The Autism Dad
Hosted by Brittyn Coleman
A single dad to three autistic sons hosts unscripted, validating conversations with other parents about the real challenges and wins of their journey.
This is an interview podcast where host Rob Gorski facilitates raw, peer-to-peer conversations with other parents of autistic children. The show intentionally focuses on the unfiltered daily realities—both struggles and successes—of family life. A recurring segment, the "Seen & Heard" series, provides a dedicated platform for parents to share their personal stories and feel understood.
“Unlike clinical or expert-driven podcasts, this show's distinction is its raw, parent-to-parent format. It centers the lived experiences of families, prioritizing emotional validation—the feeling of being 'seen and heard'—over prescriptive advice.”
Who hosts this show
Rob Gorski is a single father to three autistic sons and the voice behind The Autism Dad blog and podcast, which he started in 2009. For over a decade, he has documented his family's daily life with autism and ADHD to provide validation, practical help, and community for other parents. His work has been featured on major platforms including CNN, ABC News, BBC Worldwide, and The Tamron Hall Show. He is also the author of the forthcoming book, "So Your Child Was Just Diagnosed with Autism" (2026).
Credentials & credits
- Founder and CEO of The Autism Dad, LLC
- Author of "So Your Child Was Just Diagnosed with Autism" (Quarto Publishing Group, 2026)
- Advisory Community Board Member, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Blogger and content creator since 2009
Other ventures
- TheAutismDad.com blog
- Special Needs Ohio podcast
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01POV: Starts off sweet but quickly takes a hard right turn 🫶😂 #shortsJun 28, 2026 · 15s
- 02POV: If Emotional Intelligence was a Person 🫶❤️🥹 #shortsJun 27, 2026 · 33s
- 03If Empathy was a person ❤️🥹🫶 #shortsJun 25, 2026 · 11s
- 04Stop Comparing the Hard, Start Validating It | Heidi Price (S9E10)Jun 18, 2026 · 20 min
- 05Seen&Heard | Mariam Shapera (S9E09)Jun 3, 2026 · 13 min
- 06The Dad Who Built an App for His Autistic Son | Justin Bowman, VizyPlan (S9E08)May 27, 2026 · 1h 05m
- 07This Is What Level 1 Autism Parenting Can Look Like | Liz Covington (S9E08)May 13, 2026 · 13 min
- 08We Rock The Spectrum (S9E06)May 6, 2026 · 34 min
Notable episodes
- 01Stop Comparing the Hard, Start Validating It | Heidi Price (S9E10)
This episode encapsulates the show's core philosophy with the guest's memorable line, 'Stop comparing the hard. Start validating the hard.'
- 02Seen&Heard | Mariam Shapera (S9E09)
Features the unique perspective of a guest who is a physician, and who admits she learned more about autism as a mother than she ever did in medical school.
- 03The Dad Who Built an App for His Autistic Son | Justin Bowman, VizyPlan (S9E08)
Highlights a parent's proactive approach to helping his child, telling the story of how and why he developed a visual planning app after his son's diagnosis.
What you'll be asked on this show
Rob Gorski opens by allowing guests to introduce themselves and their families in their own words. He guides the conversation through a consistent thematic arc, asking about daily challenges, recent wins, and the child's specific strengths and needs. A signature element of his style is to probe for the guest's feeling of being understood, asking what they wish both the outside world and the autism community itself knew about their family. He builds rapport not by challenging guests, but by validating their experiences and sharing his own vulnerabilities and similar stories, fostering a candid and supportive dialogue.
Rob Gorski hosts with a calm, empathetic demeanor, frequently sharing his own family's parallel experiences to build rapport with guests. The interviews, especially in the "Seen & Heard" series, follow a consistent structure, moving from introductions to challenges, then wins, and finally to broader reflections on being understood. The tone is supportive and non-judgmental, creating a safe space for honest sharing.
Questions Brittyn Coleman keeps coming back to
10 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Brittyn Coleman reaches for it.
origin
2- Q.01
“Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your family?”
This is his standard opening to let the guest frame their own story from the start.
- Q.02
“What did you notice that caused you to pursue an evaluation for your child?”
He uses this to explore the diagnostic journey from the very beginning.
personal
4- Q.01
“What's a regular challenge you face that others might take for granted?”
He asks this early to ground the conversation in the daily realities of autism parenting.
- Q.02
“What's a recent win your family has celebrated, big or small?”
After discussing challenges, he deliberately pivots to a positive milestone to create a balanced narrative.
- Q.03
“Can you describe your child's strengths, needs, and what their autism looks like?”
This question seeks a more detailed, person-centered profile of the child beyond the diagnosis.
- Q.04
“How did you navigate the loss of dreams you had for your son and find peace?”
This question gently probes the emotional process of parental acceptance after a diagnosis.
advice
1- Q.01
“What's one thing you wish the world better understood about autism as it relates to your kids?”
This is a signature question that asks the guest to provide a key takeaway for a general audience.
mindset
3- Q.01
“Do you feel seen and heard by the world around you?”
This directly addresses the show's central theme of external validation and understanding.
- Q.02
“What do you wish the autism community better understood about your family?”
He asks this to explore the nuances and potential judgments that can exist within the community itself.
- Q.03
“Do you feel seen and heard by the autism community at large?”
This question gauges the guest's sense of belonging and support from their direct peers.
Signature segments
- · Seen and Heard (interview series)
- · Celebrating the wins
- · Validating the hard
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are almost exclusively other parents of autistic children. They come from diverse backgrounds, including professionals like physicians and therapists who are also navigating autism parenting on a personal level.
- Heidi Priceon Stop Comparing the Hard, Start Validating It | Heidi Price (S9E10)
- Mariam Sherpaon Seen&Heard | Mariam Shapera (S9E09)
- Justin Bowmanon The Dad Who Built an App for His Autistic Son | Justin Bowman, VizyPlan (S9E08)
- Liz Covingtonon This Is What Level 1 Autism Parenting Can Look Like | Liz Covington (S9E08)
- Dina Kimmelon We Rock The Spectrum (S9E06)
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast features sponsorships for products relevant to its audience, such as sensory-friendly multivitamins and digital visual schedulers. The host discloses these partnerships and often provides a specific discount code for listeners.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch Brittyn Coleman
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People also ask
- Who is the host of The Autism Dad?
- The host is Rob Gorski, a single father of three autistic sons who has been blogging and podcasting about his family's journey since 2009.
- Is The Autism Dad podcast still active?
- Yes, the podcast is in its 9th season and releases new episodes twice a week.
- What is the format of the show?
- The show primarily features long-form interviews with other parents of autistic children, as well as conversations with clinicians and autistic adults.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The podcast is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most other major podcast platforms.
- What is the 'Seen & Heard' series?
- It's a recurring series of episodes focused on giving parents a platform to share their unscripted, unfiltered life experiences with autism in their own words.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
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