This post contains some of the best autism mom quotes.
What Is Autism?
Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the way a person perceives and interacts with the world.
It is characterized by difficulties in social communication and interaction, as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
Autism is typically diagnosed in early childhood, and it is a lifelong condition.
Individuals with autism may have challenges in areas such as:
1. Social Interaction: They may struggle to understand social cues, engage in reciprocal conversations, and develop meaningful relationships with others.
2. Communication: Some individuals may have delayed language development or difficulty using language effectively for communication purposes. Others may have a nuanced understanding of language but still find it challenging to initiate or sustain conversations.
3. Restricted Interests and Repetitive Behaviors: People with autism often display intense interests in specific topics and may engage in repetitive behaviors or routines, such as lining up objects, flapping their hands, or rocking back and forth.
4. Sensory Sensitivities: Many individuals with autism have heightened sensitivity or decreased sensitivity to sensory stimuli, such as sights, sounds, smells, textures, or tastes. This can lead to either avoidance or seeking out certain sensations.
It is important to note that autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that it affects individuals to varying degrees.
Some individuals may require more support in their daily lives, while others may have relatively mild challenges and excel in certain areas.
Treatment for autism typically involves a multidisciplinary approach, including behavioral therapies, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and educational interventions.
These approaches aim to improve social skills, communication abilities, and adaptive behaviors, allowing individuals with autism to reach their full potential.
Related: Best 10 Autism Books For Parents
Autism Mom Quotes
1. “My experience as an autism mom is just that, my experience.” – Helen Conroy & Joyce Goes
2. “I am an autism mom—and I couldn’t be prouder.” – Helen Conroy & Joyce Goes
3. “Is being an autism parent fundamentally different from parenting other types of children? It’s hard to say. Most parents go through challenges with their children and grapple with uncertainty about their kids’ development and how best to help them through their struggles.” – Susan Senator
4. “Having a child on the autism spectrum can bring many hardships, no question. But in terms of the parenting experience, how much of the struggle—how much of the grief, depression, and despair—is caused by our children’s actual impairments, and how much is due to our own level of misinformation and confusion, the lack of adequate help and support, the cultural stigma surrounding autism, and the resulting inability to nurture ourselves adequately?” – Susan Senator
5. “Autism moms are flexible. We swam in the rain; you get wet swimming anyway!” – Helen Conroy & Joyce Goes
6. “Because every child with autism is so different than every other child with autism, it doesn’t seem to matter to autism moms or dads what the differences are. It seems we find similarities or connections. We look for things to bind us together.” – Helen Conroy & Joyce Goes
7. “My belief is that once we become aware of the negative ways we look at autism, things begin to open up for us: we start to gain valuable perspective, which is the autism parent’s foundation for hope and, ultimately, happiness.” – Susan Senator
8. “The most important thing I have realized in all this time is that autism is not tragic, it is not the end of things.” – Susan Senator
Related: Autism Resources For Adults (Information, Podcasts, TED Talks, Books)
9. “Learning about a child’s autism is an unfolding process.” – Susan Senator
10. “We get to know that child through the particular filter of autism, but in doing so, we start to see him clearly and wholly.” – Susan Senator
11. “Autism was one context for our family life, but not the entirety of it; therefore it was not a threat to our family’s happiness.” – Susan Senator
12. “In addition to the negative perceptions and stereotypes, autism parents must also cope with the tangled and confusing web of theories, treatments, and information about autism.” – Susan Senator
13. “Not all autism moms become activists or advocates, but that’s where this journey has taken me.” – Helen Conroy & Joyce Goes
14. “Even though living with autism is often very difficult, there is no need to get stuck on that.” – Susan Senator
15. “Parents can seek ways to be happier. Parents can still lead worthwhile lives and find happiness with their children and on their own.” – Susan Senator
16. “My images of autism at that time were formed out of ignorance: Dustin Hoffman as the bizarre, fairly helpless character in the movie Rain Man, or portrayals of children banging their heads, out of control. This autism could only be a bad thing.” – Susan Senator
Related: Shy Child Vs. Autism (& How To Parent A Child With Autism?)
17. “How many of us autism parents have been faulted, or felt at fault, for our children’s struggles?” – Susan Senator
18. “Autism mothers have so much uncertainty about the origins of their child’s distress and difficulties, and that may be the real root of our struggles.” – Susan Senator
19. “Despite all the current information about this disorder, autism parents often worry that they somehow are at fault. Combine that emotional state with the horrible image of autism you see everywhere, and you have a very heavy burden that only gets in the way of parenting your autistic child.” – Susan Senator
20. “Dr. O’Brien concluded from her studies that the autism mothers’ depression was not “as clear-cut as a grief process” because the child has not passed away. “You still have a child,” she says. “But he or she is not the child you thought or hoped you had.”” – Susan Senator
Related: Autism In Women Symptoms That Are Often Overlooked
21. “For many autism families, the early years before and after diagnosis are traumatic and affect our outlook going forward.” – Susan Senator
22. “Once we have the right balance, we can help the child and help ourselves live more worthwhile lives. I think that we autism parents first learn how to do this through parenting our children, and then parenting ourselves.” – Susan Senator
23. “The judgments of others is a particularly difficult aspect of unhappiness in the autism parent.” – Susan Senator
24. “Though we face many struggles as autism parents, and though so much about our lives is not under our control, it is within our power to reduce a lot of the suffering we experience. We can do this by remembering to take care of ourselves, by figuring out how to have more fun with our kids, by nurturing our marriages, and, most important, by shifting our attitudes about autism.” – Susan Senator
25. “While I love my son and I’m stronger for being an autism mom, I’m still not happy about it.” – Helen Conroy & Joyce Goes
Related: Top +40 Autism Self Help Skills For Adults That Will Make Life Less Stressful (+FREE ASD Resources)
