The Dadvocating Podcast
The Dadvocating Podcast
Podcast Description
Host Simcha Weinstein; Brooklynite, rabbi, author, clinician‑in‑training, family peer advocate, and proud “dadvocate” talks disability advocacy through a dad’s lens. Hear unvarnished, strength‑based conversations with advocates, parents, self‑advocates, systems leaders, policymakers, clinicians, changemakers, and the occasional disruptor about where we’ve been and where we still need to go. Come for the advocacy, stay for the dad jokes.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on disability advocacy, personal stories of empowerment, and systemic change within the disability rights movement. Each episode features themes such as legal battles for disability rights, personal journeys of parents advocating for their children, and discussion of current policies affecting the disabled community. For instance, the debut episode highlights Willie Mae Goodman’s advocacy journey, touching on significant issues like abuse in institutional settings and transformative legal action.
Host Simcha Weinstein; Brooklynite, rabbi, author, clinician‑in‑training, family peer advocate, and proud “dadvocate” talks disability advocacy through a dad’s lens. Hear unvarnished, strength‑based conversations with advocates, parents, self‑advocates, systems leaders, policymakers, clinicians, changemakers, and the occasional disruptor about where we’ve been and where we still need to go. Come for the advocacy, stay for the dad jokes.
In this episode of the Dadvocating podcast, we speak with Bin Feng about fatherhood, autism advocacy, cultural stigma, and finding purpose through family.
Bin shares his journey as a Chinese American immigrant father in New York City From the fear and uncertainty of visa challenges and his son’s autism diagnosis, to discovering hope through education, community, and advocacy. What once felt overwhelming became a calling, as he learned to embrace vulnerability and channel it into meaningful change for families navigating autism systems.
Together, we discuss the barriers many Chinese and culturally diverse families face, including language access, navigating complex medical and educational systems, and the deep cultural stigma surrounding disability that can delay support and isolate parents. Bin explains how shame and silence often prevent families from seeking services or advocating for their children’s rights and why open conversations matter.
Bin also reflects on becoming a statewide and national advocate, including annual autism advocacy visits to Washington, DC, where he brings his son to help policymakers see the human side of disability policy. He shares the joy he finds in his son’s successful work routine as a janitor, the importance of engaging fathers in caregiving and advocacy, and why self-care is essential for parents raising children with disabilities.
We also talk about Project READY, the organization he founded to support transition-age youth and limited-English-speaking families, the importance of early diagnosis and outreach through the Office of New Americans, and how his neurotypical daughter’s experience growing up alongside her brother inspired her path toward medicine.
This is a powerful conversation about resilience, identity, advocacy, and redefining what purpose and success can look like for a family.
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Disclaimer
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