment.

Yes.

Why was it important for you to go public with your journey and not fear that judgment that you might receive?

It's interesting because I'm going to get back to my faith again.

Okay.

I trained originally as a journalist.

Okay.

Creative writing degree and also as a teacher. So I homeschool my children as well.

Right.

I'm not going to say disabilities. I'm going to say, um, because of their needs. They've got different needs. I remember I'd always written stories down but never had the time to put it together. And over 2 years ago, I remember walking into my office and I was really sincere, and I just said aloud, I said, God, I'm okay if I never get to write my books. I understand that my calling's with my kids and getting them through, and I just want you to know that I'm okay with that. And I was really genuine.

I'm willing to bet because of that, things changed.

That night, God had other plans because I felt this intense warmth over my forehead.

Yeah.

And then I woke up at 5 AM and had this absolute insatiable appetite to write, which I hadn't had for years. And then God freed up all this time with the kids where their health stabilized, their mental health stabilized. My daughter had a partner that just came into the scene that she was spending a lot of time with, and they're still together. And they're so good together that It was like having a live-in support worker. So I had all this time and I managed to write. It was just placed on my heart that you're coming through the other side now. You need to share this with other parents.

Yeah.

The unusual things you've had to do, put it down in a book. So that's how The Crazy Mother's Guide to Exceptional Parenting started. And it's a survival guide. It's very practical. Like I talk about really tough topics like suicidal idolization, cutting, actual suicide attempts. dating. It's the really tough issues that aren't discussed.

Right.

Thanks. So it was a form of therapy too for me to just get it all out and just feel that I'm on my way to healing as, as a mum.

Yeah, I think that's good.

Because of the stress for so many years of sleeping 4 hours a night and then only catching up 2 hours, as well as teaching my kids and organizing their therapies.

Yeah.

It was like a way of letting go to this season of what we've been through. I could shut the door and say, this is done to help other people.

Yeah.

Now I'm going to get on to my fiction writing and incorporate elements of focusing on kids' needs through my story.

Yeah.

It was very therapeutic for me.

Good.

I'm not a materialistic person. Neither is my husband. We're very— not frugal, but We're not materialistic. We love secondhand cars and op shopping.

Yeah.

You know, money isn't important to us.

Right.

And for me, it was, I've got to do this.

Yeah.

I've trained in public speaking for years, radio journalism. I trained in that and worked in a radio station for a couple of years. So it was just, I need to do this for myself, but for others. So that's how it came about.

I think that's great. I understand your daughter has rebuilt her life.

She has.

She works with dementia patients.

She does.

What has watching her journey in healing taught you about hope that other people can have as well?

Oh, I call her my little phoenix. And during the rough times, I would say to her, phoenixes have a way of going underground to regenerate, to be reborn. So they go under the ground and then they stay for a period of time and then they just come out and they're just exuberant and ready again for life. And that is who you are. So she adopted that mentality that even though things are tough, I'm going to get through this. And to see her, she became a support worker herself. She loves working with elderly people and she's got an amazing dementia patient she works with.

Nice.

And she brings him over to our place because he loves pets. So when he's very unsettled, she'll say, Mum, you know, can I come over and bring him over? I said, yeah. So we'll have dinner together and we'll talk and we'll try and engage him in conversations about his past to help with the memory. And just watching how good she is, I have cried so many times when she's left. I just praise God. Look at this. She has come through the other side.

Yeah.

And she's good at what she does.

Good.

It's helped realize that There is hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Right.

And we've come through the other side.

Right.

We're out there now. And I just want to give hope to those parents that have had lack of sleep, that have children and teens in mental health wards, facilities.

Right.

That you will get there. It is a journey. You'll have setbacks.

Yeah.

But don't give up hope because you will get to the end. You'll get to the other side of the line.

Lisa, we should tell them about our new show.

Oh my God, Lexi, we have a new podcast.

It's called I'm Lexi Ioannou. We're 2 best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart.

And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions. And at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all.

I'm not gonna get anywhere fighting.

That is wild. I learned that about you today.

Now in my 30s, being the founder of New Shoes, Good taste is my business, and I've always got something to say. If men were just honest about this, there would be so much more peace in the world.

We're gonna talk about dating, relationships, beauty, getting older, and a little wiser. We're best friends, but we don't always agree. Because you told us how accommodating you are.

