Amidon Planet Special Series – 45 Minutes: A Family’s Story of Advocacy, Education, and the Ongoing Work of Inclusion

In 1962, Keith and Natalie Yelnick were given 45 minutes to make a decision about their newborn daughter, Kristin, who was born with a developmental disability.

What followed was not only a family story, but a story of social change.

Over the next six decades, Keith and Natalie witnessed—and helped shape—the evolution of educational opportunities, community inclusion, and support services for individuals with disabilities. Their experiences offer a unique window into how families, educators, advocates, and policymakers worked together to create opportunities that simply did not exist when Kristin was born.

In this special five-part series, host Joel Amidon and educator Dr. Alice Udvari-Solner share a recorded conversation with Keith and Natalie, weaving in historical context, personal reflections, and lessons that still matter today.

45 Minutes is a story about family, advocacy, education, and the ongoing work of inclusion.

The series begins this fall. Subscribe to Amidon Planet wherever you get your podcasts so this series will appear automatically in your feed when they are released.