The call came at night in early December: Chatham County Schools would be closed the next day due to a forecast of snow. In Pittsboro, Jessie Mewshaw went into action. “First, it’s the conversation with my spouse: ‘Can you stay with them? No, you can’t, you have to go.’” Mewshaw spent the next hour canceling all her clients for the next day.
Mewshaw is a speech therapist who works primarily with autistic children and teens. Because she’s paid by the session, she loses about $500 per day when she has to cancel. She also worries about her clients when school and therapy routines are disrupted.
“No matter what an amazing caregiver you are, that’s going to take a toll on your nervous system,” Mewshaw said. “Neurodivergent kids feel those changes. When you are frazzled, they are now frazzled.”…