{"id":2157,"date":"2022-06-20T10:34:40","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T16:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/?p=2157"},"modified":"2022-06-20T10:34:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T16:34:44","slug":"neurodiversity-in-foster-care-with-the-mcleod-fam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/20\/neurodiversity-in-foster-care-with-the-mcleod-fam\/","title":{"rendered":"Neurodiversity in Foster Care with The Mcleod Fam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Embed Player\" src=\"\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/23477552\/height\/192\/theme\/modern\/size\/large\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/fbbb44\/time-start\/00:00:00\/playlist-height\/200\/direction\/backward\/download\/yes\" height=\"192\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" mozallowfullscreen=\"true\" oallowfullscreen=\"true\" msallowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border: none;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eeka&nbsp;McLeod\u2019sjourney to building her family began when she made the decision to pursue her dream of adopting a child. After becoming a licensed foster parent while in graduate school, she started welcoming children into her home. Throughout her time fostering,&nbsp;Eeka&nbsp;cared for 18 children and eventually adopted three with disabilities: Eli, Evan, and Ella<strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The self-described \u201cfamily of misfits&#8221; has made a name for themselves on social media during the pandemic with unapologetically real, hilarious content showcasing the triumphs and challenges of their daily lives.&nbsp;Their devoted fanbase includes&nbsp;<strong>126 million likes&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@themcleodfam?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>2.5 million followers<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/a>on&nbsp;<strong>TikTok<\/strong>, over&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/themcleodfamily\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>108,000 followers<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<strong>Instagram,&nbsp;<\/strong>as well as over&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/TheMcLeodFam\/featured\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>164 million views,<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;and over&nbsp;241,000 subscribers&nbsp;on&nbsp;YouTube.Eeka&nbsp;is passionate about using the family\u2019s platform to&nbsp;advocate&nbsp;for acceptance for the&nbsp;LGBTQ+ community&nbsp;and&nbsp;people with disabilities. Six-year-old Evan, who is queer, has become a social media star in her own right thanks to her love of wearing long dresses and colorful hairstyles. Her story has garnered coverage from well-known media outlets including the Today Show, CBS News and Out Magazine to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Foster Care: An Unparalleled Journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Find All Our Links Here<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/fostercarenation\">https:\/\/linktr.ee\/fostercarenation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Merch!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/tee.pub\/lic\/RwiARsuuDHs\">http:\/\/tee.pub\/lic\/RwiARsuuDHs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Call the Voicemail Line<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">413-foster 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(413) 367-8373<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Foster Care 101<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/20\/foster-care-101-how-to-become-a-foster-parent\/\">Free webinar with&nbsp;<strong>NO sales pitch!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Support Our Mission<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/fostercare\">https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/fostercare<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/patreon.com\/fostercarenation\">https:\/\/patreon.com\/fostercarenation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Website<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-jason-and-amanda-palmer wp-block-embed-jason-and-amanda-palmer\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"cq3JMEQdz0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/\">Foster Care: An Unparalleled Journey Podcast<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Foster Care: An Unparalleled Journey Podcast&#8221; &#8212; Jason and Amanda Palmer\" src=\"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/embed\/#?secret=qnqNQvXbpe#?secret=cq3JMEQdz0\" data-secret=\"cq3JMEQdz0\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Connect with us on our Facebook Page<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/7timedad\">https:\/\/facebook.com\/7timedad<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Connect on Instagram<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fostercarenation\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fostercarenation\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eeka&nbsp;McLeod\u2019sjourney to building her family began when she made the decision to pursue her dream of adopting a child. After becoming a licensed foster parent while in graduate school, she started welcoming children into her home. Throughout her time fostering,&nbsp;Eeka&nbsp;cared for 18 children and eventually adopted three with disabilities: Eli, Evan, and Ella. The self-described&#8230;<a class=\"read-more-link button\" href=\"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/20\/neurodiversity-in-foster-care-with-the-mcleod-fam\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","libsyn-item-id":0,"libsyn-show-id":0,"libsyn-post-error":"","libsyn-post-error_post-type":"","libsyn-post-error_post-permissions":"","libsyn-post-error_api":"","playlist-podcast-url":"","libsyn-episode-thumbnail":"","libsyn-episode-widescreen_image":"","libsyn-episode-blog_image":"","libsyn-episode-background_image":"","libsyn-post-episode-category-selection":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_thumbnail":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_theme":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_height":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_width":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_placement":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_download_link":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_download_link_text":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_custom_color":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-explicit":"","libsyn-post-episode":"","libsyn-post-episode-update-id3":"","libsyn-post-episode-release-date":"","libsyn-post-episode-simple-download":"","libsyn-release-date":"","libsyn-post-update-release-date":"","libsyn-is_draft":"","libsyn-new-media-media":"","libsyn-post-episode-subtitle":"","libsyn-new-media-image":"","libsyn-post-episode-keywords":"","libsyn-post-itunes":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-number":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-season-number":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-type":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-title":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-author":"","libsyn-destination-releases":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data-enabled":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data-input-enabled":false,"libsyn-post-episode-premium_state":"","libsyn-episode-shortcode":"","libsyn-episode-embedurl":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2309,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/14\/supporting-the-supporters-with-nikki-hertzler\/","url_meta":{"origin":2157,"position":0},"title":"Supporting