Let's Get Curious with Replenishing Soul

Episode 1: The Beginning

• Lori & Dorothy • Episode 1

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Welcome to our first podcast episode where  we talk about the history of our 20 year long friendship.  We share how asking questions and being curious has lead to our personal growth and the creation of our company Replenishing Soul and this podcast.  No mother or woman should worry alone.

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Thank you for your interest!

Welcome to let's get curious. The podcast for women and mothers seeking connection, support, and inspiration. We are friends, mothers, and therapists. Laurie, a physical therapist and Dorothy, a speech and language therapist. Together. We share our personal stories, including IVF birth experiences and navigating children's learning difficulties. Through our discussions, we uncover profound lessons for personal growth. Join us on this journey of curiosity, compassion and empowerment. Welcome to let's. Get curious. Welcome to our first podcast episode. Where we talk about the history of our 20 year long friendship. We explain how curiosity has led to our own personal growth. Has made us better parents and why we are creating replenishing soul.

Dorothy:

Did you interview me over the phone or was the first time. Okay, so the,

Lori:

I did. And when I interviewed you over the phone, you were literally, I think you just landed in

Dorothy:

Vegas. Okay. Okay.

Lori:

Yes. And it was a quick, interview and I remember hanging up from that and calling my boss and being like, I love this girl. And yes, I need her to come on board.

Dorothy:

And I remember thinking, I love this girl and she's gonna be the best boss ever. And she's so easy to talk to. And yeah, this is gonna be more than just a job for me.

Lori:

Totally, yes. I was a rehab manager at the time, managing five outpatient buildings for skilled nursing. And my speech therapist had quit and so I was in need. And of course, trying to find a speech therapist at that time was super hard. So I ended up getting the clearance from my boss that I could hire a traveler. And then they put you in touch with me. We had our quick call over the phone and I think you were due to start two weeks or so after that point.

Dorothy:

And Yeah. I had gone out to California, as a traveler three months prior and my assignment had ended and it was kind of like do or die because if I couldn't find work, I was about to go someplace else. The initial goal was to do 13 weeks in the Bay Area and then go somewhere else. And then I just ended up falling in love with the Bay Area and wanted to stay, but it was a matter of could I find a job? So literally, it's because of you that I stayed in California. I could have been, you know, God knows where now.

Lori:

Very true. Very true. But yeah, so when you came from Vegas and you showed up in one of my buildings and we were gonna start orientation, this is how I remember everything. I of course, you know, yeah, I had business to run, but. I can't be all business all the time. Like I need to connect with my people, especially if they're gonna be working for me. And so I remember you and I going to one of the little loungey rooms that usually the, residents would reside in. You and I are sitting there chit-chatting on the couch. And you know, typical small talk like, oh, where are you from? Oh, I'm from the east coast. Yeah, I'm from the east coast too. Oh, where? Where? On the east coast. I'm from Pennsylvania, I'm from Massachusetts. And we just kept going back and forth like that to the point then, and I don't even know how we got on the topic of, oh, you're Polish, I'm Chocho soak and my grandma makes home pierogis. Wait, your grandma makes homemade pierogi. So does mine. And I think at that point it was like instant love.

Dorothy:

Yes, yes it was that feeling of where have you been my whole life? It was like, you and I are are soul sisters. That's how it felt, how do we go all these years without knowing one another? Because I feel like I've known you forever.

Lori:

Yes. 1000%. 1000%. And I remember, I, we, what was supposed to be kind of, you know, a small intro of kind of get to know each other, literally turned into a two hour. Shoot the shit conversation. And I remember them looking at the clock because I didn't realize how much time had passed. And I was like, oh my God. And I apologized to you because I was like, this probably wasn't very professional, that we were sitting here for two hours just shooting the shit. And I remember you saying to me like, no, this was the best job orientation I've ever had.

Dorothy:

Absolutely. And, and we looked over at the coffee table where the stack of papers were that we needed to fill up and we're holy crap, and we're like, oh my God, we've done nothing. We've done nothing. But so much at the same time.

Lori:

Exactly. And now here we are, what, almost 22 years later and. Everything has just gotten better and our relationship has even gotten deeper, and now we have a business together and all this fun

Dorothy:

I know. Yeah. Yeah. So should we talk about replenishing soul one, or what do you think?

