Between Research & Reality

Ashley Valdes

Between Research & Reality is a Twinmaker Media Project examining the infrastructure of support that shapes autism, disability, and caregiving in the United States.

We often talk about services — therapy hours, funding gaps, waitlists, eligibility criteria — but rarely ask the structural question: What systems are required to sustain families who require substantial daily support, and who is responsible for building them?

Season One, The Infrastructure of Support, uses state-level realities as a living case study to explore broader national questions about care labor, public responsibility, policy design, and structural sustainability.

Each episode bridges three lenses:

• Research and social science analysis • Policy literacy and legislative context • Lived structural experience

Through disciplined inquiry and accessible translation, this podcast examines how language, funding mechanisms, and institutional design determine lived outcome