Ep38-Jessica, PWS and We Are Brave Together

What does it look like to be an advocate for the friendship of women, connection and community? To not only offer resources like workshops, relevant speakers, online groups and mentoring, but also specialized and affordable retreats for mothers of children with special needs? Jessica Patay, mother to 16 year-old Ryan with PWS, spoke with me about her non-profit organization “We Are Brave Together”. I thought her story would be a beautiful one to start us off for PWS Awareness Month because of her wisdom, her experience, and the beautiful work she is doing in the world. Before we got into talking about We Are Brave Together she shared some of her own personal story of raising a child with special needs. How she got plugged into PWCF right away with a mentor and support groups. We talk about anxiety – the biggest challenge of PWS in their life – and the ways they are coping with how it manifests. And then we talk about siblings. Jessica spoke about the importance of validating their feelings, being intentional, and how to make special time for them so they are sure to understand that they still matter. Welcome to the first of 5 episodes dedicated to PWS Awareness Month!