Lori:

Yeah, Yeah, because that whole path, I mean, you had your health journey to get to that point, and I had my health journey. In college, I got really sick. And I didn't know really what was going on with me at the time, but I had swollen joints and I was spiking fevers and I was trying to go through finals of physical therapy school and I made it through all that in my senior year. And when I had gone to the doctor, the doctor had said to my mother that I could have, borderline rheumatoid arthritis, and he said it could have been brought on by the stress of school. I'm in this autoimmune response, and so he had suggested I could go on some medication and I was like, no, I'm not gonna do that. I'm only, what, 22 at the time. And I was like, you know what? I'm going to look at my, my food and I'll just kind of decompress from all the stress I was through with PT school. And I started to feel better. But then those three years that I was still living back in Pennsylvania, I was feeling better, but I wasn't the best. And then of course, fast forward out to California and I'm, feeling somewhat better. But then I was still having night sweats, pretty much almost every night. I was not having bowel movements for five days at a time., I was, Still having those moments of feeling really stiff and achy. And then by one o'clock every single day, I would have a pounding headache that like, Advil, et cetera, and all that stuff wouldn't even touch. And so a friend of mine who was studying, Functional medicine at the time had said, Hey, you know what? You're not feeling well and I need to practice, so let's run some labs on you. And so we did that and I found out that I was in adrenal fatigue. I found out that I had food sensitivities to gluten and dairy, and I mean my hormones were just completely outta whack. Plus, I also then learned, I also had a parasite. And so of course I went on medicine for the parasite and then just started to change my nutrition with my friend's help. And from there I even had to change my exercise because I was just so heavy into cardio and pounding myself with constant running, that that had to stop so that my body can also heal. And then that's when I got into yoga and. From being on that health journey with my friend Josh, the stuff that he was teaching me from a nutrition standpoint I thought was amazing. And then so he ended up actually turning me on to going down to the Czech Institute down in Carlsbad, California, and I started to do my nutrition study. And I was still maintaining my full-time job of being a rehab manager and then doing a side business working with, clients privately on, physical therapy personal training as well as as nutrition. And that's when I named that business replenishing soul.

Dorothy:

My story is that, In my mid twenties, I started having all these wacky symptoms where I would start feeling dizzy and out of body I would be talking to someone all of a sudden I'd get really spacey and just not feel right. I would feel nervous and panicky. Although, you know what? I didn't have those words then. I just didn't feel good. But I didn't have the words for it. And I would get headaches and I couldn't sleep. And you know, I would just go from doctor to doctor to doctor and they didn't know what to do with me, so they just kept funneling me to someone else. And there was one time where I was at home and something just didn't feel right and it felt like the walls were coming in and I felt just really bad. And I was like, oh my God, I'm gonna pass out. I need to lay down. I got really scared and my parents were like, what is happening to you? And they're like, we're calling an ambulance cuz we don't know what this is. I'm like, neither do I. So in an ambulance I go to the hospital and they're like, we don't know, take some Advil. So I went,

Lori:

The cure for everything.

Dorothy:

drink some water, take some Advil, go home and, you know, I went to immunologists and rheumatologists and neurologists and it didn't help that I was in grad school, for speech pathology. So I'm taking all these neuro classes and learning about all the scary stuff that I could have, like Ms. And.

Lori:

on the East Coast at

Dorothy:

I'm on the

Lori:

having, going through all

Dorothy:

Yeah. Oh. And I was getting numbness and tingling in my fingers and shooting down my arms and my legs. So at one point they thought it was ms. So I went through all these MRIs and, and spinal taps and, some nerve conduction tests where they were literally electrocuting me to check how my nerves were functioning. And this went on for a good year and this was during grad school. So I'm trying to get through a rigorous master's degree program while thinking that I have something seriously wrong with me. And I remember one day thinking, God, I hope this isn't just all in my head because that will be worse. I would almost rather have a physical diagnosis because if they can't find anything, is this in my head? And then what does that mean? Right. So then my dad passes away. Then I move I go through a breakup. Symptoms get worse. This goes on for about three years. And then I get a job in California. So I, I drive out, for this travel position and I end up having. This horrible panic attack and I didn't know what it was. Out of all these doctors, no one ever said, you have anxiety, you have depression. 80% of people have those two things together. So if you're anxious, you're likely depressed. Like I had no idea. So I have this panic attack and in the middle of the night I cannot sleep because a panic attack literally feels like you're gonna die. And I start watching this. Watching TV and this infomercial pops up from, this woman named Lucinda Bassett who had this program for attacking anxiety and depression. And back then I bought 10 pack of CDs. I think there were

Lori:

I remember

Dorothy:

maybe. Maybe there were cassettes at that time. This was a while ago,

Lori:

They probably were, but I remember you buying that.

