The Gift of Knowing: How Knowledge Can Make ALL the Difference with Neurodiversity

It’s holiday time, and the melodies of the season greet you on the radio and as you walk into any store this time of year. If you’re like me, you’re out shopping getting ready to share gifts with friends and family.

When you think about a gift, what comes to mind? It’s interesting how it changes over the years… as a child it’s often the newest, hottest, tangible toy on the market. As you get a little older the sentimental gifts mean more. Then it’s the little things… don’t get me wrong, the big things are nice too. But the things that we often take for granted can sometimes be the greatest gifts of all.

As a mom of children with neurodiversity and now coordinator of the Sandi Lynn Geller Memorial Family Resource Center (FRC) one question, that I’m all too familiar with, keeps popping up… “How do you know how to help your child when you see that something may be different, but don’t know where to start?”

The gift of knowing, for me, made all the difference. When I started homeschooling my oldest (Kudos to all you homeschool mommas out there! That is a special calling!) and he was struggling, I didn’t know what to do. When my second son would struggle with intense separation anxiety to the point of hitting, kicking, scratching, and even kicking a hole in a door at one point because he was genuinely terrified that I wouldn’t come back for him… I wondered, is this normal?

As a caregiver of someone living with neurodiversity the uncertainty, the not knowing, the wondering, questioning, and self-doubt can be overwhelmingly cumbersome. So today, it’s my goal to help you navigate these concerns and give you some steps, so you can experience the gift of knowing, personally. That knowing, can really help you be the best caregiver for the neurodiverse rockstars in your world.

For me, thankfully, Keli Mondello came into my life, as the co-founder of LiFT (Learning Independence for Tomorrow) she was all too familiar with neurodiversity. After all, LiFT and the FRC are here because of her and her LiFT co-founder Kim Kuruzovich’ s daughters’ needs. I was sharing with her about my sweet boy’s struggle with anxiety and she mentioned that there was a doctor at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg who was coming to the school to speak to parents about kids and anxiety. I was so relieved to finally have someone who I could speak to about this. I made it a point to be at that event and absorb all he was sharing. I got to speak with him afterwards and he was able to get my son inducted into a study at the hospital and that really made a HUGE difference in how he has learned to manage his anxiety.

My oldest son, on the other hand, was still struggling academically. We had found an amazing school and thought they may be able to help us better address his needs, but he started and was still severely below level. So once again, Keli recommended that we get him evaluated by a neuropsychologist who could test him to see if we were dealing with neurodiversity here too.

So, that’s where I want to start! You may not have access to a Keli, but we here at the Family Resource Center are happy to assist you with any questions, concerns, or just to be an ear to listen to connect you with people who could help you find solutions for those in your life who may be neurodivergent.

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Yes, that’s right, talk to someone. Whether that’s me here at the FRC, a Pediatric Neurologist, Occupational Therapist, a Neuropsychologist, your pediatrician or family doctor, or even their teacher (check out our Community Partners for more recommendations) get that conversation started. Or connect with a program like, Early Steps, which aids families with concerns for children from birth to 36 months. If you have questions, there are folks out there who have answers.

For my family, once we started having those conversations and better understood what we could possibly be dealing with, we then had to figure out how we would move forward. For our oldest, we went through a neuropsychologist to get a psychological and academic evaluation, so we’d know how to help him right away because he was really struggling, and we needed to get results as soon as possible. It took some sacrifices because these evaluations can be pricey, but we did what we had to do for his success. After the initial evaluation he was diagnosed with learning disabilities and other brain differences. But for our other son, we went through the school system where the county did the initial evaluations at no cost to us to determine the support he would need at school and then we went for the neuropsychological evaluation, so we could get a specific diagnosis because the county doesn’t diagnose. So, our second son was diagnosed with brain differences as well.

That leads us to the next step…we’ve had conversations but now what?

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We finally had some level of knowledge of what was going on… we had names for what we were dealing with and for our family that put us on a great path to learn and better understand how to support each of our boys. Now that’s not to say you need a specific diagnosis to move forward. But having some answers can help you better understand how to best support the neurodiverse loved ones in your life.

I felt such a sense of relief, joy, and had renewed hope because we knew what we were dealing with, we had solutions, and we could now focus on our next step which was getting them the support they needed.

Once you’ve benefitted from the gift of knowing, it’s all about what to do with that knowledge. For our family, the neuropsychologist recommended specific supports that would help our children soar at home and at school. Whew, they were finally on the path to thrive. But if I’m honest, the process getting there took a toll on me. So not only did I prioritize support for them I made sure that also included counseling for myself!

We can hyper focus on our kids’ needs, especially as we are trying to understand what may be going on with them, that we forget our own needs. Places like the Juvenile Welfare Board in Pinellas County provides free counseling for kids, parents, and families who qualify, in addition to tutoring. We also have other private counselors and family support options under our Health and Wellness tab on our Community Partners page.

I’m sure you’ve heard “Knowledge is power.” The gift of knowing truly gives you the power to know how to best support the neurodiverse superheroes in your life. It guides you to the right resources, informative books, service providers, and other supports that can transform life for you and your family.

That leads us to our final step, which is to never stop unwrapping this gift because there is constantly new information coming out that may give exactly what you need that could change everything for you and the neurodiverse people in your world. Keep reading or listening to audio books, find podcasts that offer advice and support, and let that gift just keep giving!!

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I hope this has helped in you understanding some steps that can help you benefit from the gift of knowing! Wishing you and yours the Happiest of Holidays!

Ivory Granger

Family Resource Center Coordinator

The Sandi Lynn Geller Memorial Family Resource Center