https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-03-06 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/blog/presence-gratitude-and-the-neurodivergent-family-why-small-moments-matter-more-than-we-realize monthly 0.5 2026-01-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/97e2c6e3-fa1b-446f-86de-23ea7a5463f7/iStock-1496615471.jpg Blog - Presence, Gratitude, and the Neurodivergent Family: Why Small Moments Matter More Than We Realize - The Neuroscience of Gratitude Research shows that gratitude broadens how we think, helping us see possibilities, progress, and connection that stress can otherwise eclipse. For parents of neurodivergent children, this widening matters; it becomes easier to notice the tiny signs of growth that are often the truest markers of our children’s journeys. A moment of eye contact, a new food tried, a softer exhale—these become anchors, not afterthoughts. Gratitude also reframes our experiences. It doesn’t remove the challenges of neurodivergent parenting, but it changes the meaning-making around them. A small win becomes evidence of resilience, not scarcity. A moment of calm becomes proof that regulation is possible, not fleeting. Over time, this reframing builds a steadier inner landscape. On a neurological level, gratitude activates the circuits associated with empathy and emotional regulation. This matters because our own regulated nervous systems are the foundation of co-regulation with our children. When we pause to acknowledge even one thing that is going right, we send a subtle but powerful message to the body: you can settle now. Presence grows in that settling. And finally, gratitude strengthens connection. Neurodivergent families often experience isolation or misunderstanding. Celebrating those who support us—teachers, therapists, friends, small kindnesses—reminds us that we are part of a larger web of care. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/081a9457-2f5d-4f83-b6c8-44d6fd100f30/I+Am+Grateful+Image.jpg Blog - Presence, Gratitude, and the Neurodivergent Family: Why Small Moments Matter More Than We Realize - Gratitude: The Bridge to Presence In the end, gratitude isn’t a feeling we wait for. It’s a practice of returning—returning to ourselves, to our breath, to the small moments of beauty woven into our days. It shifts us from scanning for what’s missing to noticing what’s here. And in that noticing, presence begins to take root. Small moments. Soft pauses. Tiny acknowledgments. This is how we come back to presence. https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/blog/support-group-for-parents-with-neurodiverse-children monthly 0.5 2026-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/94f45b02-1d16-4f9e-8421-ecb8a9fab420/Mini+Series+Flyer-+2.25.26.png Blog - Support Groups for Parents of Children with Unique Needs - Reach Out for Support If you are interested, please email leslie@leslieckilpatrick.com with any questions and to get the information to join virtually. https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/blog/beyond-acceptance-finding-belonging-and-strength-within-our-neurodiverse-community monthly 0.5 2025-09-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/1745200537751-R6VYE8MAAZL4GNNM1UZF/unsplash-image-pLJ5vHcALio.jpg Blog - Beyond Acceptance: Discovering Belonging and Strength Within Our Neurodiverse Community - Without realizing it, I was moving past acceptance, I was beginning to feel affirmation and experience celebration. This journey has taught me that autism is not a condition to be cured, but a neurotypE; complete with a rich culture and community WHERE we are finding belonging. This is a unique world of communication, perception and connection - we are lucky to be a part of it. My son’s neurodivergence is not a tragedy; it is an invitation. An invitation to a fuller, more complex love. To a broader version of humanity. To a pride I never knew I needed to find. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/1745201234061-KNJN7PNDRC2EBP1Q08YA/unsplash-image-SeWk1Xb3wIc.jpg Blog - Beyond Acceptance: Discovering Belonging and Strength Within Our Neurodiverse Community - In this new space, I no longer whisper, “Why me?” Instead, I embrace a life of interdependence where I receive at least as much as I give. I do not erase or deny the past. I honor the grief, the confusion, the hard-won healing. i still have days when the sorrow surfaces — this, too, is part of the belonging. But now I know our story is not one of Brokenness, but of becoming; for US and our community. The same wind that once carried my surrender now lifts my voice in solidarity. It whispers not just of survival, but calls for action - to journey beyond acceptance and awareness into pride and celebration. There