NCED - Family Navigation Network

10/20/2026

🌉 Building Bridges to Adulthood — OUT NOW! 🎙️

One of our favorite moments from Episode 2 is when Peyton Anderson shares her advice for young people with disabilities navigating their own transition to adulthood. 💙

Her message? Be actively involved, speak up for yourself, and advocate for what you need. Your voice matters, and you deserve to be part of the decisions that shape your future!

Tune in to hear Peyton, host Maria Barber, and guest Michael Storr discuss transition planning, self-advocacy, family support, and building a bridge to adulthood.

🎧 Listen to Building Bridges to Adulthood on Spotify now! https://open.spotify.com/episode/41nwNI2NzTXu9mVt5foZZ1?si=N0VxePV_T5K9HgLWPVYTkw

10/16/2026

🎙️ Building Bridges to Adulthood | Episode 2

How can we help young people with disabilities prepare for life after high school?

Host Maria Barber joins Michael Storr and Peyton Anderson from the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative to discuss early transition planning, student voice, self-advocacy, and collaboration among families, schools, and community agencies. They also explore how real-world experiences and tools like AI can build confidence and independence.

Peyton shares her transition journey, including her work with autistic children and how she's built confidence as she pursues her goals.

Listen on Spotify Monday, October 26! 💙

10/15/2026

Finding child care that meets your child’s needs can feel overwhelming, but support is available. 💙

Check out First 5 Nevada’s article, “How to Find Child Care for Children with Special Needs,” for tips and resources to help families explore their options. We’re excited to see Family Navigation Network (FNN) included as a resource for families of children and youth with special health care needs!

🔗 Read the article: https://www.first5nevada.org/news-and-articles/how-to-find-child-care-for-children-with-special-needs/

No matter your family structure or income level, Nevada offers an array of no-cost programs, services and resources to support your child prenatally through age five.

10/14/2026

🎙️ BUILDING BRIDGES PODCAST | EPISODE #2

This week, we are honored to welcome Michael Stoehr and Peyton Anderson as special guests on the Building Bridges Podcast, hosted by Maria Barber! 💙

🌉 Michael Stoehr is a Project Coordinator for Knowledge Development and a Technical Assistance Specialist with the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT) at UNC Charlotte. His work supports transition services and opportunities for young people with disabilities to achieve success in education, employment, and independent living.

🌉 Peyton Anderson shares her firsthand experience navigating transition planning and preparing for life beyond high school. Her story highlights the importance of self-advocacy, finding her voice, building independence, and having the tools and support to shape her own future.

Together, Michael and Peyton bring professional and lived-experience perspectives to a conversation about rethinking transition planning, strengthening relationships, and creating meaningful opportunities for young people to build futures filled with purpose and possibility.

🔗 Connect with the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative
🌐 Website: https://transitionta.org
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transitionta
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ntact-c/posts/?feedView=all

10/12/2026

What happens when we make space for real conversations? A little laughter, a few tears, and the reminder that we’re not alone in this journey. ❤️

🎙️ In this first episode of Building Bridges to Adulthood, Maria Barber and Stephanie Garcia introduce the heart behind the podcast and share their excitement for the conversations ahead, joined by special guests Marcia J’ O’Malley and Aryam Monge!

Together, we’ll explore the transition from youth to adulthood for young people with disabilities and their families, sharing stories, resources, experiences, and plenty of real moments along the way.

✨ Because this journey isn’t always easy, and sometimes you need more than information. You need a community that understands, listens, and reminds you that you’re not alone.

🎧 Join us for the beginning of Building Bridges to Adulthood, available on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2AflZdWJilgeDTmL1kHtCp?si=Hc015LaYQHKEetUA49hn5w

🌉 Let’s build a bridge together.

10/10/2026

Bridging the gap, together. 💙
It takes a great team to build a strong bridge to adulthood!

Meet Maria Barber and Stephanie Garcia, the hosts of the Building Bridges to Adulthood podcast, alongside our special guests for Episode 1, Marcia O’Malley and Aryam Monge! 🎙️✨

Our team brings professional expertise in family navigation, transition services, project coordination, and marketing, along with something just as meaningful: firsthand experience as loved ones, parents, and/or caregivers.

We understand that the journey from youth to adulthood can come with questions, challenges, and uncertainty. Through real conversations, shared experiences, and valuable resources, we’re excited to explore the supports that help young adults with disabilities and their families navigate this important transition.

🎧 Listen to us on Spotify starting Monday, October 12! Tune in to Building Bridges to Adulthood for conversations, insights, and resources to help you navigate the journey to adulthood. We can’t wait for you to join us on this journey! 💙

The Building Bridges to Adulthood podcast is made possible through funding from Nevada Vocational Rehabilitation.

Let’s build a bridge together!

10/10/2026

Sharing an opportunity to make your voice heard! 📣

Nevada’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR Nevada) is hosting virtual town halls to gather input from the disability community and community partners for its 2027 strategic planning.

Join to share your ideas, comments, or concerns!

Monday, October 5 at 10:00 am Zoom Meeting ID: 883 4544 9077 Passcode: 721829 https://nvdetr-org.zoom.us/j/88345449077
Monday, October 12 at 5:00 pm Zoom Meeting ID: 837 5048 3973 Passcode: 926444 https://nvdetr-org.zoom.us/j/83750483973
Your voice matters. We value your participation.

https://vrnevada.nv.gov/town-hall-meetings-2026/

10/09/2026

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)! 💼✨

We’re celebrating the valuable contributions of employees with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities across Northern Nevada. Let’s keep opening doors and building accessible workplaces in Reno and beyond.

Whether you run a business in Midtown or work in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, creating accessible job opportunities empowers our local economy. Connect with local resources, such as UNR’s Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities and Nevada DETR, to learn how to foster an inclusive workplace.

10/08/2026

So much of what we do happens through webinars, PowerPoints, presentations, and sharing information. But sometimes, what we really need is a conversation. 💬

That’s what we've created!

🎙️ Introducing Building Bridges to Adulthood — a podcast where we come together to share real conversations, stories, resources, laughs, and a whole lot of heart. ❤️ We're on Spotify!

We’ll be talking about the transition from youth to adulthood for young people with disabilities and their families, exploring the supports that help build a stronger bridge to adulthood — from education and employment to health care, relationships, independence, and self-advocacy.

Hosted by Maria Barber and Stephanie Garcia with the Family Navigation Network at the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities, Building Bridges to Adulthood is a space to connect, learn from one another, share experiences, and have some fun along the way.

🎧 Our first episode drops Monday, October 12 on Spotify!

Come join the conversation. Let’s build a bridge together. 🌉

10/08/2026

October is ADHD Awareness Month! 🧠💡ADHD isn't just "trouble sitting still," it’s a neurodevelopmental difference involving executive functioning, emotional regulation, hyperfocus, and time perception. Far too many adults and kids in our community go undiagnosed or face harmful misconceptions.

Embracing neurodiversity means recognizing strengths such as creative problem-solving and outside-the-box thinking while building environments that accommodate executive functioning challenges. 💙