Episodes

What should parents and caregivers believe when they hear a new claim about autism treatment? After more than 35 years raising his son Michael, who has severe autism and complex support needs, Mike Carr shares what his family has learned about navigating autism research, treatment claims, caregiving and everyday support. In this episode, Mike discusses commonly asked questions about vaccines and autism, acetaminophen/Tylenol during pregnancy, leucovorin, cerebral folate deficiency and folic a...

For families supporting someone with profound autism, unstructured time can sometimes lead to boredom, frustration, agitation, or challenging behavior. In this episode, Mike Carr shares how his family uses structure, visual schedules, communication tools, and meaningful choices to help his son Michael build independence and participate more actively in his daily life. Mike explains why visual structure isn't simply about keeping someone busy. Everyday activities such as making the bed, doing lau...

For parents and caregivers of profoundly autistic adults, one of the hardest questions is often: Who will provide lifelong care when we can no longer do it ourselves? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr explores what families should look for when evaluating residential care for adults with profound autism and complex support needs. Drawing from his experience as a parent to a profoundly autistic adult and his work with J13, Mike examines residential programs through a family-centered lens....

For families supporting an adult with profound autism, respite care can mean much more than a temporary break. The right program needs to understand communication differences, behavioral support needs, medical considerations, routines, safety and the individual's strengths. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares what his family has learned through J13 Community in Austin, Texas and why traditional respite models may not meet the needs of adults with profound autism or multiple intellec...

What happens when parents can no longer care for their profoundly autistic adult child? For families supporting autistic adults with significant support needs, planning for residential care can be one of the most difficult parts of the transition to adulthood. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares his family's firsthand experience searching for long-term residential options for his 35-year-old son, who has severe autism, is nonverbal and has multiple complex support needs. Mike exa...

What happens when the school bus stops coming? For parents raising a severely or profoundly autistic teenager or young adult, the transition out of school can feel like standing at the edge of a cliff. IEPs end, familiar routines disappear, and families have to figure out what comes next. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares lessons from 35 years of raising his profoundly autistic son, Michael, and explores practical ways families can begin building a meaningful adult life beyond ...

What should happen when an autism transition program makes a serious mistake? In this episode, Mike Carr continues the conversation about transitioning to adulthood and aging out of the school system by exploring the idea of a “fail-safe culture.” Mike shares a real incident from a community outing involving an autistic young adult who became highly distressed and physically aggressive toward a staff member. Rather than simply blaming the individual or removing him from the program, the team ...

What happens when a profoundly autistic young adult ages out of the school system? For many families, the transition to adulthood can mean losing familiar school-based supports while facing limited options for adult autism services, employment, community participation, and meaningful daily activities. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr continues the conversation about transitioning to adulthood and aging out of the school system. Drawing from his family's experience raising a severely ...

What happens when a profoundly autistic person ages out of the school system? For many parents and caregivers, the transition to adulthood can feel overwhelming. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr begins a new series focused on autism transition planning, aging out of school services, independent living, communication, vocational skills, and adult services. Mike draws from his family's experience raising Michael, his profoundly autistic adult son, and shares practical lessons they've l...

What role does fun play in the life of someone with profound autism? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr explores why meaningful, enjoyable experiences should be an intentional part of autism care, especially for people with profound or severe autism and significant support needs. Mike shares a personal story about his son Michael and his love of being on the water. What may look like a simple boat outing actually requires extensive preparation, physical assistance, supervision, and saf...

What role can variety play in the life of a person with profound autism? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares personal experiences from raising his adult son, Michael, and explores how trying different activities can sometimes uncover unexpected interests, social connections, and sources of joy. For many autistic people, predictable routines can provide important structure. At the same time, families may discover new opportunities for recreation and connection by carefully introdu...

Aggressive behavior can be one of the most difficult challenges families face when supporting a person with profound or severe autism. In this episode of the Autism Labs Podcast, Mike Carr shares his personal experience raising his adult son, Michael, and navigating years of aggressive and challenging behavior. Mike discusses what his family has learned about applied behavior analysis (ABA), the importance of understanding what happens before a behavior, how our responses can unintentionally rei...

