Beyond the Label Podcast
We’re Ty & Lisa Kellogg—parents to three great kids: Nora, Milo, and June. Our daughters are neurotypical, and our son is autistic. Since Milo’s diagnosis in January 2023, we’ve been learning how to navigate parenting, family dynamics, and life in ways we never expected.
Spoiler alert: We don’t have all the answers (to parenting or podcasting), but we’re figuring it out as we go. This show is our way of processing the highs and lows, sharing what’s real—grief, hope, fear, laughter—and connecting with others on similar journeys.
If you’re parenting a neurodivergent child, love someone who is, or just want an honest look at one family's parenting experiences, you’re in the right place. (We’re nice, we promise.)
Episodes
70 episodes
E70: Milo's Too Big?
Milo has spent the last few years watching Ty and Nora leave together for soccer practices and games. He knows he can't go with them, and he's made up his own reason as to why not.In this episode, we're talking about the realities of te...
E69: Victory Is a Lonely Word
We talk a lot about an outing or an event being a "success" for Milo. But even small victories come at a cost. We're sharing another recent birthday party experience with a "behind the scenes" look at what it takes for us to attend as a family....
E68: Cake Is Too Dangerous?
The last few weeks included Nora's 9th birthday celebrations at home, and an outdoor birthday party for several of the kids' friends at a local park - both challenging situations for us to navigate with Milo.We're talking about how both ...
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E67: I Need Some Paper
Milo needs more paper - always.Drawing has become his favorite activity over the last month or so, and his depictions of characters and scenes from Up, Despicable Me, Anastasia, and K-Pop Demon Hunters are scattered all over our house.&n...
E66: How to Help
A listener wrote in and asked how to help their family member whose young son was recently diagnosed with autism. Thinking through their question led us back to a moment in time several years ago, with Milo's diagnosis still recent and his phys...
E65: Reciprocation
Milo is eager to connect with his peers—kids he's just met on the playground, his sisters and cousins, his classmates. In therapy, he's working hard to practice peer-to-peer interactions and conversations. But even when he does everything "righ...
E64: Second Grade
We're back from our summer break with an update on Milo! Join us as we share how he's been doing, some of the specific skills he's been working on at therapy, and why the letters C, R, U, S, and H have us puzzled.
E63: I'm Bored
On the drive home from our family vacation, an unexpected song broke out in the back of the van.In this episode, we reflect on a small moment that meant a lot to us: hearing Milo join in with his sisters. We talk about the many ways Milo...
E62: Father's Day
In this episode, Ty shares a reflection on fatherhood.He references episode 45, "No Mom," where Lisa shares her perspective. You can listen to that here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2431776/episodes/18621023
E61: Big Water
"Big water. Big hotel."For weeks, Milo has been eagerly counting down to our family's annual beach trip. In this episode, we're sharing how vacations have changed over the years and reflecting on the progress that's easy to miss until yo...
E60: Birthday
A birthday party.A really hard moment.And questions we can't stop thinking about—but also can't answer.How do you balance your child's needs with the needs of those around them?What does inclusion look like wh...
E59: Glimmers, Round Two
We're sharing a fresh collection of glimmers—the small but meaningful moments that have brought us joy lately. These are the moments that remind us how much growth can happen over time.We're also reflecting on why we started this podcast...
E58: Two Milos
There are moments when Milo feels relaxed, familiar, and fully himself. And then there are moments when the world feels much harder for him—and for us—to navigate.In this episode, we talk about how different environments affect Milo, why...
E57: On the Edge
Over the last few months, things with Milo have felt… good. Calm, even. But lately, old behaviors and triggers have started resurfacing, and we can feel our family entering another difficult cycle.In this episode, we share what it looks ...
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E56: The Space Between
In this episode, we talk about the complicated space between what Milo understands and what he doesn’t, and how difficult it can be to parent from that uncertainty.
E55: Milo & ABA
We’re sharing our family’s experience with ABA — Applied Behavior Analysis — therapy over the last 3 years: what we knew about it going in, what surprised us about it, and how it has worked for Milo.If you’re looking for a formal overvie...
E54: School Is Closed
Two kids. Two buses. Two very different days.In this episode, we share how Milo is beginning to understand that his sister goes to school—and he doesn’t—and what that’s looked like in one small, everyday moment that’s gotten a lot more c...
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E53: Progress
In this episode, we talk about what progress really looks like in our life with Milo—and how it rarely looks the way we expected.From small but meaningful moments at the dinner table to the realities behind therapy goals and daily challe...
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E52: Bubble
In this episode, we share what it’s like to navigate the world with our son Milo, who is autistic. Through moments from a recent trip, we reflect on the contrast between the comfort of our home “bubble” and the unpredictability of public spaces...
E51: Smile
We're reflecting on the first moments we wondered if autism might be part of our son Milo’s story.We revisit memories of Milo as a baby—smiling, making eye contact, and seeming “typical”—and the relief we felt, alongside the quiet concer...
E50: Connections
Building community has looked different for each of our kids. With Nora and June, connections with other families often happen naturally through school, activities, and everyday conversations. With Milo, it hasn’t always been that simple.
E49: That's a Pretty Name
A brief but meaningful interaction in a crowded Costco aisle left us thinking long after it ended. As Milo grows older, we sometimes find ourselves wondering how the world will respond to the ways he connects with others, especially when those ...
E48: The Loop
For years, we’ve described Milo as being “stuck in a loop.” These days, that loop involves repeated questions about Llama Llama toys and birthday parties. In this episode, we reflect on how looping has evolved from something that trapped our fa...
