Supernova Parenting, an exciting new non-profit dedicated to empowering caregivers of families facing mental illness and/or intellectual developmental disabilities.
CEO Natasha Nelson aka Supernova Momma, aspires to create a world where caregivers of families of color facing mental illness and/or intellectual developmental disabilities are empowered to create inclusive, supportive, and respectful environments.
Let’s dive into our recent discussion with Natasha Nelson!
Being a parent is work and it’s literally a job that comes with no instruction manuals.Let’s discuss what prompted you to start your organization and Supernova Parenting.
While I agree that there are Not any necessarily instruction manuals for being a parent. There are instruction manuals for child development. There are instruction manuals for social and emotional learning. There are manuals for different types of discipline methods. So there is information to help with parenting. The reason why there isn’t just one set manual for parenting is because every parent is different and every child is different. And what I found is I would get frustrated because people would say there isn’t a manual for parenting. Why not? There is a manual for any job that you need to do. There are resources and I felt like from the standpoint of a being a Black woman I absolutely needed to make sure that those things were accessible to families of color who are facing mental illness or developmental disabilities because that’s my life and that’s what I live and that’s what I wanted to make happen.
There’s so much power in a name. How did you decide on Supernova parenting?
I’m a millennial, and I grew up on Disney Channel movies and Nickelodeon. And so when I was a kid there was a Disney channel movie called Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century, and it had a song on it, I believe it was called….. Supernova Girl by Protozoa that I loved. And also have been on Twitter since 2008 or 2009 and when I was on Twitter my name was Supernova_Tash. I looked up what supernova really means. Supernovas occur when stars can’t handle their nuclear fuel and they explode in a brilliant burst of light. My thought process from that has always been that I had autistic burnout with motherhood. And that actually was the best thing for me because it allowed me to realize I was neurodivergent and needed help. My exploding of this burst of brilliant light allowed me to really get into who I really am. And to come into being a supernova, right? So exploding into this brilliance of light, this brilliant of awakenness from the burnout that I was having as a mother, of not feeling seen, of not understanding what was going on, not being able to figure out my own balance.
And so that is where Supernova Momma and Supernova Parenting comes from. It comes from wanting to help parents who are facing mental illness or developmental disabilities. And that could be the parent themselves or their child. Right? Having them to be able to explode into that brilliant burst of light to be empowered.
Your nonprofit focuses on caregiving of families facing mental illness and or intellectual developmental disabilities. When we think of families like that, what comes to mind for you?
My family. I’m autistic. I have ADHD. I have general anxiety disorder, sensory processing disorder, OCD, PTSD, somatic syndrome disorder, and depression. My two daughters; Riley is autistic and Paris is autistic and has ADHD like me. Their father is currently going through the diagnosis process, but he’s currently dealing with anxiety and depression. So when I’m thinking of Supernova Parenting, I’m thinking of helping families like mine.
What would you say are some of your challenges you faced when you decided to start Supernova Parenting and how did you cope?
So, I am a young black woman. I came from poverty; came from a mother who was a single mother of 7, in Georgia. I’m 35, and I was in my early thirties when I started this nonprofit. And I say all those identifiers because I didn’t really have the resources or knowledge about how to start a non-profit at all. Even now I’m learning the process here in Georgia to be able to solicit funds for this nonprofit and making sure that everything is always, to the letter in accordance with the state and the federal laws.
Some ways that I’m working through this is by making sure that I network and I have mentors. I ask questions and I’m vulnerable enough to admit that I don’t always know what I’m doing, and I would like help because the goal for me is always going to be helping those families, especially families of color facing mental illness and developmental disabilities.
What are your hopes and goals for supernova parenting?
My hopes and goals for Supernova Parenting is to have a full database of resources that are labeled, user friendly and easy for anyone to navigate. We want to have a conference, an Annual national conference specifically about conscious parenting with a family that’s facing mental illness and developments with disability. So basically we want to have a full circle support and empowering center for parents facing mental illness and developmental disabilities. From conferences to support groups, to educational classes, to a resource library. We want to be that place.
What are some tips you can give for caregivers for day to day living?
So the first tip that I want to give to caregivers is I really encourage you to step into your child’s shoes. Secondly, I encourage you to start assessing where your head is at before you risk constantly reacting instead of responding. What do I mean by that? You see something happening. If it’s not an immediate security issue, health issue, hygiene issue, you can take a moment to take a deep breath, think and respond to that before you react. Because a lot of times in households where we’re constantly under stress, we’re just constantly reacting and those reactions just make the situation worse and you’re not teaching your child anything. And then the last one is education. You have to understand how this mental illness and/or this developmental disability is affecting your child to know how to work your everyday household. What are the challenges that your child is facing? What are the assets that your child has? Those things are important. So educating yourself on the mental illness and or developmental disability and observing and spending time with your child so that you can start understanding how you want to form your household.
What can we expect next coming from supernova parenting?
Well, myself, Natasha Nelson, I joined with the multiple autism collective out of Georgia Tech. And we have a documentary that is on the horizon called Navigating Autism in Communities of Color. It’s currently being screened and being submitted to Film festivals and it is amazing. And again, that is from Georgia Tech and the Color of Autism Foundation partnership and that partnership is called the Multiple Autisms Collective and they are just phenomenal and the document is phenomenal. We also have a conference coming out. A conscious parenting conference for families facing mental illness and developmental disabilities. It’s called the Supernova Parenting Summit. I’m very excited about it. It will be a virtual, 2 day conference from July, 27th- 28th 2024. It will feature a lot of education on consciously parenting for Families of color facing mental illness and developmental disabilities. We will be going to DC. From the April 7-10th, 2024 to represent Georgia Council of Developmental Disabilities at the Disability Policy Seminar in Washington, DC. We also have a Caregivers Keeping Order free course and that’s on April 30th, 2024, and those are free to support autism acceptance and awareness because in order to accept, you need to be aware.
Natasha shares her experiences with neurodivergent families in Navigating Autism in Communities of Color presented by Multiple Autisms Collective. This documentary highlights Black caregiver experiences of obtaining a diagnosis, accessing services, and advocating for their children with autism.
Based on stories from six Black families, as well as experts in the field, it examines the unique struggles of navigating autism in a structurally unequal society and determination for equal access.
For more details about the film, visit: https://b.gatech.edu/3T8esYF. The documentary premiered in Atlanta, GA on March 22nd, 2024.
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