Dorothy:

Yep. And I was like, all right, I, I think I need this, but I think I also need to go see a doctor because I'm having panic attacks, so I probably need some sort of medication. Cause I figured out what it was. so I'm gonna go. I saw my primary care, I explained what was happening and I'm like, I think I need medication. But never was I like, I'm gonna be on this forever. I just need something. So I got on some anti-anxiety medication and that took off some of the edge and these CDs or tapes came in a week later and I started listening to them. And, within I would say two weeks. Most of my symptoms were gone. No longer did I have that feeling of doom. No longer did I have that feeling of, panic because I finally understood that I wasn't going crazy and that this is normal for a lot of people. And I learned tools to manage and I learned tools of how to change my thought patterns. So I wouldn't get into negative thinking, which then drives the anxiety, and then I was like, oh my God. I didn't realize the power that I had over my own body and my own thoughts, and how I could drastically change my life with these tools that literally came in a box from an infomercial on my front doorstep that these countless doctors had no clue. No clue. So when I learned that, that changed my life and it was around the same time that you were going through your healing, your physical healing with Josh and you started talking to me about, well Dora there, you know, besides the mental stuff, there are physical things that could cause anxiety, depression. And we started talking about nutrition and hormones and all that stuff. And so when you started Replenishing Soul, I did. all the testing with you and found that I was also in adrenal fatigue and I also had some stuff going on, and then I just felt even better. And I was like, oh my gosh. I didn't know how much better I could feel with these changes in my lifestyle. And then I was like, sign me up, Lori. I am doing this with you. And, and that's how replenishing Soul San Francisco came about.

Lori:

That's right. And then we just saw clients on our own. We just kind of ran our own business and then I went off and, got married and had babies and put everything on the back burner. And you were kind of the same, right? With the whole replenishing soul.

Dorothy:

I did that for a while and then, yeah, our lives just turned right, we felt like that part was done and you were focusing on your marriage and having children. And, you know, I was focused on my relationship and we just felt like that part was done.

Lori:

Yes, and it was for a while. Until now.

Dorothy:

I know, I know,

Lori:

now.

Dorothy:

I know. And yeah.

Lori:

coming back. So we have our kids, and as much as I love being a mom, I. Still needed something for me. Uh, and my career is what fuels me because I just, I love health. I love learning about health. This is all I ever read about,, whether it's, yoga, pelvic floor, physical therapy, which is, a focus of mine has been for a while now. And, you know, going back and just starting my own side business, part-time doing pelvic floor rehab. For pre and postnatal moms and doing that while I'm still having littles working part-time. So I'm of course, getting my balance between not feeling like I'm missing any time with them, but also doing a thing that makes me feel like I'm contributing, that makes me feel whole and excites me. And then we end up making a move from the Bay Area up to the Seattle area but I still needed to kind of try to find that balance for what it was gonna be business wise, of what was gonna fuel me again and, Before I knew it, I ended up going down this path of not doing so much pelvic floor PT work because I was putting so much time and energy into my daughter who is showing potential signs of having dyslexia and all the struggles that we were going through with school for her. And, you know, fast forward from kindergarten to now, she's 10 years old and in fourth grade and, we're still going through testing to figure out exactly what learning difference she has. But as I'm going through this path of working with the educational system and I'm diving in, becoming curious on the medical side of what is it that she needs, help and assistance with, and we went down the path of speech language. We went down the path of vision therapy and now we're down the path of neuro psychological testing. a new school for her. I was just finding that so many other moms were coming and talking to me and opening up, even if I wasn't asking them questions, about, you know, being a mom or. Their children, they would just open up to me some of the struggles that they were having. And then of course, that would open me up to me sharing my stories with them. Or people just learning that, we've changed schools and we're going to a school now for, for dyslexia and. How did you know to do that, and what were some of the signs and we're having the same problem and I just found myself sharing tons of information from this path that I was going down with my daughter and just learning, you know, at the time. And of course, being curious like I am. I'm like, you know what? This. Information needs to be shared. And so that is really what has sparked replenishing soul to come back, and be this overlap of all the information that I. Believe in and that I've studied in from yoga to nutrition to traditional physical therapy and coupling that now with learning how to navigate this world for a child who learns differently. And all the work that I've done on myself with proper nutrition and meditation and all that stuff, it's still things that I pull into. My day-to-day routine for both of my children. And so that's where I felt bringing back replenishing soul and combining these two worlds for parents. There's a need, there's a need for this, and there's a passion on my behalf. And of course because of the path that you're on and just the day-to-day conversations that you and I have is just supporting each other as friends. That's where I was like, Deedee, you gotta join me on this path, girl. And that's where we are now.