Obviously, I would do what I think I could do to, to fight the fight, but there's only so much fight I can fight.

Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Liar.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't really care.

I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast, the true crime comedy podcast all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on incredible guests like Conan O'Brien, Iowa Debris, Lamorne Morris, and Nicole Byer.

Ooh, I scammed them.

What?

I could talk to you for an hour.

You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And the scams run the gamut. I'm talking about scams from the 1800s all the way up to today. I also warn you and keep you safe against scammers. Call your grandparents. Tell your parents to stop clicking on links, please. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. If there's a scam, I'm here to protect you. And I'm also here to laugh with you. So if you like fun, if you you like comedy and you like learning and protecting yourself from criminals, start listening to Scam Goddess on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Join us for A panel of wellness influencers.

What I try to do is faux journal. I don't know, have you guys heard of faux journaling?

Yeah, it's reading. It's called reading.

So you're— so we don't like to use that word anymore.

Okay.

A panel of New Yorker cartoonists.

Have you guys done Terry Gross's Peloton class?

No!

I've been dying to!

I'm so sorry. I'm seeing a reading of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Audra McDonald at the Wonderland Bookstore.

That's crazy. I went to the Wonderland Bookstore yesterday and I heard Norah Jones do a reading of Zero Dark Thirty.

No way!

You have to come to the Last Bookstore though. Kim Cattrall is reading the guitar tabs of Yesterday.

A panel of Eurovision participants.

And we do a little Halloween sometimes.

Does the Pope dress up?

He, he winks on Halloween.

He gets right up next to the microphone.

You can— I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each other.

You never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween.

Listen to Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Britt Coleman.

And I'm Trevor Sikema.

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Absolutely. Now, this next question, I know the answer to this, but I want to hear your interpretation.

Yes.

When it comes to bullying, psychosis, self-harm, thoughts of suicide—

Yeah.

These are hard topics that a lot of people don't want to talk about. Why do you believe that these topics are so important to talk about? And that people need to hear the hard realities that they just don't want to hear.

Because putting your head in the sand is not going to stop the problem from, from occurring.

Right.

And kids with autism, high-functioning autism, unfortunately are prone to mental health issues, both boys and girls, because of sensory issues.

Right.

And bullying. When you do research, you will find that the high suicide rate, if you get further into the facts, you will see a lot of them are kids with high-functioning autism.

Right.

So we can turn around and, and, and hide from it and pretend it doesn't exist, but we're not going to save our kids that way. So that is why we need to start talking about these taboo topics and be open and say it's okay that, that my kids have mental health issues.

Yes.

It's okay to spend time in a teen facility. And there's such a stigma to that. And I will say I had that. I was so reluctant to put my daughter into a hospital teen ward for mental health issues.

Right.

Because of the stigma that, you know, these kids going wild and, you know, something out of Rebel Without a Cause, that type of, you know.

Yeah.

They're wild kids. But I will say that experience where we had to do it.

Yeah.

And I got to meet the kids. was the most rewarding experience of my life. The kids in that ward are A+ students, quiet kids, intellectual, not troublesome kids, amazing kids that are on the spectrum.

Right.

But they're there because of being severely bullied to the point where they wanna take their own lives.

Right.

So that was an eye-opener for me. And I'm glad I had that.

Yeah.

And that was also a driving motion behind writing the parenting book, but also the teen series.

Yeah.

Kids at risk of self-harm.

I've always said that parents can learn from their kids and that they know their kids better than the doctors or the psychologists or anyone will. What can you say that your kids have taught you over the last, let's say, decade?

Always listen to your kids in terms of if they say to you that this therapist isn't working for them, listen to them, you know, because when you do therapies with your child, you've got to have a relationship, the therapist and the child, that is going to work. So if you've got a therapist that is applying techniques— like, we had one psychologist that her technique for my daughter was to break her and humiliate her and break her down in order to rebuild her. That's not on. If you have to listen to what your children say, if they say, look, I don't like this occupational therapist and this is why I don't like psychologist, this is why. Listen and find someone else.

That is so true. You just have to listen sometimes. This podcast should reach parents, educators, autistic people, those with serious mental illness. I try to cover as much as I possibly can. If a listener picks up one thing that we've been talking about, what would you hope that would be?

