

The Podcast for Special Needs Families
Real Stories.
Real Faith.
Real Families.
Real Stories.
Real Faith.
Real Families.
Love Without Rest is where families raising and caring for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities finally find someone who gets it — and a community that won't let them carry it alone.
Love Without Rest is where families raising and caring for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities finally find someone who gets it — and a community that won't let them carry it alone.
The reality facing IDD families in America
The reality facing IDD families in America
Love Without Rest works directly inside the special needs community — uncovering the gaps where families fall through, and building the conversations, the resources, and ultimately the housing that holds our most vulnerable adults safe, supported, and home. We don't guess at impact.
Love Without Rest works directly inside the special needs community — uncovering the gaps where families fall through, and building the conversations, the resources, and ultimately the housing that holds our most vulnerable adults safe, supported, and home. We don't guess at impact.
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0M
Americans living with an intellectual or developmental disability
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0M
Americans living with an intellectual or developmental disability
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0M+
Americans living with an intellectual or developmental disability
0%
0%
of adults with IDD live with family caregivers — with no long-term housing plan
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divorce rate among parents of children with significant special needs
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adults with IDD currently on waiting lists for residential support services




Our story
Our story
Born from a mother's love — and a gap no one else was filling
Our story
Born from a mother's love — and a gap no one else was filling
Michelle Short is the mother of Riley, a young adult with an intellectual and developmental disability. She knows what it feels like to fight for every doctor's appointment, every legal document, every housing conversation…and to do it while barely keeping yourself together.
Love Without Rest started as Extraordinary Lives, a simple idea: bring real people into honest conversation about what it actually takes to raise and care for someone with IDD. Not the polished version. The real one, full of grief, laughter, faith, and the kind of resilience that can only be forged in the hardest seasons.
Every episode feeds the mission behind Riley's Residence: a permanent housing community in Meridian, Idaho built specifically for adults with IDD — because the question every parent of a child with disabilities eventually asks is "What happens when I'm gone?" Michelle is building the answer.
Michelle Short is the mother of Riley, a young adult with an intellectual and developmental disability. She knows what it feels like to fight for every doctor's appointment, every legal document, every housing conversation…and to do it while barely keeping yourself together.
Love Without Rest started as Extraordinary Lives, a simple idea: bring real people into honest conversation about what it actually takes to raise and care for someone with IDD. Not the polished version.
Every episode feeds the mission behind Riley's Residence: a permanent housing community in Meridian, Idaho built specifically for adults with IDD — because the question every parent of a child with disabilities eventually asks is "What happens when I'm gone?" Michelle is building the answer.
Michelle Short is the mother of Riley, a young adult with an intellectual and developmental disability. She knows what it feels like to fight for every doctor's appointment, every legal document, every housing conversation…and to do it while barely keeping yourself together.
Love Without Rest started as Extraordinary Lives, a simple idea: bring real people into honest conversation about what it actually takes to raise and care for someone with IDD. Not the polished version. The real one, full of grief, laughter, faith, and the kind of resilience that can only be forged in the hardest seasons.
Every episode feeds the mission behind Riley's Residence: a permanent housing community in Meridian, Idaho built specifically for adults with IDD — because the question every parent of a child with disabilities eventually asks is "What happens when I'm gone?" Michelle is building the answer.


Featured Episodes
Featured Episodes
Stories built for the long road.
Stories built for the long road.
How It Works
Simple. Honest. Made for families like yours.
1
Listen
Real families. Real doctors. Real attorneys. Every episode is an honest conversation about the specific challenges IDD families face — and the people who have found a way through.
2
Learn
From legal planning and nervous system health to sibling advocacy and keeping a marriage together — every episode gives you something practical to bring into your own family's story.
3
Act
Every episode is part of a larger mission: building Riley's Residence — permanent housing for adults with IDD in Meridian, Idaho. When you listen and share, you help build something lasting.
1
Listen
Real families. Real doctors. Real attorneys. Every episode is an honest conversation about the specific challenges IDD families face — and the people who have found a way through.
2
Learn
From legal planning and nervous system health to sibling advocacy and keeping a marriage together — every episode gives you something practical to bring into your own family's story.
3
Act
Every episode is part of a larger mission: building Riley's Residence — permanent housing for adults with IDD in Meridian, Idaho. When you listen and share, you help build something lasting.




Support the Mission
Every family deserves a plan.
Riley's Residence is building one.
Love Without Rest exists to tell the stories that the world isn't paying attention to, and to build something real for the families living them. Riley's Residence is a permanent housing community for adults with IDD in Meridian, Idaho. Currently under contract on land. Currently raising $3.4 million to close. Currently needing you.
Support the Mission
Every family deserves a plan.
Riley's Residence is building one.
Love Without Rest exists to tell the stories that the world isn't paying attention to, and to build something real for the families living them. Riley's Residence is a permanent housing community for adults with IDD in Meridian, Idaho. Currently under contract on land. Currently raising $3.4 million to close. Currently needing you.






