Meet Jane: Mother to a neurodivergent child and a community leader

When Jane’s son was around 3, he was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. As you can imagine, it was a challenging time for Jane and her family. She felt incredibly isolated, and because the motherhood journeys of her family and friends were very different from hers, she wasn’t sure where to turn.

Jane says her efforts to cope weren’t linear—instead, she found herself a work-in-progress, struggling not to be reactive and looking for ways where she had a sense of control over her situation. 

Jane found herself craving community, wishing there was a platform where people facing similar diagnoses or struggles could come together and find a like-minded community and a centralized source of information. That’s when she stumbled upon Grayce. 

Jane joined a peer support group within Grayce’s “Gather” communities. In that group, she has found camaraderie and support to help her navigate what she considers a challenging and tricky journey. This group pulled her out of her isolation and gave her a support structure that helped her to cope. 

Jane’s friends on Gather reminded her that even though she is a caregiver,  she is also human. They encouraged her to continue pursuing her passions and hobbies and make time for herself.

Jane was also assigned a Grayce Care Partner, with whom she meets monthly. Jane says the universe must have matched them because her Care Partner seems to understand just what she needs. She is not only someone she can bounce ideas off of, but her Care Partner has helped her to research information on behavioral interventions, vet articles to ensure their accuracy, and research social activities for neurodivergent children. On her Care Partner’s advice, Jane’s son is starting a drama program next month.

As she evolved as a mom, Jane decided to start a newsletter for parents of neurodivergent kids. Through this newsletter, she educates parents while sharing her very human story of what it has been like to parent her neurodivergent son. 

Jane was recently asked to share the one thing she would recommend for someone who is just finding out their child is neurodivergent. Jane’s advice is to connect—dive into a community, and find an emotionally safe space to learn and grow.

To hear Jane’s entire story, listen to her Grayce Chapters episode.