Jennifer Kaufman, a special education administrator, author of Grandparenting on the Spectrum, and founder of First Response Autism Solutions, bringing over 20 years of expertise to families, grandparents, and first responders navigating the world of autism joins eHealth Radio and the Autism & Health News Channels.

Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Jennifer Kaufman discuss the following:

You've been in special education for over 20 years and then your grandson was diagnosed with autism. Did that change anything for you, or did you feel like you already had it covered?
A lot of grandparents come into this with a picture in their head of what being a grandparent in their grandchild's life is going to look like. When that picture changes, it can be really hard. How do grandparents shift those expectations in a way that actually lets them show up better for their adult child?
What does chronic stress actually do to the body of a caregiver who has been at this for years and doesn't think of themselves as someone who needs help?
You also train police and first responders on how to best support autistic community members. What is the one thing that stops officers cold when they go through your training, and why does it matter to every family listening right now?
You wrote a book, you train first responders, you run a school. What do you want the average person who knows nothing about autism to walk away knowing after this conversation?

HELPFUL TIPS: If your grandchild or child has autism, get them in the water early. Swim lessons are not optional for this population. Over 90% of accidental deaths of people with autism involve drowning. That statistic does not have to be your family's story. Find a program, find an instructor, find a way. It is that important.

The next time a child is struggling in public and your instinct is to wonder why they can't just behave, try replacing that thought with this one. They are not giving anyone a hard time. They are having one. That shift in thinking costs you nothing and it changes everything about how you respond.

Jennifer Kaufman has spent many years working with children with autism as a school principal in northern New Jersey. She knows the IEPs, the behavioral supports, the family meetings, and the moments when everything clicks for a child who has been struggling. But a few years ago, her understanding of autism became personal in a way she never anticipated, when her grandchild was diagnosed.

That experience changed her.

Not her expertise, but her perspective. Suddenly she was the grandmother feeling the same mix of love, fear, and uncertainty that she had watched so many families navigate over the years. She was also the grandmother working to support her own daughter. It gave her something that two graduate degrees and decades of administrative experience could not: the view from the other side of the desk.

That is the story behind her 2025 book, Grandparenting on the Spectrum: A Journey from Both Sides of the Desk, which speaks directly to grandparents who want to support their families but often don't know how. The book has connected with readers across the country who finally feel that someone understands their specific experience in the autism journey.

Jennifer's advocacy work takes several forms. Through her speaking and workshop program, she addresses grandparent groups, family organizations, police departments and universities, focusing on practical tools and emotional honesty. Through her training company, First Response Autism Solutions, LLC, she works with law enforcement agencies, police academies, and campus security teams to prepare first responders for interactions with individuals with autism. Her trainings are grounded in real experience, not theory, and first responders consistently say they leave feeling genuinely prepared in a way that traditional training never provided.

Jennifer has appeared on television and across numerous podcast platforms and is a recognized voice in the autism advocacy community. She holds graduate degrees in Educational Technology and Educational Leadership and is certified as both a Principal and Superintendent in New Jersey.

She doesn't approach autism advocacy as an outsider looking in. She has built her career around it, raised a grandchild touched by it, and made it her mission to ensure that the people who love and serve individuals with autism have every tool they need to do it well.

Websites: grandparentingonthespectrum.com | firstresponseautism.com

Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grandparentingonthespectrum
Instagram: @grandparentingonthespectrum

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Jennifer Kaufman, Author, Autism Advocate & First Response Trainer