Dorothy:

we are.

Lori:

we're doing what we're doing.

Dorothy:

But you know, aside from replenishing soul though, I did also wanna just point out that You and I are both people that I think have always been curious. We've always been like, Hmm, like I wonder what this means. Even with our health, like, hmm, I wonder what I can do to get better. We've always. Try to work on ourselves to get to a better place. It's like, what more can I

Lori:

and even when we didn't have problems, it was always this path of learning about ourselves on every level. Whether we had a problem to solve or we didn't, we just always felt drawn to we could do more and be better. And now, we have our children who are, our biggest teachers.

Dorothy:

Oh my God.

Lori:

which makes you go to the deepest parts of yourself, realizing why you're doing or are not doing something. Like what are the triggers that come up within you that your child or children are bringing to the surface, and or their own separate problems that you have to be curious about and try to figure out.

Dorothy:

Yep. Exactly. And I'm finding that with parenting, a highly sensitive child, you're sort of forced to work on yourself, but you have no, you have no choice,

Lori:

have no

Dorothy:

right? But I say that as a gift. It's a gift, right? Because every day you have this opportunity to do better, to learn how to respond more effectively with compassion. How to show love, even when your child is I'm giving you so many reasons to fight back or push back or get defensive or whatever, right? You just have all these opportunities to just do better, you know?

Lori:

1000%. It's hard work.

Dorothy:

Yeah, and I, I took some notes here, so I just wanna make sure that we covered this. You and I, Believe that we have the power to heal ourselves and to feel better. And there's so many more options than just taking a pill to feel better. Right. The other day I was driving and I was feeling sticky inside. Like, do you ever feel sometimes that you have this restless energy in you that you just need to move and it's stuck in you?

Lori:

Yes.

Dorothy:

so I take a step back and I recognize it and you know, when I was, feeling anxious and depressed, there was no way in hell that I could take a step back and observe myself and how I'm feeling. I was just constantly in it. So I take a step back and I observe and I'm like, okay. This is what I see happening in my body. And let's put it to words, which is like, okay, I've got this like icky, you know, restless energy. And then I was like, what do I need here? How do I move this? And so I'm like, all right, I'm going through my toolbox in my head. Okay. So, do I need to sleep? Nope. Do I need a bath? Nope. I need to move. Do I need, A brisk walk. Okay, that sounds good. Is that enough? N I don't know. I think I may need some loud music that I sing to in the car and dance, you know?

Lori:

Yeah.

Dorothy:

I think I actually, I think it was the reverse. I think it was like, I need the music and I need a super fun eighties song that I can crank up as loud as possible as I'm driving on the highway with the windows roll down and just get

Lori:

you pick Jesse's girl? Of course you did. That's our.

Dorothy:

So seriously. I didn't have the physical movement in that moment because I wasn't at the gym, but I was going on the highway at the appropriate speed. And the windows were down and I bla like out Jessie's girl, people are driving by me, I don't care. I am just seen at the top of my lungs. And by the time the song was done and I got to my exit, I was like, wow. That moved it. I'm good. I'm not a hundred percent. I'm gonna go for a walk when I have time, but I'm good.

Lori:

Mm-hmm.

Dorothy:

But then I looked at that and I was like, how grateful am I to be able to be at that place where I can do that? Because 20 years ago, there was no way I had access to any of that.

Lori:

No, and that goes back to what you and I, you know, were saying just like five minutes ago of being on this journey of. Knowing yourself better. Knowing yourself more, what is it that I need? Right? And going through those checklists of is it sleep, is it food? Is it going and moving my body? And what does that look like? And not being so stuck in what we think society, you know, tells us that we should do. But if you wanna go dance, go dance. You need to go on a hike. Go on a hike. But we've learned to have this checklist for ourselves because of all the. Being curious work that we've done throughout the years and that's the stuff that you and I are also trying to teach our children,

Dorothy:

Right, right, right. Yeah, exactly.