the Supporters with Nikki Hertzler","author":"Jason","date":"May 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Nikki Hertzler resides in northern Nevada. She and her husband have lived in several states before settling with their three children in Nevada. Nikki is an elementary teacher and as a speaker, she speaks on the importance of early childhood development as well as on foster care. Her family enjoys\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"adoption\"","block_context":{"text":"adoption","link":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/tag\/adoption\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Nikki-Hertzler-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Nikki-Hertzler-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Nikki-Hertzler-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Nikki-Hertzler-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Nikki-Hertzler-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2164,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/27\/foster-parents-need-community-too-with-marcy-pusey\/","url_meta":{"origin":2157,"position":1},"title":"Foster Parents Need Community Too with Marcy Pusey","author":"Jason","date":"June 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Marcy\u00a0is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Trauma and Resilience Practitioner, speaker, Story Coach, and the best-selling author of books for adults and for children. She does her best writing on retreats with a nearby hot tub, in any castle, or within view of the sea.\u00a0 Over the last twenty\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Marcy-Pusey-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Marcy-Pusey-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Marcy-Pusey-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Marcy-Pusey-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Marcy-Pusey-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1893,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/04\/all-the-faces-of-foster-care-with-natalie-chavis-fisher\/","url_meta":{"origin":2157,"position":2},"title":"All the Faces of Foster Care with Natalie Chavis Fisher","author":"Jason","date":"July 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Natalie Chavis Fisher\u00a0is a best-selling author, third-generation attorney and executive producer for the feature documentary\u00a0Foster Care: Perfect Imperfection. She is a leading expert in foster care adoption committed to helping improve the lives of vulnerable children and their caretakers. Natalie believes broken systems break children and has dedicated her life\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/All-the-Faces-of-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/All-the-Faces-of-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/All-the-Faces-of-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/All-the-Faces-of-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/All-the-Faces-of-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1520,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/25\/foster-parent-coach-with-mary-rose-maloney\/","url_meta":{"origin":2157,"position":3},"title":"FOSTER PARENT COACH WITH MARY ROSE MALONEY","author":"Jason","date":"October 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"MaryRose is a foster parent coach and a former child welfare case manager. She owns and operates her own online coaching business that supports foster parents as they support children and families. MaryRose\u00a0works with foster parents on things like advocating effectively, setting and enforcing boundaries, supporting parents on their journey\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2149,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/12\/daily-struggles-inside-foster-care-and-adoption-with-author-jillana-goble\/","url_meta":{"origin":2157,"position":4},"title":"Daily Struggles Inside Foster Care and Adoption with Author Jillana Goble","author":"Jason","date":"June 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Jillana\u00a0Goble\u00a0is a speaker, author, and advocate. She holds a master\u2019s degree in teaching. Together with her husband, Luke, she parents five children ranging in age from preteen to young adult. Jillana is the founder of an unprecedented initiative that has turned into a statewide movement called Every Child Oregon. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Jillana-Goble-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Jillana-Goble-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Jillana-Goble-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Jillana-Goble-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Jillana-Goble-1500.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2282,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/12\/foster-and-adoptive-mom-angie-grandt\/","url_meta":{"origin":2157,"position":5},"title":"Foster and Adoptive Mom Angie Grandt","author":"Jason","date":"March 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a mom of 2 very different children \u2013 in regardto their biology, their needs, their attachment, theirexperiences. I have worked in the special educationfield for more than 2 decades intimately hearing,seeing, and feeling parents struggle to connect withtheir children who have developmental delays. Linktree with all her links\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Angie-Grandt-1500-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Angie-Grandt-1500-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Angie-Grandt-1500-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Angie-Grandt-1500-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Angie-Grandt-1500-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbv0Lz-yN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/The-Mcleod-Fam-1500.png?fit=1500%2C1500&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2157"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2161,"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2157\/revisions\/2161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}