I'd have to say that that there is hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It may be a long journey, but you will get there. I had this minister— and to the parents too— I had this minister, this— he was an American minister I met years ago. And I sat down, we had a conversation. I told him about my story and what was going on. What he said to me is stuck in my head 10 years later. He said to me, God deliberately gave you those kids because he knew you could handle it.

Mm-hmm.

So on the days that I wanted to give up myself, like, I can't do this, I can't do this anymore, my daughter's wanting to harm and I've had to cut down half a tree and to stop her from hanging herself.

Yeah.

That will resonate in my mind even 10 years later that I can do this. And I think that's the confidence we need to know that we are giving these kids because we are tougher than we think as parents, even as single parents with a child with special needs. We can get through this.

Right.

A support group is great, like only networking with people you trust that understand your situation.

Right.

We've had to get rid of certain family members from our lives.

Sure.

They didn't understand it. It was, it's just bad behavior, you're ridiculous.

Right.

So now we network with other parents and families with special needs kids because they understand it.

Right.

Call them my tribe.

Yeah.

It's the same for kids too. They need to find their own tribe.

Yes.

We've had more success for friendships with other kids on the spectrum because they know, they understand each other.

Right.

They talk their own language.

Now, your family has endured fear, sleepless nights, uncertainty, incredible challenges, yet you still have a beacon of light. When you look back at that woman sitting beneath that tree wondering if her daughter would survive, what would you say to her now?

You're going to get through this. There will be a time where everything will come together. She will stabilize. She will get her life together. She'll move out of home. She's got her own place with her partner. They're renting. You know, she's got a license. It will happen, but you need to not give up. On days when you're really depleted because you're sleep deprived, pamper yourself. Do something for yourself. You know, it might be watching a movie. It might be, you know, going and getting a facial, having someone you trust look after your kids. There is an end to this. You can, you can get through to the other side. My husband, I'm so blessed, he was always, you know, I'm trusting God, God will get us through, you need to start having more faith. And it's true. And, you know, he was always the optimist and I was always the pessimist. But then that changed when I could see things moving, that she was getting better. We found the right therapist. We found the fact that we could not put our daughter on any medications because she would always have the severe side effects, life-threatening side effects.

So we found the only thing that would work for her was a very small amount of Valium, only when she was going to go into psychosis.

Yeah.

A box would last her 6 months. So that worked for her. We finally had something that would work. And she's doing the gym and, and we've got all these little solutions now that are piled up. But it took time to work out what was going to work for this child. And it's, it's a process. It is a process.

Right.

Yes, it is a journey. Now, how do people find you so they can get information about you and your writing of what you're doing? And can you tell us about the response you've been getting from the readers that reaffirm the mission that you're on writing these books?

I have had some amazing reviews and even emails from other parents of special needs kids saying that, thank you for being so open. You've basically just summarized my family and what's, what's happening behind closed doors. For my fiction series Haven Cove, which is a 3-book series, and what's unique is it's aimed at kids who are at risk of self-harm. So we're talking about the kids in high school that are the outsiders, and it's set in the 1980s, but it's clean fiction and it incorporates '80s music written into the story.

Okay.

And what I've done is I've added a Spotify soundtrack. So when you read the book, it is just like a choose-your-own-adventure book from the '80s where you could choose how the story would end, but this time it's with music. So you're encouraged to listen to these fantastic songs like Otherside, Joy Division, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, Nick Kershaw, you know.

Yeah.

I'm hearing from people that have read the book saying this is the most amazing heartfelt series I've read that tackles these tough issues.

Nice.

Suicidal issues and not fitting in and wanting to harm yourself.

Wow.

But it's done in such a creative way that it incorporates the music to make it more impactful. Because I spent 60 to 80 hours listening to '80s music for each book.

Sure.

So it's all planned for each, each scene.

Yeah.

And there's like 30, I think it's 30, 30 songs per book I've included. So there's a link when you open the book, and with the digital book, you can just click straight on, it takes you to the soundtrack. So the feedback has been, this book has made me think about it weeks after. You know, you really are touching what it's like to be a teenager and not fitting in and battling suicidal depression and wanting to harm yourself, but then you meet someone who's just like you and you feel that you've found your connection. So that has been really rewarding. for me to have those comments. And my husband and I, we, we read the reviews and it's like, oh, that's so good. We're very happy because he's a Christian musician. He's very different. We used to be goths in the '80s and '90s.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah, we used to go to goth clubs. And so that's why— another way, another example of us being like the Addams Family. We're still a little bit— we still love going to see, um, Peter Hook in the light when he comes out the '80s bands when they start touring.

