The Autism Dad Podcast

Rob Gorski has been raising three autistic sons for 25 years. Personal stories, expert interviews, and hard-won advice from a family that’s lived it.

Since 2009•9 seasons•250+ episodes

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Every conversation is also filmed — full video versions of the podcast drop on YouTube alongside each episode.

Now playing · S9 E8

This Is What Level 1 Autism Can Look Like | Liz Covington (S9E08)

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Meet Your Host

Rob Gorski

For 25 years, Rob has been raising three autistic sons. What started in 2010 as a blog documenting the family’s story has grown into one of the longest-running autism parenting platforms online — real talk on meltdowns, IEPs, exhaustion, and the fierce love that keeps you going.

Rob and Kelly met in 2023 and are raising their kids together in Northeast Ohio. Elliott and Emmett live with Rob in Canton, where Emmett is finishing high school while already taking college coursework. Rob’s oldest son, Gavin, is navigating a transitional season as he moves between independent living situations.

★Top 10 Parenting Podcast on Apple

•As seen on CNN, ABC News, BBC, and The Tamron Hall Show

•HPV Vaccine Advisory Board, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

•Safety on the Spectrum Initiative, Autism Society of Greater Akron

•Debut book So Your Child Has Just Been Diagnosed with Autism — Quarto, early 2027

More about Rob →Press & media

Featured Episode

Season 9 · Episode 8 · 13 min

This Is What Level 1 Autism Can Look Like | Liz Covington (S9E08)

Liz Covington is a Utah-based mother of four. Her oldest son Bennett was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD at age four and with autism at age ten. He is now 18 and attends college. Her ten-year-old daughter is awaiting an autism evaluation. On The Autism Dad Podcast Season 9 Episode 8, Liz discusses why families with level 1 autistic children often feel outside the broader autism community, how her son's stress response of laughing is misread as disrespect, and what genuine progress looks like in autism parenting.

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New Here?

Start With These

Three episodes that capture what this show is about — the story, the struggle, and where we’re headed.

S6 · E35

Before He Could Speak (S6E35)

In today's very special episode, I'm sitting down with my 15-year-old autistic son, Emmett, for a truly unique conversation. For the first time, Emmett opens up about his experience of being non-verbal for the first 4.5 years of his life. This intimate discussion gives us a rare insight into the wor

S9 · E01

Season 9 Kick Off | How We Met, Life Updates, and a Major Announcement (S9E01)

Nine seasons. That is not a number I take lightly. When I started The Autism Dad Podcast, I was a dad in the thick of it, trying to figure out how to raise three autistic sons without a roadmap, without a community, and honestly without much hope that anyone else out there understood what our daily life actually looked like. Nine seasons later, I know they do. You do. And that means everything.

The Day This Autism Dad Almost Gave Up (S8E24)

Rob Gorski opens up about the darkest moment in his autism parenting journey — when burnout, single parenting, and undiagnosed ADHD nearly pushed him past the brink. Joined by men's mental health expert Dr. Kristen Guillory, they discuss why dads raising neurodivergent kids need to break the silence and ask for help.

From the Apple Podcasts Reviews

What Listeners Say

“I stumbled across The Autism Dad blog first when we were in the beginnings of my son’s ASD diagnosis. At the time I felt very lost and raw… You have given me strength and insight as a fellow special needs parent.”

peablossomfairy

“As a father of two autistic children, I can relate to Rob, especially when he opens up emotionally in front of his guests about the struggles of raising kids with ASD. That emotional transparency shatters the unnecessary stigma.”

Mike, Pennsylvania