Lori:

super early on. Because you know, medication is needed and is important at times for sure, but it's not the cure-all, at least in my experience and. Sometimes you need that to give you that, that place to take a breath and then you start to supplement with all these other things, food and sleep and movement and gosh, surrounding yourself with the people that build you up, not bring you down. That's another big piece. Mm-hmm.

Dorothy:

And learning to recognize who those people are because, you know, I think when I was a lot younger, I didn't even so much realize the toxic people in my life. You know, working on yourself makes you realize like, whoa, wait a minute. Maybe this relationship that I thought was serving me is actually dragging me down.

Lori:

Yeah. Yeah. And you know, it was one of my biggest indicators knowing, when relationships would not start working for me was if I saw that person's phone number pop up on my phone, and my reaction would be like, Ugh.

Dorothy:

Oh

Lori:

I don't wanna pick that up right now.

Dorothy:

Mm,

Lori:

And I was like, oh, okay. Okay. I need to start listening to this. Right. So just all those, all those small moments in your life, and the feeling that it brings up within you is also a roadmap

Dorothy:

Very true. Very true. Very true.

Lori:

Little things just like that

Dorothy:

so just

Lori:

you don't even think of. You know, you don't think of. You're just like, oh, okay. I'll call them back later. But not realizing that you're doing that every single time that they ring your phone.

Dorothy:

right, or when you get off the phone with them and you feel empty and drained and you need a walk or you need something to fill you back up again. That's another one.

Lori:

You need to go back and listen to Jesse's girl

Dorothy:

Yes. Yeah. If you're playing chess girl, like multiple times a day after phone calls, that relationship's over.

Lori:

Isn't that the

Dorothy:

Oh my God, it's so true. So, so that's when you, and I are good example of the opposite of that. How many times have we said like, Ugh, I ha was having like such a day. And then every time I talk to you, I just feel uplifted and buzzy after, you know, in a good way. Right.

Lori:

yes. Even if it is just for five minutes, which is usually how you and I catch up all the time, is, okay, I got five minutes. I'm in the car.

Dorothy:

Yep,

Lori:

You know, and just hearing each other's voices. Yeah. It does that for both of

Dorothy:

Exactly. You know, going back through the history of our life, I knew there were parallels, but you've never just sat down and recapped like we just did. It's pretty astounding how our lives are parallel. Yeah, and I just wanna add that, parenting is hard and it's scary and making these decisions for your children, like your, your child is exhibiting symptoms A, B, C, and D and when you don't have a clue as to what's going on, it's terrifying. It's hard to make choices and make decisions when you don't have information and. Sometimes you don't even know who to ask or what to ask. And you just feel like you're on an island all by yourself, struggling. And that's not true. You know? And when I'm overwhelmed and, you know, I'll get into my, my son's challenges, I call you and you know, you, you don't have, you may not have the answers, but just knowing that there's someone else out there that gets it, and. Makes you feel that you're not alone. It makes all the difference in the world because then it's not just you dealing with it, right? It's you and me and thousands of other tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, whatever of other people out there, you know?

Lori:

Yeah. Well, and you know, your situation is different than my situation, but yet we are a resource for each other.

Dorothy:

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Lori:

And that's what we're looking to be for other people out there, is to be a resource, you know, based upon our experiences. And, you know, just, I. Being in the pelvic floor, women's health realm, as, as a professional, I can tell you, like, we just, we don't talk enough about a lot of things. And you know, even when I have people on my table for the first time and they're there obviously because they're not feeling well or they're having a problem and we start. You know, talking about the whole pelvis and all of its jobs and its functions, one of the biggest things that they'll always say to me is, we don't talk about this enough. You know, even when you go to your doctors they check you and they send you on your way, but it's not until you really have a problem, or do you then start to again, be curious and try to find, you know, out information So we just don't talk about things enough, in my opinion.

Dorothy:

You're right.

Lori:

especially about the things that make us, you know, uncomfortable. And this is one of these situations where we have to start, you know, spreading this information about our experiences that we are experiencing through the medical realm, as well as the educational realm for our children who learn differently.

Dorothy:

Yep,

Lori:

Mm-hmm.

Dorothy:

absolutely. All right. Should I talk about.