Yeah.

He actually uses the Joy Division sound, but in modern Christian music to minister to teens. So he goes under Beautiful Desert. And he's got 3 amazing songs that have that '80s Joy Division sound. You know, it's all for ministry. He's not interested in profit or anything like that.

Yeah.

His music is a way of helping minister to teens now.

Right.

Of a sound that was past but is still really impactful. You know, I love '80s music. Yeah, I've got a record player right behind me.

Lisa, we should tell them about our new show.

Oh my God, Lexi, we have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me.

I'm Lexi Iwanu. We're 2 best friends, 22 years apart but so close at heart.

And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, We have occasionally different opinions, and at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all.

I'm not gonna get anywhere fighting.

That is wild. I learned that about you today.

Now in my 30s, being the founder of New Shoes, good taste is my business, and I've always got something to say. If men were just honest about this, there would be so much more peace in the world.

We're gonna talk about dating, relationships, beauty, We're getting older and a little wiser. We're best friends, but we don't always agree. Because you told us how accommodating you are.

Obviously, I would do what I think I could do to, to fight the fight, but there's only so much fight I can fight.

Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Don't lie to me.

Liar.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't really care.

Hi, this is Kylie Brakeman.

Angela Giarratana.

Jeremy Culhane.

Patrick McDonald.

And we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists podcast.

The improvised character comedy podcast where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft.

Join us for a panel of wellness influencers.

What I try to do is faux journal. I don't know, have you guys heard of faux journaling?

Yeah, it's reading. It's called reading.

So you're— so we don't like to use that word anymore.

Okay, a panel of New Yorker cartoonists.

Have you guys done Terry Gross's Peloton class?

No!

I've been dying to.

I'm so sorry, I'm, I'm seeing a, a reading of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Audra McDonald at the Wonderland Bookstore on the 14th.

That's crazy, I went to the Wonderland Bookstore yesterday and I heard Norah Jones do a reading of Zero Dark Thirty.

No way!

You have to come to the last bookstore though. Kim Cattrall He is reading the guitar tabs of Yesterday.

A panel of Eurovision participants.

And we do a little Halloween sometimes.

Does the Pope dress up?

He, he winks on Halloween.

He gets right up next to the microphone.

You can— I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each other.

You never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween.

Listen to Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast, the true crime comedy podcast all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on incredible guests like Conan O'Brien, Iowa Debris, Lamorne Morris, and Nicole Byer.

Ooh, I scammed them.

What?

I could talk to you for an hour.

You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a And the scams run the gamut. I'm talking about scams from the 1800s all the way up to today. I also warn you and keep you safe against scammers. Call your grandparents. Tell your parents to stop clicking on links, please. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. If there's a scam, I'm here to protect you. And I'm also here to laugh with you. So if you like fun, if you like comedy, and you like learning and protecting yourself from criminals, Start listening to Scam Goddess on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Scam Goddess.

I'm Britt Coleman.

And I'm Trevor Sikema.

Have you ever watched a game and wondered what really made the difference beyond the final score? That's exactly why we created NFL Pro.

Strokes got a man wide open. Touchdown Seahawks!

Every week, we use exclusive next-gen stats insights and NFL content to break down the biggest stories, matchups, and moments from around the league. We go beyond the box score to uncover the numbers, the tendencies, and details that help explain what actually happened on the field.

Fires it out in the flat to Barkley, who beats one man, spins past another, leaps over a third.

And don't worry, this isn't just a show for stats experts. We use advanced analytics to help tell the story behind the game Turning the numbers into insights that every fan can understand and enjoy.

So whether you're a casual fan learning more about football or a hardcore fan who can't get enough analysis, our goal is to help you see the game in a whole new way.

If you've ever wanted to know why a play worked, how a matchup was won, or what most fans missed on Sunday, NFL Pro delivers insights you simply can't get anywhere else.

Listen to NFL Pro The new NFL season is here, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 61. Last year, we had Mike McDonald, Sam Darnold on the field after the game, but that was last year. If you're a football sicko like me, NFL Daily is your kind of show. NFL Daily is the NFL's official podcast. It is in the name, NFL Daily. Fresh content in your feed every day, all season long. Matthew Stafford coming off his MVP season.

