Navigating Life with ALS: Resilience & Advocacy with Sara

Therapy Thoughts

Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.8 • 653 Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome back to the Therapy Thoughts podcast! We've been on hiatus and in 2025, we're back in full swing to bring you no BS mental health related episodes!

In this powerful and personal episode, we sit down with Sara, a brilliant mother, former teacher, and fierce advocate with ALS. This conversation is not just about illness; it's about identity, agency, and resilience in the face of a system that often overlooks disabled bodies and voices.

Sarah shares her journey from being a high school social studies teacher to navigating life with ALS. The importance of patience, presence, and effort in communication, especially when using assistive technology.

Accessibility and inclusion should be mandatory, not optional. Let's create spaces that include everyone and challenge the systems that impact mental health. Sara's wisdom and resilience are a testament to the power of advocacy and the importance of listening and learning from marginalized voices.

Follow Sarah on Instagram & share her story to support ALS advocacy and care. @theanandapivot
Use the code "Sara" on coping skills or affirmation decks at tiffanyroe.com, with proceeds supporting ALS advocacy and Sara's family.
Note from Sara regarding donations: "none of my caregivers costs are covered by insurance, so all direct donations go to me to covering those costs.
Venmo is @sara-bennett-10 and/or my kids are raising money in lieu of gifts for their birthdays!"
ALS TDI focuses solely on research here

#TherapyThoughts #ALSAdvocacy #InclusionMatters

Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh, that's my prime delivery.
0:01.6	What, already?
0:02.7	Only one thing can match the buzz of Prime's fast delivery.
0:06.2	And that's the buzz of Prime's entertainment.
0:09.0	What are we watching?
0:09.7	Heads of state, that new action comedy with Idris Elber as the Prime Minister,
0:13.3	John Sina as the president, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, as their only hope.
0:17.0	It looks like a blast.
0:18.3	From fast delivery to explosive entertainment, it's on Prime. For only
0:23.0	899 a month, join now. Content includes limited ads, subscription, or to renews. For more information,
0:28.2	go to amazon.com.uk.U.K. slash prime. Hey, welcome back to the Therapy Thoughts podcast.
0:33.6	Today's episode is powerful and personal, and I am deeply honored to be able to share this
0:42.4	interview with Sarah, a brilliant mother, former teacher, and a fierce advocate who is living
0:49.7	with ALS. This is not just a story about illness. It's a story about identity and agency, resilience,
0:59.7	and the other topic at hand is this is all being done in the face of a system that often
1:06.9	overlooks disabled bodies and voices. So before we dive in, I want to name a few things from my
1:14.5	therapy thoughts lens. This conversation required effort, patience, and presence. I mean, not just
1:24.5	from Sarah, but from all of us that were in the call that made it happen.
1:28.8	So the full interview when I did it live was over an hour long, but Sarah is using an eye-tracking communication device.
1:38.9	So we edited this episode down to about 20 minutes. And that is part of privilege. We made it 20 minutes for
1:50.7	clarity. We made it because our world values urgent, rushing. And the real interview is nothing
2:00.6	that any kind of like podcast structure would normally follow.
	...

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