is still much advocacy ahead of us, but for me, it now comes from a place rooted in a deeper truth: “Parenthood found us - not to test us - but to unlock a love powerful enough to hold all of these truths.” https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/blog/caring-for-yourself-so-you-can-care-for-your-childs-special-needs monthly 0.5 2023-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/b87684b4-edd3-470e-822b-074cf23cd3c6/iStock-1427591735.jpg Blog - Caring For Yourself So You Can Care For Your Child’s Special Needs 1) Build community with other parents of children with special needs 2) Do the things that fill your cup so you don’t end up burning out 3) Lean into the challenging moments - these are fertile ground for actualizing your human potential 4) Celebrate the big moments - the ones a parent of a typically developing child Might take for granted 5) Your child is marching to the beat of their own drum, so make sure you do, too! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/d23d28b4-d263-4992-b7a2-faecdab4ff36/happy-woman-girl-with-down-syndrome-painting-each-other-s-faces.jpg Blog - Caring For Yourself So You Can Care For Your Child’s Special Needs There is such joy in the present moment — in the feeling of these moments, and in how we cope with the feelings of these moments. And the only way I know how to be fully present in these moments is to allow myself to be seen. By not making myself small I more fully experience all of my own emotions; when I lean into them, and I don’t shrink from them, it tends to transform into my heart bursting with love. And then here I am, feeling that I am riding the outer limits of my human potential. Do you think the mom in this picture is worried about how she looks with paint on her face? Maybe, but I like to think she is more tuned into joy - her own essence - in this moment captured on her daughter’s face, and in their shared experience. https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/blog/your-grief-is-real monthly 0.5 2024-07-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/0cdf6f20-19bc-4513-a5cc-9498bee202fd/122.jpg Blog - Your Grief is Real: Managing the Losses of Regressive Autism  - Unique and Ongoing Grief DENIAL: We can turn back the hands of time. ANGER: Why can the doctors not tell us what happened? BARGAINING: If we just find out what went wrong, we can turn back time. DEPRESSION: Our son is in abject pain and can’t tell us about it. ACCEPTANCE: Came on the wind in surrendering to my own healing. https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/faq daily 0.75 2023-09-05 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/home daily 1.0 2025-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/45cee467-e3c0-4b6c-a119-6aa34679ceb6/Horseback-Ride-Mother-Daughter.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/c0428010-7bb9-46cf-93cb-0894b760b655/women-community-with-baby.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/acaf3a46-b751-40fd-bc81-4b388eda18ca/Joyful-Women-Laughter-Happiness.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/e1d62d27-3a8b-4318-9e50-cd49a6de348e/Leslie-C-Kilpatrick-Therapist-Nature.jpg https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/about daily 0.75 2023-11-07 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/contact daily 0.75 2024-02-21 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/online-therapy daily 0.75 2025-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/a407df1f-d6e0-41db-8f04-5e62570b2e2a/Joyful-Woman-Yellow-Flower.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/fb769649-64ae-43c1-9f13-c8cf03bcd122/Collaborative-Work-Two-Women-Laptop.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/3b12e1e8-b4d2-4040-b09f-c3a6cb634cbd/close-up-people-sitting-together.jpg https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/my-approach daily 0.75 2024-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/d3a64061-a3f0-495c-99bd-473b6bb9c393/Leslie-Kilpatrick-Nature-Flower-Garden.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64f72ad115ff9c6a873e21df/98fc094f-af78-4e7c-a575-2c113c4f99cb/Person-Typing-Laptop.jpg https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/book-now daily 0.75 2023-09-25 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/cancellation-policy daily 0.75 2023-09-25 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/privacy-policy daily 0.75 2023-09-25 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/terms-of-use daily 0.75 2023-09-25 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/disclaimer daily 0.75 2023-09-25 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/forms daily 0.75 2024-03-25 https://www.leslieckilpatrick.com/disclaimer-1 daily 0.75 2023-10-16