Having autism made me a better mother
By the time I was diagnosed with autism in my mid-40s, my children were all but grown up. The eldest was 25, and the youngest was 18. My diagnosis put my whole life in perspective, but it also raised many questions, including some surrounding family life. Would I have related to my own adoptive parents better, and perhaps been closer to them, if I didn?t have autism" Would my mothering style have meant that my children might have found life easier or harder growing up" Would I have been a better parent if I had been neurotypical"
For the most part, I think it?s been a good thing. If I had been diagnosed earlier, others might have judged my parenting more harshly. I?ve heard many stories from mothers with autism who say they are dismissed by healthcare professionals, school staff and other parents because their opinions are felt not to be as valid. On the other hand, if I had an early diagnosis, I would have coped better in education and probably found it easier to help my children with their homework?something I have never been able to do. I didn?t intend to have a large family, and I certainly hadn?t planned to be a mother so young. Lucie arrived first, when I was just 20, followed by her sister, Tatti, three years later. Three years after that, I had Jack, and then, just 13 months later, Toby. By the time I was 27, I was a mother of four small children. When I had my first child, all my friends were either at university or backpacking around the world on a ...
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COMPETITION: Win a 5-star Family Holiday in Limassol, Cyprus
27-04-2024 08:05 - (
moms )