Finding the right caregiver for someone with autism, especially profound autism is one of the most important and challenging decisions families face. In this episode, Mike Carr shares what he’s learned after decades of hiring, training, and working alongside hundreds of caregivers. From in-home support to structured programs, Mike breaks down the qualities that truly matter when building a care team you can trust. This episode goes beyond resumes and certifications, focusing on the human traits ...

In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares decades of lived experience raising a profoundly autistic adult son and building real-world support systems for families who are often underserved. This conversation goes beyond theory and focuses on what actually helps families thrive when autism support needs are high and lifelong. Mike discusses how community-based programs, structured environments, and proactive behavioral planning can dramatically improve quality of life for both individuals ...

What can parents and caregivers do to make everyday life easier for someone with profound autism? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares seven practical autism parenting and caregiving strategies based on his family's experience raising his profoundly autistic son, Michael. Mike discusses how better communication can help reduce anxiety, why visual schedules can make routines easier to understand, how parents can recognize nonverbal cues, and why enthusiastic praise can encourage po...

What really helps autistic people, especially those with profound autism and significant support needs? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr looks beyond theory and shares what his family and J13 have learned from putting community-based experiences into practice with autistic adults. Their summer camp brings participants into a variety of real-world environments, including climbing gyms, trampoline parks, farms, bowling alleys, horseback activities and Morgan’s Wonderland. Mike shares a pa...

What happens when a family depends on Medicaid to support a loved one with profound autism and that funding becomes uncertain? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr discusses autism funding options and financial planning strategies that families may want to understand as they prepare for adulthood and the transition out of school services. Drawing from his family's experience supporting his son with profound autism, Mike provides a high-level overview of several potential sources of support,...

What happens when a family depends on Medicaid to support a loved one with profound autism and that funding becomes uncertain? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr discusses autism funding options and financial planning strategies that families may want to understand as they prepare for adulthood and the transition out of school services. Drawing from his family's experience supporting his son with profound autism, Mike provides a high-level overview of several potential sources of support,...

Finding residential housing for a profoundly autistic adult can be one of the most difficult decisions a family faces. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares five practical lessons for parents and caregivers who are researching residential programs, respite care and long-term adult services for autistic adults with complex support needs. Drawing from his family's experience raising a profoundly autistic adult son and from visiting residential programs, Mike explains why families should...

Autism 1 in 31: What Does It Mean for Profound Autism Families? Autism prevalence has changed significantly over the past several decades, but what do those numbers mean for families living with profound autism and significant support needs? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr examines the latest CDC autism prevalence data and reflects on his family's experience raising a son with profound autism. The CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network estimated that a...

Pica can be a serious safety concern for autistic children and adults, particularly when someone repeatedly eats or mouths non-food items. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares 35 years of firsthand experience raising his severely autistic son, Michael. Speaking as a parent rather than a clinician, Mike explains what pica has looked like in their family and the practical steps they've taken to reduce risk. Mike discusses examples ranging from eating rocks, leaves, dirt, and clothing t...

Creating a Safe and Structured Home for Profound Autism For families supporting someone with profound autism, the home environment can play an important role in safety, communication, daily routines and independence. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares real-world lessons from creating a safer and more structured home for his son, Michael. Mike begins with a frightening experience involving Michael's pica behavior and a chlorine tablet near the family pool. That incident reinforce...

Creating a Safe and Structured Home for Profound Autism For families supporting someone with profound autism, the home environment can play an important role in safety, communication, daily routines and independence. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr shares real-world lessons from creating a safer and more structured home for his son, Michael. Mike begins with a frightening experience involving Michael's pica behavior and a chlorine tablet near the family pool. That incident reinforce...

What happens when a profoundly autistic young adult reaches the end of school-based services? For Mike Carr and his family, that question became a reality as their son, Michael, approached age 22. Finding appropriate adult services proved more difficult than expected, especially when programs struggled to accommodate complex support needs. In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike shares the family's journey from searching for an adult program to creating a home-based support model of their own. T...