On a dazzling dart from Matthew Stafford.

Big-time trades that shake up the NFL.

AJ Brown is loose.

And of course, those Seahawks trying to run it back and win another Lombardi Trophy.

The Seahawks win Super Bowl 60. They are bringing the Lombardi back to the Northwest!

If it's happening on a football field, NFL Daily will cover it. Listen to NFL Daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Cassel every Wednesday on our podcast, Lots to Say, with me, Bobby Bones, and Matt Cassel. We also bring in friends. They're mostly Matt's friends. who are current or former NFL players, some of the biggest names in music and entertainment, and then we have some really great conversations that can pretty much go anywhere. The great Pac-Man Jones.

After the game, the whole National Task Force for police officers was at the stadium like, hey, buddy, yeah, you Adam, come on.

And one of my favorite segments we do is called Situational Awareness, where Bobby and I give each other real-life situations and figure out what we'd actually do.

You're in training camp and the rookie quarterback has one good throwing session in front of the media. Suddenly everybody online says he should start over you week 1. How do you handle this?

You just go back out to practice the next day and wait for him to mess up.

Listen to Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The NFL never stops and neither does its newest podcast. The NFL Report, hosted by me, Andrew Siciliano. It is your home for everything football.

Williams drifting, sprinting for space, in all kinds of trouble, put it up for grabs at the end zone.

He got it! For the touchdown!

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Wanna hear from the league's top stars ahead of the biggest matchups? We've got you covered.

They're a really good football team.

We gotta have all hands on deck. Join me and an all-star cast of analysts for everything you need to know from around the league. Get new episodes of The NFL Report Monday through Friday all season long. Listen to The NFL Report podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, yeah, there you go.

It's got vinyl, you know.

Yeah, yeah. Now one last thing that I wanted to touch upon. You write openly about dissociative identity disorder.

Yeah.

What's the biggest misconceptions people have about DID?

DID— people think that they're serial killers, which is often portrayed in movies and books, that the serial killer has multiple personalities. When in fact, that's not true. Um, there are a lot of people with— that has DID.

Right.

What is interesting about it is when a child goes through some traumatic experience, for us, it was bullying, severe bullying that caused this. The brain starts splitting up into compartments with different personalities that hide the memories to protect your child.

Right.

And then at a certain age, normally in the 20s, it comes out. But for us, she was diagnosed at 15 because of all the years of therapy with psychologist. So her condition was diagnosed at 15. These people with DID are amazing. They have— these personalities are actually different people. They are.

Right.

They can speak in different languages, different gender. The whole persona changes, the facial expressions. They have their own talents, their own what they're good at, what foods they don't like. It is an absolutely amazing disorder, and I did a lot of research once my daughter got diagnosed.

Right.

There's studies where, um, scientists have actually done tests on DID patients when they're different alters, and their blood work was different.

Wow.

Depending on the alter.

Yeah.

Another thing I find absolutely fascinating is they can actually go into their mind and live in a virtual world. I know it sounds bizarre and strange, but they can actually get an alter to take over when they're feeling really overwhelmed.

Okay.

And they could go into their mind and have a break. And in their mind is actually a proper world. So they— these people are super— they are superheroes. They have the ability of natural virtual reality built in. Like, I had one instance years ago when my daughter decided she wanted to go on a holiday, didn't tell me. She got an alter to take control of her body where she was in her mind in this beautiful Gothic-style house. There was a skateboard there, a ramp there, and all this stuff. And I had this complete stranger manning my daughter's body for 24 hours while we had a family occasion. So that was just like, please pretend to be Charlotte, you know? So incredible. And you can learn a lot from them. And they're not freaks, they're not insane, they just have this special ability.

Yeah.

Love to see more superheroes, right, actually, um, focus on this. And I use superheroes a lot in regards when my kids were little to explain how different they are. I had a little bit of a backlash from some parents that you're setting your child up for a fall by saying they're superheroes, when in fact what they don't realize is all superheroes, they have strengths, but they also have weaknesses.

Right.

Look at, um, Superman— kryptonite.

Right, right.

And PTSD because his parents were killed.

Right.

They have They have some type of cross that they're holding, something that, you know, weighing them down that they have to solve, a problem they have to solve.

Right.

And they get through it. So that's why I explain that they are superheroes.

Yeah.

