Episodes

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...

Could AI Help Us Understand Non-Speaking Autism? What if artificial intelligence could help parents and caregivers better understand what a profoundly autistic, non-speaking person experiences throughout the day? In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr explores how emerging AI technology could potentially help families identify patterns in stress, communication, behavior, engagement, and joy. Mike introduces the concept of an AI "Doer," an assistant designed not simply to answer questions ...

Stress is a reality for many parents and caregivers supporting someone with profound or severe autism, especially when that support continues into adulthood. In this personal Autism Labs episode, Mike Carr reflects on a frightening bicycle accident that gave him an unexpected opportunity to step back and reconsider the stress he carries as the father of his profoundly autistic adult son, Michael. Mike speaks openly about the realities of lifelong autism caregiving, including disrupted family pla...

AI is changing the world, but can it truly support families navigating severe and profound autism? In this episode, Mike Carr, father of a profoundly autistic adult son, tests four leading AI tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini. His mission is simple but critical: determine whether AI can help parents find real-world solutions for caregiving, adult transition planning, and high-support needs. What he discovers is both promising and concerning. While AI tools can quickly generate re...

In this powerful season premiere of Autism Labs, Mike Carr explores what it really means to “play the game” of profound autism caregiving and why most families are looking at it the wrong way. Using a mix of real-life experience and storytelling, Mike reflects on 35 years of raising a profoundly autistic son and reveals a truth many families eventually discover: caregiving is not evenly distributed, and the most important role is often invisible. From managing therapy schedules and behavioral ch...