Lori:

Yeah, tell us this. Tell us

Dorothy:

Yeah. So my story, so, as we know, I'm a speech therapist and a couple years before I got pregnant, I took a course in, myofunctional therapy when you go to a myofunctional therapist, they make sure that the muscles in your mouth are all working properly, so you have the, the proper oral rest posture. So, making sure your tongue's in the right spot, all the muscles are balanced, that kinda thing. And they talk about tongue ties too, and that, so I bring this up because

Lori:

a whole separate

Dorothy:

yes, we.

Lori:

stuff.

Dorothy:

We will. Oh, we need to. Yeah. So when my son was born after 43 hours of labor and four hours of pushing, and I bring that up cause that's another podcast. And they placed him on my chest. So, I mean, I'm exhausted. I look like some demons taken over me. I'm just so outta my body at this point. And they put him on my chest and I look at him. And he's crying. And I'm like, oh, he's so cute. And a tongue tie.

Lori:

Of course you did. Of course you did. You can never take the therapist out of us. Right? Never.

Dorothy:

Totally. Oh my God. So, exactly. So I'm like, okay, well we're gonna have to deal with this. Then I had trouble breastfeeding because of the tongue tie, which is, a whole other episode. And so I had the tongue tie fixed and breastfeeding, started to go better. his sleep was always, Rough in the beginning, the pediatrician's like, oh, it's normal for a baby to be waking up so often, which is true, it is. But as he got older, it didn't get better. He was one, he was two, he was three, and he was waking up every 45 minutes, which means I was waking up every 45 minutes. And you know, I just, I knew something still was off and. I would go to the pediatrician and they would say, you need to sleep train. He's waking up because he knows you're in the room. And for me, that just didn't feel right because call it mother's intuition. And there's nothing against sleep training. I think if it works for you, it works for you. But for me, it just did not, I knew there was more is the point.

Lori:

Mm-hmm.

Dorothy:

And I'm like, if my child is waking up every 45 minutes and he's not connecting sleep cycles, there's a reason why. And it's not because I'm in the room, it's because he can't stay asleep, so why can't he stay asleep? So finally, after a lot of digging,, I realized that he had, sleep apnea, he had en adenoids and, that when. Undetected. And so we had been removed and sleep

Lori:

And how old was he around this

Dorothy:

He was three. He was three. Oh, and actually I should backtrack too, when he was two, I started noticing some sensory stuff with him. So he, was just really reactive and in a chronic state of stress. So he didn't do well with transitions. So if he was playing and we had to go in the car, he would just melt down. And he wasn't sleeping too, so I'm like, of course, every 45 minutes he's awake. Of course he's miserable during day. So, We ended up seeing an occupational therapist, found out he has sensory processing disorder. He's seven now and we're still figuring it out. We're getting more testing done. We are also going to see a neuropsychologist, sometime this year. To figure out what more is going on with him. Unfortunately, the sleep apnea still continues. After more digging, we found that now his al tonsils are huge. So those are collapsing. So, you know, it's just been like seven years of trusting my gut. Of getting curious, of asking lots of questions from a lot of people. I am constantly on Facebook groups and mothers groups. Cuz you know what, sometimes I find that I learn more from other moms than I do from my pediatrician

Lori:

1000%. 1000%. Which is why it goes back to we need to talk, you know, this is why you and I are doing this, and we need to get other people talking as well and sharing their story. This is how we learn.

Dorothy:

Yeah, totally. And I mean, and again, you have to take everything for face value. I'm not saying that a mom's group is more important than a medical doctor. I'm not saying that, but you do have access to a lot of other moms out there that may have been going through the same thing and have done the research for you. You know, it's like maybe you don't need to. It is a

Lori:

a roadmap.

Dorothy:

Exactly. So I guess my biggest takeaway and why I wanna be part of this journey with you is that, through getting curious and through asking questions and constantly talking about it and researching, I've learned so much about my child then I ever would have if I hadn't done those things. And this is still scary. I, I don't have all the answers, but I'm a lot closer than I was, you know, even a year ago. And I feel so much better and I feel like I have a better handle on what my child needs. So it's through asking the questions. I don't have to have all the answers right now. I probably will never have all the answers, but it's through asking the questions, through getting curious, that's gotten me to the point where I'm like, okay. Now I at least I have a step by step plan as to what I need moving forward to help him.

