Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Ronchak.
Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My eldest daughter nominated me for this interview. I was flattered as I have not done any interviews since our country was deep in the covid pandemic. During that time, I heavily advocated on school related issues (at the local, state and national levels) as my first born was a 2020 senior. Fast forward to now April 2025, I have sat here racking my brain about what part of my topsy turvy journey I should share to Voyage Magazine. What do people want to know or read about little old me, and my numerous hats? Does the audience want to learn about how I struggled to graduate, the multiple various educational options it took me to get there and how I ended up clawing my way to obtain my BA? Do the readers want to hear about my love for officiating basketball for almost 3 decades despite the challenging work environment (especially as a female)? Would the receivers of this information I present like to hear about some real life hard issues surrounding wild family court experiences, being a domestic abuse survivor, and so much more? And then it just clicked after asking my oldest daughter what she thought is inspiring about me. She stated “being a strong single mom”. April is Autism Awareness Month and near and dear to my heart. At the beginning of writing this, you found out I am a mother. What you didn’t know is how many children I have. The answer is 3, 1 of them, my son has autism and I have done the majority of rearing each of my children.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Holding a job as a special needs parent is extremely difficult and what I write next was my reality. I was working for the state in higher education before and after my son was born. When he was a young toddler I placed him in a center. A short 3 weeks or so later, the center told me my son will not adapt to any part of the scheduled day. He would not eat or sleep, just cried almost the entire time and was self injuring himself. The center states that they normally required a 2 week notice from parents when parting the contracted relationship, however the director told me in this case the center will be waving that as they could not handle him. I had to quit my job to stay home with my son. I started comparing some of the milestones between my oldest daughter and my son. Some things seemed off but I chalked it up to girl/boy differences. I had no idea what autism was at this time until I started doing some research and everything seemed to fit. He was so young to be diagnosed, 3 weeks shy of his 2nd birthday, but at least some answers were given. There was no information sharing of what steps to take next. I remember walking out of this evaluation with my son in my arms even more lost of what do I do now? Taking to the internet I started making my own resource notebook for anything and everything I could find as I didn’t want another family to get thrown to the wolves like we did and figure it all out on their own. I found a great place in Rogers called Autism Matters and started my son there with speech and Sunny Days contracted out of there to provide OT services. I truly believe early intervention was key to get to where we are today as there was a time when I didn’t know if my son would ever speak much. The thing with autism is you never know what the day will present. If you have met 1 child on the spectrum, you have met 1 child. There are similarities amongst this very cool group of individuals however no 2?are alike. I am so blessed to be my son’s mother and caregiver. He has an absolutely brilliant mind, has taught me so very much that no textbook or educational setting ever could. It’s a very tough and rewarding job. This journey has been a rollercoaster from not being accepted by peers and having an excruciating time making friends, being bullied by students, and excluded by organizations that he loved and tried to fit in just to name a few. The topic of obstacles and challenges could go on branching off into many different aspects.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The most important job I have in my life is being a mother to my children. That will always be first and foremost priority. I do sell an amazing aloe line of self care hygiene products called L’Bri. As a trained esthetician, I am very tough to please with ingredients and products. L’Bri is a game changer and I love to help people with their skin.
What’s next?
In the near future, I do plan to write a series of books, all true stories of different layers and chapters of my life. God gave me the gift of writing and I know this is part of my purpose. I will probably do a podcast and:/or social media teaser series as well. I love to help people with problems mainly help solve communication issues such as: help with writing emails, giving advice, support and more. So possibly starting a consulting or coaching type of small business too.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://lbri.com/heavenlyskin
