For families with neurodivergence, resources and support are often easier to find for children than adults. On this episode of “Enable: The Disability Podcast,” two moms of adult children with autism spoke about the challenges they’ve faced, the “gray area” of adulthood, and efforts to help them become independent as they get older.
“It’s a huge transition when you leave high school,” said Jean Leiker of the Central New York chapter of the Autism Society of America. “It’s challenging. I joke around and say ‘I feel like a cruise director’ sometimes because I try to find enriching, purposeful activities to fill his days. As much we struggle with challenges, often behavioral, when our kids are younger – I think it’s even scarier when they get out in the real world.”
“The biggest challenge for me right now is feeling secure and knowing that he is going to be able to be 100% independent without my help,” added Sandy Cittadino of the CNYASA. “[There are] a lot of great services for children and younger. When they get a little older, it kind of changes… at this age and stage of my life that concerns me as to will he ever be able to be 100% able to be on his own? And if not, what do the services look like for somebody his age?”
For more about the Autism Society of America, visit autismsociety.org or connect with the CNY chapter at cnyasa.org.
“Enable: The Disability Podcast” will be with syracuse.com | The Post-Standard at the CNYASA’s “One Step at a Time” Autism Acceptance Walk in Syracuse on April 25, 2026. Donate here: https://runsignup.com/Race/125765/Donate/Fg3WPXd7kepkzZ6C
You can also watch our interview with Sandy’s son, Joe Cittadino, on this episode of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtE6u9X4Gc
“Enable: The Disability Podcast,” which highlights amazing people with disabilities and different abilities, releases new episodes weekly on YouTube and all major audio podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple, Amazon and iHeart.
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Geoff Herbert, who was born with a profound binaural hearing loss, is a reporter, SEO Lead and content supervisor for syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. Despite being mostly deaf in both ears, he’s also worked as a DJ for 25 years, including in radio (as “DeafGeoff”) and as a wedding DJ in Upstate New York, and was inducted into the WJPZ Radio Hall of Fame. He learned how to communicate orally with hearing aids, lipreading and speech therapy, and embraces assistive technology like visual waveforms in music programs, closed captioning/subtitles, and video calls.
Kurt Hower, who has worked at Advance Local for over 35 years, is a leader both in the media industry and in the community. He has been actively involved in leading change as the print industry has continued to rapidly evolve, while also serving on a variety of boards including the Central PA Chapter Arthritis Foundation Board of Directors where he was Chairman of Board Development and a member of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee. Hower has ankylosing spondylitis, a rare disease that causes arthritis of the spine, and encourages others to focus on what they can contribute to society rather than their challenges.