Megan Miller knew she and her son needed breaks, but for a long time, she didn’t know how to get one.

As a single mom in Eugene, Oregon, caring for her neurodivergent — or “neurospicy,” as she calls it — 8-year-old left her feeling overwhelmed and isolated.

A standard childcare or after-school program wouldn’t accept him given his special needs, and Miller doesn’t have family nearby. Her son’s Medicaid plan for people with an intellectual and developmental disability covers two weeks of “relief” overnights per year, but she said she has never been able to use it because the benefit only covers limited situations and there are few providers.

This struggle worsened when they moved homes and schools. Miller said her imaginative, Spider-Man obsessed boy became so depressed amid the changes he was expressing thoughts of suicide.…