About Progress

“You have unique experiences with each one of your children. I think that working to cultivate happiness in your home, even though you could be going through hard things . . . really pays off. What you think about transcends, and it impacts your everyday life.”   Nicole Kalkowski has had to fight for her son throughout his entire life. From a toddler diagnosed with regressive autism then immediately after with a myriad of diseases, including mitochondria and epilepsy, Nicole has relied on her intuition and resilience to get doctors to hear her and to help her son. She has literally kept him alive.   Redbook Magazine covered the Kalkowski family for an entire year, documenting what it was like to have a then-three-year old son with autism. (A beautiful picture from the feature is below, with article links in the show notes.) Nicole later became an advocate and got amazing legislation passed that will ensure other parents don't have to face the darkness helplessly, as her family had.    Ryan (now almost a teen!