Building Your Support System as a Special Needs Parent with Jennifer Celeste Briggs

about navigating the emotional landscape and practical challenges of raising a child with unique genetics and an autism diagnosis. Jennifer shares her family’s journey from uncertainty and medical crises to building a supportive community and ultimately founding Sarah Rise, an adaptation of the Sunrise Program, to help her daughter flourish. The conversation dives into the realities of parenting through unpredictability, the importance of asking for help, and finding empowerment and self-acceptance along the way.

About the Guest:

Jennifer Celeste Briggs has a BA in English Literature from Swarthmore college. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and two daughters. Her daughter Sarah has a genetic anomaly and autism. Organizing hundreds of hours of therapeutic play time for Sarah, Jenny trained and coordinated multiple volunteers to help Sarah thrive. Jenny's book about this experience is called Watching Sarah Rise: A Journey of Thriving with Autism.

Main Topics Covered:

• Early parenting challenges, medical uncertainty, and journey to a genetic and autism diagnosis
• The emotional impact of developmental differences and letting go of expectations
• The discovery and adaptation of the Sunrise Program (Sarah Rise) for family and community support
• Intentional choices, asking for help, and building a reliable support network
• Balancing the needs of two children and preserving family connections
• Accepting imperfection and finding joy in the parenting journey

Quote from the Episode:

"Look, you can be a totally imperfect parent and you can still make a huge difference for your child, and your child could still need a ton of help... but also, we can just go to the pool and she can swim and she can go for a bike ride... I feel like I can relax and enjoy her and she can enjoy her life and her connections with people." — Jennifer Celeste Briggs

Timestamps: [00:00:08] Meet Jennifer Celeste Briggs & warmup questions

[00:01:51] Introducing Sarah: early challenges, seizures, and medical specialists

[00:07:43] Discovering developmental differences and the emotional rollercoaster

[00:11:38] Grieving, self-blame, and finding support

[00:15:58] Redefining expectations: before and after motherhood

[00:23:03] The strain—leaning into support, family networks, and volunteers

[00:28:03] Discovering and launching the Sarah Rise program

[00:30:44] The path to authorship and sharing the journey

[00:35:45] How to connect with Jennifer & audience special offer

[00:36:59] Final questions: introvert/extrovert, nostalgic music & dream vacation

Special Offer from the Guest:

If you purchase Watching Sarah Rise and contact Jennifer, letting her know you found the book through The Art of Imperfect Adulting, she’ll send you a free signed book plate. www.watchingsarahrise.com

Note from the show: Guest offers are often limited-time and limited quantity. If you have an issue redeeming the guest offer, please reach out to the guest or vendor directly.

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