Kids on the spectrum, because they have all these medical issues, they have social issues, they have sensory issues.

Yeah.

They're not invited to birthday parties, you know.

Right.

They just feel isolated. They're bullied. But yet they've got these amazing gifts. Like they might be good at art or music or mathematics. My son is very gifted at guitar playing.

Okay.

My daughter was diagnosed at 6 being an art prodigy.

Yeah.

You know, so they have these specialized talents.

Yeah.

Do you have a website that people can go to?

I do. My website is soniadehebdonbooks.com, and you'll find information about my work. My books are now being sold overseas at Barnes& Noble in America. Um, what else? Waterstones in the UK. Walmart online is stocking it as well as Amazon. One thing I do want to say is that I have actually set up a support group on Facebook.

Okay.

The link is actually on my website. It's called the Crazy Mother's Guide to Parenting Exceptional Children Support Group on Facebook.

Okay.

It's a private group, and the whole idea behind that is networking and helping other parents who feel alone, right, who don't have that tribe support group. So I'll be on that Facebook. It's a private page, so you have to— private group, you have to submit to allow to be joined. And I'll be monitoring it, and I'll be talking about twice a week some of the outside-of-the-box techniques I use.

Yeah.

And trying to help other parents because I think it's really important.

It's good.

So the link is now up on my website, so soniadehebdonbooks.com, and it's the Crazy Mother's Guide to Parenting Exceptional Children support group on Facebook. So I want to help.

Yeah, that's great. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today.

Oh, thanks, Tony. This is awesome. It was really good.

Oh, it's been my pleasure. Thanks again. A sincere thank you to our guests for sharing their journey with us today. We appreciate their honesty, courage, and willingness to open their heart in hopes of helping others. If today's conversation helped you see the world a little differently, Then we've accomplished exactly what we set out to do. Until next time, keep believing, keep learning, and most importantly, keep asking yourself, why not me?

Lisa, tell them about our new show.

We have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me.

I'm Lexi Ioannou.

We're 2 best friends, 22 years apart, but so And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions. And at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all.

Now in my 30s, being the founder of New Shoes, good taste is my business.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of I'm the host of Scam Goddess Podcast. The true crime comedy podcast all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on an amazing guest.

Ooh, I scammed him.

What?

I could talk to you for an hour.

You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, this is Kylie Brakeman, Angela Giarratana, Jeremy Colhane, Patrick McDonald, and we're the hosts of the Artist on Artist on Artist on Artist podcast, the improvised character comedy podcast where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft.

Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants, and we do a little Halloween sometimes.

Does the Pope dress up?

He, he winks on Halloween.

He gets right up next to the microphone.

You can— I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each other.

You never I've never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween.

Listen to Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On Big Lives, we take a single cultural icon—

People like Jane Fonda, George Michael, Little Richard—

And we pull apart the story behind the image, discovering forgotten interviews that change exactly how we see these giants of of our culture.

We're here for the messy, the brilliant, the human version of our heroes.

I'm Emmanuel Jochi.

I'm Kai Wright.

And this is Big Lives.

Listen to Big Lives on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The new NFL season is here, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 61. It is in the name, NFL Daily. You'll have fresh content in your feed every day, all season long. That game-winning drive, maybe it's Herbert, maybe it's Geno, maybe it's Mahomes. We'll have the highlights. If Fernando Mendoza or any of those rookies are balling out, we'll break down the tape. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and an all-star cast of co-hosts as we preview and recap every game. Listen to NFL Daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Britt Coleman.

And I'm Trevor Sikema.

If you love football and want to understand what's really happening on the field, check out our show NFL Pro. Every week we break down the biggest plays, trends, and matchups using exclusive Next Gen Stats insights and NFL content you will not find anywhere else.

Whether you're new to football, a fantasy football fanatic, or a diehard fan, NFL Pro will help you analyze the game like a pro. Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What up? This Jay Valentine, co-host of the R&B Money Podcast alongside my brother, R&B legend Tank. Together we've built a space for artists, executives, and fans of R&B music to reminisce and tell the real stories behind the music.

I have no money.

I was hood famous.

They think you're gonna get everybody out.

We lived in the projects. Real Love came out.

They hearing the music and we had nothing.

From Smokey Robinson to Mary J. Blige, B2K to Jill Scott, If you're a super dedicated R&B fan, this is where you belong. Listen to R&B Money from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.