Roger Mathews is basking in the beauty of fatherhood amid his family’s challenges.
Following estranged wife Jenni “JWoww” Farley‘s announcement that their 2½-year-old son Greyson Valor has been diagnosed with autism, the father of two took to Instagram to share a hopeful message and a peek at some of the artwork done by their daughter Meilani Alexandra, 4.
“Woke up to these colorings my daughter left for me on the kitchen table and this scripture text from my Dad,” Mathews captioned a two-photo slideshow featuring Christmas-themed coloring pages and an excerpt from The Prayer of St. Francis de Sales.
“We all have adversities in our lives to over come but we could not do it without the love and support of those we care about the most,” he continued. “Gonna do my best to have a positive day today. I hope you do as well. It’s all part of the journey. There will be obstacles.”
Despite the former couple’s separation, Mathews and Farley came together to celebrate Halloween with their children just over a month after Farley filed for divorce. Two weeks earlier, they linked up to celebrate their anniversary, with Mathews captioning a photo of the pair having dinner, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Parents newsletter.
RELATED: Expert Explains Language Delays After Jenni “JWoww” Farley Reveals Son, 2, Isn’t Speaking Yet
Greyson’s diagnosis announcement, which Farley made in a recent interview with Hollywood Life, came three months after the reality star revealed on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation that her son “isn’t speaking” yet and attends “therapy three times a week.”
And while Greyson is still presently “non-verbal” according to his mom, she explained in her conversation with Hollywood Life that he’s on a path of “positive, positive” progress.
“He has co-therapies [every] week but we’re going to step it up a notch soon and get him ABA treatments, speech therapy,” said Farley, 32, adding that Greyson has “made leaps and bounds when it comes to speech” — specifically, “He’s understanding words better, which was his issue.”
A rep for Farley has not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment surrounding Greyson’s diagnosis.
RELATED VIDEO: This May Be Why Autism Diagnoses Are on the Rise, According to the CDC
In October, Farley explained in an interview with Today that there was a disconnect between how she and Mathews viewed their son’s development.
“When Greyson wasn’t hitting his marks in the world of doctors, Roger couldn’t … not that he couldn’t care less, but he was like, ‘He’s perfect. He’s going to be fine. This is no big deal,’ ” she said of Mathews, whom she split from in September after almost three years of marriage.
While Mathews’ outlook on their son’s growth was hopeful, it left the mother of two feeling conflicted. “In that aspect, I felt very alone because I was the only parent,” Farley continued. “I thought, ‘Am I bad wanting to get him help because Roger’s not concerned, so should I not be concerned?’ “
Source: Read Full Article