Lori:

Yeah. And that's where the power lies, right? That's where the power lies. It's everything that I'm going through too with, with my daughter. It's. And I just got done actually emailing, you know, her school and just saying how, yeah, I mean, we are still in it for with weekly appointments to vision therapy and doing week or daily homework for vision on top of, the neuropsych testing, which is gonna be approaching 12 hours now. And, you know, it's, it's still a lot of work, but I am so way less stressed now than I was. A year ago today, and definitely two years ago today, because I'm getting answers. And once I have an answer, then I know how to, to navigate. And that's the whole piece. It's like, this is gonna, you know, well, I think children, they are, children in general are just, it's a moving target and the growth never ha, never ends. But as long as I have this roadmap that I can follow to know how I can best assist her to make her the best version of her, and me being the best mom that I could be, and leaving no stone unturned, that's where I feel. That's why I feel way less

Dorothy:

Mm-hmm.

Lori:

Um, and no, I don't have all the answers. And there's gonna be something that, you know, pops up in, I'm sure three months time and a year's time from now. But you know, the hard work is getting out of the way

Dorothy:

Yeah.

Lori:

and she's feeling better. I'm feeling better. So again, this is why Replenishing Soul has. Resurfaced and so that we can spread all this information based upon our personal experiences and some of our professional, you know, from the stuff that we've done, working with, with patients too, and just spread that because you know what, and I mean, as of right now, we're kind of talking on the children's side of things, but. You know, us moms have to take care of ourself too. And so when we get to be in a better space and we make time for ourself and we do things that replenish our souls, then we are just better also too, for our children and having the stamina. And so I think that's the bridge, right? D that we are wanting to bring to people is nurturing. The moms, the, the whoever plays that role in that, for that caregiver, for that child. Reconnecting back to yourself, not depleting yourself of being empty. And how can we help and support from an education standpoint, maybe other families out there who are going through similar struggles with neurodivergent children like you and I? And if we can bring all this information underneath one umbrella, That's, that's our purpose.

Dorothy:

Well said Laura.

Lori:

Mm-hmm. Be curious, not judgmental. Right. You never know what is going on in someone's life, and, just letting people know that they're not alone.

Dorothy:

Absolutely. And the be curious part too also speaks to don't take things at face value. You know? So if your child, like for me, if your child is waking up every 45 minutes, I could, if you looked at it just straight out like my pediatrician, it would would've been, oh yeah, you need to sleep train. Obviously that's the answer. Well, no, let's just take a step back and get curious a little bit. Right. Could there be more? And there was, or you know, again, like, just even with, my child's behavioral issues, he's panicking. He's, he's screaming, he's throwing things,. Okay, sure. You could look at him as a child, that is just a pain in the butt and he needs to be Reprimanded or whatever. Well, actually not in my child's case, he has sensory issues that are causing these behaviors. So again, it's about just pausing and just looking and observing and getting furious and realizing that there's likely something more underneath the surface of what you see

Lori:

gosh. Yes. Well, and you know, that's the thing too, when I look at these kids in schools and you know, the ones that you know, you're always hearing about In trouble again, in trouble again, in trouble again, and it just makes me get curious and be like, what are we missing for them?

Dorothy:

Right.

Lori:

eyes working correctly? You know, like it's just, a lot of times these kids are, are misbehaving, not because they're bad kids, but because they're frustrated and they don't have the words. They don't have the words. And it was everything too with my daughter who finally, finally, at the end of third grade did she then have the words saying to me, mommy, when I try to read, the words are bouncing off the page. And I mean, who knows how long that was happening for her? I never thought to ask that question. It wasn't a normal question, you know, for me to ask. She was reading words off the paper to me, and to her, that would be her normal. So the fact that she just mentioned it to me the one day, I was like, okay, red flag, where do I go with this next? And so again, you know, Kids struggle with also having the language to express what it is that they're feeling when to them it's their normal and they don't know that it's different. So it's our jobs as parents and as you know, educators in the healthcare system as well as the educational system to be looking through things through a different lens. The other piece, you know, that I hope to do with this work is to bring this into educational, institutions and be asking these questions.

Dorothy:

Yep. You're right, you're right. I'm excited. Laurie.

Lori:

can get helped. I know, I know the, the rebirthing of replenishing

Dorothy:

Woohoo. That's right. When I get off the off with you, I'm gonna go with Citizen Jesse's girl.

Lori:

Exactly. Let's play a little bit of that today. I agree. Well, you'll sign off to that to Jesse's

Dorothy:

Love it.

The information shared on this podcast is for informational purposes only and is based on the opinions and experience of Lori Dorothy and their guests. The content should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Diagnosis or a treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast