Meet the Norton Family Jill, Greg, Liam and Luca

By Rae Swift

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Jill and Greg Norton currently live in Noblesville with their two sons, Liam, 4, and Luca, 2. Both boys have autism spectrum disorder. As a family, they enjoy going to all of the parks and splash pads around Hamilton County, having dance parties in their music roomslash-office, and traveling and exploring new places, especially beaches.

Being from New York, Jill says they are diehard Buffalo Bills fans and enjoy CrossFit and Olympic lifting themselves. They are a big part of their community both at their CrossFit gym, Three Kings Athletics, and in their own neighborhood, which often hosts food truck nights for everyone!

Jill says, “There have been many struggles with the autism diagnosis, but the biggest battle by far has been coping in general. Since there is not enough research on where autism stems from, the question marks continue to go through my head. Why us? What did I do wrong? Where do we go from here? Will Liam and Luca have typical childhoods and adulthoods?” Fortunately, they are incredibly happy little boys and simply love life. Liam recently has become more verbal, and Luca has just begun talking himself!

Jill also worries about the judgment that all special-needs families face. She wishes society would become more accepting and open-minded.

Greg said when their son Liam was first diagnosed, he sat in the darkness trying to figure out where he had gone wrong. “Then I looked at him the next morning and realized that nothing was wrong,” he said. His sons’ diagnoses have changed the way he looks at life and taught him to always live in the moment.

Both of the boys attend full-time ABA and Jill works as the operations manager at Adapt for Life, an ABA center on the westside of Indianapolis. She says the job has made her a better mom and given her a desire to help other families facing similar challenges. Greg is an account executive at Salesforce and is hoping to create a team there to promote autism awareness across Indianapolis.

Greg and Jill want others to understand the importance of early intervention. Even though those are dark hard times going through diagnoses, the long term success and impact you will see on your child is priceless! You have to be very selfless during these times and embrace every day successes. Ultimately, Jill and Greg want people to know, “embracing autism, accepting the diagnosis, and educating yourself and others will allow for a more positive future for your child. Advocate for them and enjoy the little things. Comparing to typical children will not help. No person on the spectrum is less than anyone else, they’re just different.”

Do you have a caregiver that you would like to nominate to be in an upcoming issue of Special Needs Living? Email us at SpecialNeedsLivingIndy@n2pub.com.

November 2021 • Special Needs Living 15