Parenting Tips: Young Dad Podcast · Jey Young

Community in Autism Support: Why Families Can’t Do This Alone with Jennifer B. | Ep270

·54 min·3 clips

Jennifer says the training taught her to read when Sarah was “ready to connect” and when to wait.

Jay opens with a familiar dad-life welcome, then settles into parenting, resilience, and meeting a child where they are, especially around autism. Jennifer Celeste Briggs brings the lived part. She is introduced as an autism activist, parent, and author of Watching Sarah Rise, and she talks about a play-based approach shaped around her daughter Sarah. The conversation keeps returning to volunteers. People came into the house, tried the rhythm, and many brought more care than Jennifer expected. That part catches her off guard in the best way. She remembers feeling almost overwhelmed that people wanted to come back each week for Sarah. The mix was not neat. Some volunteers were big and animated. Others were quieter. Jennifer had to learn that Sarah could still respond well, even when the energy in the room changed. That became a lesson for Jennifer too: while she was helping Sarah build flexibility, she had to practice it with the people helping her. The support also had a simple structure. Volunteers met every month or two to talk through goals, stay connected, and help each other. Training took time. Jennifer would let someone watch her play with Sarah, send them in for a short session, then talk through what happened. Ten or fifteen minutes could become a half-hour, and later a longer stretch when the volunteer was ready. Jay keeps asking the useful stuff: worry, hesitancy, fit, and what it feels like to let people into family life. Jennifer does not polish it into a miracle story. She leaves it human: different people, different energy, careful training, and a lot of love walking through the door. The close points listeners to WatchingSarahRise.com and leaves them with patience, love, and curiosity.

As heard by us

A grounded look at building support around autism, one careful step at a time.

Jennifer Celeste Briggs gives a clear, humane account of what it can look like to support an autistic child without pretending family life gets neatly solved.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a warm, reflective conversation about parenting through autism, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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