Your situation is unique, but it doesn’t need to be isolating. Our Family Support Program was designed to offer you emotional and practical support from somebody who has lived through a similar experience.
Submit Request
Please fill this form out on behalf of the individual in need. If your child is in need of services, please fill out the form with the child’s information.
Trained and experienced Family Support Specialists – who are also parents, caregivers, and family members of children with neurologic conditions – are available to:
- Provide a listening ear and emotional support
- Help connect to and navigate resources that you need such as financial assistance, insurance questions, housing assistance, mental health services, and many other social services
- Connect you to other disease specific organizations or support groups
Our hope is that being able to turn to someone who has faced similar challenges will make navigating the journey of diagnosis, treatment, and management less intimidating and overwhelming for you and your family.
Please Note: We are not medical professionals and cannot review any diagnostic tests (like EEGs) or provide medical advice.
Think our Family Support Program might be helpful to you? Click the button above to fill out a no-commitment request form to tell us how we can support you.
The form you submit will be entered into our Unite Us platform. Depending on what your needs are, CNF will be able to use this system to directly connect and refer you to other social service organizations. We will follow up with you within 48 hours to discuss your needs. For more information on our partnership with Unite Us, read our press release.
Read on to learn more about the specifics of the Family Support Program and to meet our Family Support Specialists.
Family Support FAQs
What is the Family Support Program?
CNF’s Family Support Program consists of emotional, relational, and practical support from someone who has had similar experiences navigating the journey of disease diagnosis, treatment, and management for a child living with a neurologic condition.
How can family support help me?
Family support is a powerful opportunity to get advice and mentorship from someone who has real-life experiences similar to what you may be facing. We have a trained counselor on staff that trains our Family Support Specialists to help you with what you need in the moment — whether you’re coming to them for advice on your next steps, looking for guidance with a specific challenge, or you’re simply needing to voice your fears and stresses to someone who understands.
Where is family support available?
Our Family Support Program is virtual, we connect with caregivers initially via email and then are able to have phone or texting conversations. This gives us the ability to provide support to people all over the world. We’ve helped families from more than 70 countries around the world and all 50 states in the United States. Depending on where you are located, we may even be able to connect you to more local resources.
How much time does it take?
Family support takes as little or as much time as you want. Our program is virtual which means you can reach out to us at any time. Our Family Support Specialists are generally able to respond within 24 hours and can schedule regular check–ins.
What kind of questions can I ask?
There are no wrong questions. We might not always be able to give you the answer you’re looking for straight away — in some cases, there may not even be a single right answer — but we’re here so you don’t have to look for the answers alone.
Please note that we can’t provide medical advice.
Do I need to pay for this service?
No, our family support is free of charge.
How do I contact a Family Support Specialist?
Fill out our website submission form with some details about who you are and what you need. One of our Family Support Specialists will follow up via e-mail within two business days.
What happens next?
After you fill out the contact form and let us know how we can help you, a Family Support Specialist will follow up via email within 2 business days.
Meet Our Family Support Specialists: Kathy & Brad
Our Family Support Specialists have been where you are, and know what it’s like to have a child with a neurologic condition. Watch the videos below to learn more about the team of trained specialists.
Brad Thompson,
CNF Family Support Specialist and Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor (LPC-S)
We know how long your to-do list is as a family and we know how frustrating and discouraging it can be to run into a bunch of dead-ends and information that is no longer useful or valuable.
So, we do everything we can to make sure that the information and the groups of people we are connecting you with are on the front-end of the battle as well.”
Kathy Leavens,
CNF Family Support Specialists
“In my journey as a mom of children with medical needs, I found that I was also my own researcher and educator. I had time in between seizures or treatments, and time in waiting rooms, to search for answers to the questions I was facing.
I asked myself one question over and over: ‘Where is the person who has done this before me?’
As I gained life experience, I promised myself that I would be the person to lend a hand to someone else.”