We recently connected with Jennifer Cheek and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

I try to plan at least one vacation each year. I like to discover places that work for my son and his sensory needs. Over the years, we have noticed that he prefers most vacations to be a simple house on a beach somewhere. He doesn’t enjoy going out to dinner or having a full day of activities planned. He will let me schedule a couple of fun activities during our trip but most of the time he just wants to swim and relax. I would love to encourage more families to find the best fitting vacation that suits their child’s sensory needs and not be afraid to travel!

Jennifer, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Everything I do now all relates back to my son. Long story short, he has Autism and when he lost a grandparent, he had trouble processing what had happened. I wrote him a story to help explain things in kid friendly terms and hopefully make him feel better. We had the book published and then started to see how our story could help others, so we started sharing our journey with Autism on social media. In the past few months, we have taken it even further and have started a service where my son makes artwork for any children that are sick or going through a rough time. There is no cost for this service because he simply loves to draw and be creative. We created a website where anyone can make a drawing request and we will mail it to them just to spread some joy!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is for Autism acceptance and awareness to spread all over the world. I want my son to be able to be himself in public and not have to explain anything to anyone about his behavior. I want other parents who have children on the spectrum to see what our struggles are and how we have navigated through tough times. I also want them to see our strengths and how progression is possible.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I worked in the dental field for over fifteen years. During that time, I had gotten married and had my son. By the time he was three we knew he had Autism and working full time became a good outlet for me at first. After he started school, the stress of work and home life became too much and I knew I had to make a drastic change. We sold our house and moved to an area that was more affordable for a one income household and I quit working. It has been the best decision I’ve ever made for my family. I have been out of the workforce for over three years now and can focus on my family and advocating for Autism on our social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://griffinsgraffix.weebly.com/?fbclid=IwAR3B3ZNAmQiptJJdSTwN6L8GcdI4PySPbkp8KJNKU0Hm_LZvtn7rTtJlRgE&mibextid=Zxz2cZ
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialjenc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialjenc?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Jennifer Cheek