Finding Support within the Community – By Katie Lisko

Growing up in a small town and moving to a bigger town has its advantages. My name is Katie Lisko, and I am a mother with a neuro-divergent and neurotypical child.

When I moved to Bradley, Illinois, about 13 years ago, I never knew of a place that promoted inclusion within its community. I didn't realize how valuable having programs within the community to support neurotypical and neuro-divergent children would be beneficial for my own children.

My son was born within the Covid era, so he already had a lot of disadvantages. Around 18 months, my mom gut went off, and I pushed for Early Intervention (EI) due to him not speaking. With persistence, he got into the EI program, first with speech, then also occupational and developmental therapies. He made some gains but was eventually diagnosed with Autism. Not only did EI open opportunities for him to get the services he needs, but it allowed me to find out about other available programs in the area. He is thriving today.

Fast forward, and a couple years later our daughter came along. Yes, we had apprehensions that she was on the spectrum too, but we found a program called Jump Start to monitor progress throughout her development. This program has allowed us to develop relationships with our daughter and include our son in the activities.

The biggest hurdle is to continue to advocate for programs for children, both neurotypical and neuron-divergent, to promote inclusivity within the community.