Julie Hornock wears many capes: she is an autism mom, author, speaker, advocate, cheerleader, and the strongest ally any mom of a newly diagnosed special needs child could ever ask for.
She used her superpowers to mightily pen United in Autism, Finding Strength Inside the Spectrum and is now saving the planet one autism mom at a time with Labeled and Loved– an arsenal of lifelines meant to help us soldier on with a smile.
Armed with a shield of wit, warmth, and welcome, Julie uses her superhuman strengths to create a marvelous autism mom universe.
Blonde Remarks
We love Julie Hornok. She is a breath of fresh air in the sense that she speaks to what we autism moms are all thinking, yet articulates it so effortlessly and beautifully. We need her on the days we can barely form a sentence. She gets us. She is the real deal. As an added bonus, she is SUPER funny! Julie is one of those guests we could chat with allllll day, causing us to forget when our mics were actually recording.
Kristi is anxiously waiting (an advanced, signed copy of?) Normal is Boring (coming soon). The book is inspired by her daughter Lizzie who has autism. We can’t wait for you to hear (listen) about it!
Sadly, the Labeled and Loved retreat mentioned in the podcast will again have to be postponed. Damned Covid! The Blondes may or may not have alerted their husbands of this news and may or may not still be flying to the event location just for some well needed sleep. Follow @labeledandloved for updates! Follow @disorderlyblondes to see how we turned lemons into vodka lemonades.
Questions We Asked
We would say “let’s start from the beginning,” but autism moms experience SO many beginnings, right? Let’s do this- Lizzie’s college acceptance: is this a beginning you thought you’d get to see?
You have two sons, Noah and Andrew. What are their ages and tell us what their journey has been like growing up a sibling who has autism?
We listened to your interview with author and mutual friend Laurie Hellman (shoutout to another great ASD Momma- woohoo!). You mentioned how you wished you would have been more candid in your reporting of the bad days you experienced while raising Lizzie (and two other children). Some parents often cope or choose to not mention the rough days and the not-so- hallmark days. The media almost exclusively chooses to ignore the severe population, as we know. What does a rough day look like nowadays versus when Lizzie was, say, 5?
We did get a little bit of back story on your soon to be published book NORMAL IS BORING. Hearing the process really hit home with me (Kristi) as my J.R. is constantly asking why his brain works differently. Can you offer our listeners some inside scoop about Lizzie’s role in this genius idea?
Julie you are alllllll about reminding autism moms that SELF CARE is paramount. Neither showering alone NOR getting to the grocery store alone count toward self-care. Tell us how we fall into this trap and why it’s so WRONG!
We’re curious to know what you think the “modern” autism mom is doing RIGHT? I am constantly meeting what Brenda and I call “young moms” (really new to a diagnosis, but likely younger than us HA) and they seem SO MUCH MORE together than I was 16 years ago. What’s their secret?
The Labeled and Loved retreat is still on for 2021, we hope? If not, Brenda and I are flying to San Antonio anyway. Is registration still open and if so tell our listeners why they need to be there. (The Labeled and Loved retreat has been postponed but its mission and daily affirmations offered have not nor ever will be!)
images courtesy juliehornok.com and labeledandloved.org