Instagram story viewer> @jacquelenenigrelli> Posts

Jacquelene Nigrelli

@jacquelenenigrelli

522

posts

1.3K

followers

3014

following

Lead her team. Love her babies. Leave her mark.
Mom of 5. Founder @illuminateacademy
I have a thing for helping people grow.
Ready when you are🔽

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

12 years ago, I sat across from a parent who was scared and exhausted—their child was capable, deserving, and worthy, but school wasn’t working for them.💬 What happens when middle school starts?💬 Will they have friends?💬 Will they be punished for things they can’t control?And the hardest part? There were no good options.I didn’t have all the answers, but I knew this—connection mattered.I had seen what happened when kids felt safe and understood. I believed if we built a school around relationships first, everything else could fall into place.So, even though I was scared… even though I had no roadmap… I made a decision.🔥 If the right school didn’t exist, we would build it.At first, it was about creating a place where neurodivergent kids could belong. A place where they weren’t constantly asked to “be less,” but instead were supported in being themselves.What I didn’t realize at the time was that connection was only the beginning.Because as we built this school, I kept learning. And soon, I would uncover the real game changer—a way to make learning work with a child’s brain instead of against it.But that part of the story comes later.For now, all I knew was this: Connection mattered. And that was enough to take the first step.👉🏽 If you believe education needs to change, comment “YES” below. The algorithm needs to know that people care about this message so it reaches the right audience.#IlluminateAcademy #NeurodivergentEducation #EducationReimagined #ConnectionBeforeCorrection #NeuroaffirmingSchools #SchoolLeadership #SpecialEducationMatters by @jacquelenenigrelli

32

13

a year ago

Nothing without:•my faith•my people •my calling If you’re into: leading people well, neuro-affirming autism support, nourishing your marriage +children, plus FAITH, then this little account could be your new hang spot!Female owned business, small business owner, women owners, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurship, social emotional wellbeing, faith filled women, faith fueled mamas by @jacquelenenigrelli

53

10

2 years ago

Ever been around a kiddo having a hard moment?A teacher with autistic kiddos having hard moments?Or a therapist helping neurodivergent kiddos and they are having hard moments?A mama struggling to support her little one through their hard moments?Guess what? You just met your new hype girl!And I’m ready to bring you a simple (promise💪🏼) lens change that will help YOU help THEM *instantly*It’s:•ethical •meaningful•effective •replicable •varied (works for alllll the people)Would love to meet you for a quick hour or 2 and share more with you! Head to bio to learn more! by @jacquelenenigrelli

94

4

2 years ago

Regulation and safety are not the same thing. And I think that mix-up is why you feel stuck.Here’s what I mean. Regulation is being available and ready. We call it regulated and ready, the state where you can just do the everyday things. It’s not peak regulation, that’s the kind you need to run a 5K or walk into a job interview or stand on a stage. This is the everyday kind. And you’ve been trying so hard to get there.But you can’t get there yet. Because something has to come first.Felt safety. Your body actually feeling safe. It’s the precursor. It’s the thing underneath everything else, and when it’s missing, no amount of breathing or counting or calming down is going to hold.Think of it like a house. You’d never build one without a foundation. Safety is that foundation, it holds and steadies the whole thing. Regulation is the floor that sits on top. And when you try to build that floor before the foundation is there, it won’t hold. It won’t stay.So the next time it feels like nothing’s working, don’t ask how to calm down. Ask if you feel safe first.Because it was never that you weren’t trying hard enough. You were just starting one floor too high.Safety first. Then regulation.Connect first. Regulate always. by @jacquelenenigrelli

9

4

21 days ago

Let me be clear about what I’m not saying. I’m not saying no structure. 🎯Predictability matters so much. I’ve built my career, our approach, the anchor of every part of our day, on how much it matters. Kids, humans, all of us, we feel safe when we know what’s coming. And summer with an iPad in your hand all day is not the way either.I’m saying maybe there’s a middle we keep skipping?Somewhere along the way we decided neurodivergent kids get one of two summers: inside learning skills, doing flash cards, trying to get ahead or not regress, or on a screen, because the world isn’t great at supporting them anyway.What if there was a third option? Another way.The kind of summer neurotypical kids get to have. The kind that’s fun. That involves play. Real experiences. The freedom to be a kid, in spaces that still feel safe enough to grow, explore, and connect.Here’s what 20 years has taught me, and what the science says over and over: our greatest chance at raising, and being, successful humans isn’t more skills. It’s these three words. Social. Emotional. Competency. And you can’t drill that into a kid. You create the conditions for it, through connection, through relationship, through experiences that let growth actually happen.So yes, this is a vote for the kids. And honestly, a challenge to the rest of us. Let’s step up and build more places where every kid gets to be a kid.That’s my vote for your kids’ summer💫 by @jacquelenenigrelli

