For as long as I can remember, my brother Liam has been at the center of my world. Diagnosed with autism 25 years ago at the age of 2, Liam has shaped my family’s journey in ways that I never could have imagined. I often ask Liam whether he understands the positive impact he has on the world around him, the people he brings together, the service he inspires. Inevitably, his answer is always a skeptical, “yea….”
I try to explain further, but I know that Liam will never fully understand the incredible scope of what his being a part of this world has meant for our family and so many others. It’s a funny thing. On the one hand, Liam’s autism has been the source of so much worry, fear and anxiety for our family, and on the other, it has been the glue of what drives us and what makes us who we are. It is also what led me to start Eleplan.
Growing up, I witnessed firsthand the love, advocacy and dedication my parents poured into ensuring Liam had access to the best resources and care. Their efforts were (and continue to be) unrelenting—from navigating schools and vocational programs to engaging with every therapy, diet and intervention that promised even the slightest bit of progress.
Throughout every stage of their advocacy, my parents managed copious amounts of documents, information and resources with no good tool to organize it all. Our family relied on paper files, digital files on laptops and in email, repetitive phone calls with new teachers and case workers that needed to be briefed on Liam, Post-Its, and spiral notebooks with handwritten notes.
Alongside the chaos and overwhelm of all the information my parents held in their minds or in disjointed physical formats, there was always an underlying fear in the uncertainty. My family, like so many others, has faced endless logistical challenges in finding the right programs, support systems and people who truly understand Liam. It wasn’t just about finding care for today; it was about creating a sustainable plan for the future. What would happen if my parents could no longer be Liam’s advocates? How would his care be managed if something were to happen to them? As much as these questions were grounded in both fear and love, our family quickly realized that we needed a more tangible path forward.
That’s where Eleplan comes in. Born out of a need to simplify the complexities of care, Eleplan is a platform designed to give families a way to document and share crucial information about their loved one. It enables families to track everything from key contacts and medications to life preferences and care transitions—all in one place. More importantly, it helps answer the question that has haunted my parents for years: What happens when we’re no longer here to take care of Liam?
In the early days of Eleplan, we set out to build a solution that would answer that very question. As we built that solution, we quickly realized that the product in front of us solved not only future care transfers, but also every care transition today. New job coach? No problem. New teacher? Eleplan can help. New babysitter? Let’s grab some quick and relevant information from your Eleplan so she knows what she needs to do.
Fundamentally, Eleplan is about efficient, accurate and secure sharing of information. How do we get the information that we want to share to the people we want to share it with? And how do we know that the information will be kept safe? Our team is passionate about providing caregivers with the tools that can bring their families peace of mind through streamlined information sharing with all care stakeholders.
For me, Eleplan isn’t just business—it’s a deeply personal mission. Liam has taught me that there is power in advocacy and that our family’s journey, while unique, is not unlike the stories of thousands of families navigating similar paths. Eleplan is my way of leaving our world better than I found it by providing a tool that can ease some of the overwhelming burden that comes with being a caregiver. Liam has always been the glue that holds us together, and through Eleplan, I hope families can find peace of mind, ease of planning and more time to focus on what matters most—each other.