17

0

23 days ago

For the first nine of my now 21 years in this field, I did it the way I was told to. Skills, skills, skills. Teach them the skills. Skills matter. And no shade to those people, I think they just didn’t know what they didn’t know.Year 10, thank God, I found the most amazing woman to mentor me, and to this day she has changed my life. Bonus: it was right when I was building the most incredible learning environment ever, hi @illuminateacademy , and we finally got to do it differently.I’ve been living this out in real life, with my learners and my instructors at the academy, for over a decade. Watching it work...every day, all day.Here’s what I’ve learned: growth has an order. You can try to skip to the top, but it won’t last. It won’t stick. It won’t stay. Because when a hard moment comes, and it will, if the floor underneath isn’t built strong enough, you fall. Hard.If you’re a parent who thinks you’re doing all the right things and you still feel like something’s missing, please hear me: you are not failing. You just might be starting in the wrong place.That’s the whole reason we do what we do. by @jacquelenenigrelli

13

0

24 days ago

Running low on summer sanity? Same.The broken routines. The meltdowns over the pool being closed, the ice cream machine being down, the iPad time ending. The one task you cannot finish because someone is on another level today.Here’s what I want you to know: those moments are not random. There’s a pattern underneath them. And once you can read the pattern, you stop guessing and start knowing exactly what to do next.That’s the whole reason I built Hard Moments, Clear Answers.One hour. The map for reading the hard moments and knowing your next move.This Wednesday, June 17, at noon Central.Come get the map. Link in bio to save your seat🤍 by @jacquelenenigrelli

9

0

a month ago

She can handle the boardroom. Not the closed pool. You solve problems all day, so why does this undo you both? It’s not you. No one handed you the playbook. The first move: ask where they’re starting from. Steady, or stretched? That one read changes everything. Full map Wednesday, June 18. Link in bio. by @jacquelenenigrelli

6

0

a month ago

You had it mapped. The pool days, the camp drop-offs, the one afternoon you actually carved out to breathe.And then the forecast turned. The rain took one of those days. And something in you just sinks.You know that feeling. The small grief of the thing you were counting on, gone, even though you did everything right.Sit with that for a second. Because that’s exactly what your kid feels when the pool closes. When the ice cream machine is down again. When the thing they were holding onto disappears, and no one even notices it mattered.They’re not giving you a hard time. They’re having one.And the moment you feel it with them? That’s everything. by @jacquelenenigrelli

15

0

a month ago

Raise your hand if anyone, in the history of ever, has calmed down because someone told them to.No. Because in a hard moment, when you are burnt out and nowhere near okay, the last thing that helps is being told to calm down.What actually helps is someone seeing you. Meeting you right where you are. And helping you from there.Your kid is no different. Neither are you.Here is the part most people miss: that moment of being met is not a nice-to-have. It is the first step. Growth has an order, and this is where it starts. Skip it, and nothing above it holds.I am teaching exactly what is happening in the hard moments and what to do next. It is called Hard Moments, Clear Answers. One hour, live, twice this week so you can pick your time.Come get the map.Tuesday June 3rd, 7:30pm CentralWednesday June 4th, noon CentralLink in bio to save your seat. by @jacquelenenigrelli

4

0

2 months ago

She’s excellent at her job. BUT-She’s running on empty at home.And she has no idea those two things are connected.Hi. I’m Jacquelene.I’ve spent 20 years studying what actually helps people grow.Kids. Adults. Teams. Families.And what I know is this:You are not exhausted because you’re doing it wrong.You’re exhausted because nobody taught you the order.Skills are not the starting place.Safety is.Regulation is.Connection is.When those three things are in place first-your skills stack in a way that actually sticks💪🏼 by @jacquelenenigrelli

15

1

4 months ago

Thank me later.And if you’re new here, hi. I’m Jacquelene and around here we talk about what actually helps people grow. Leaders. Kids. All of us.Follow along for all the regulation and results your heart desires. by @jacquelenenigrelli

4

2

4 months ago