“I saw him from afar, pacing. He was looking down, fiddling with his hands. Like my Cooper does. He had bright yellow noise canceling headphones on. He stood out. I immediately smiled. I was in awe. The young man waited, every few seconds trying to step forward. ‘Please be kind,’ I thought. I was actually holding my breath for him.”
‘No shoes, I ran through the security gate, tripping as I searched for the family. ‘You did an amazing job, dude.’ It was like we’d known each other for years.’: Mom to son with autism urges ‘look for your people’
‘My son whined, ‘No buzzer, I don’t like buzzer.’ He was inconsolably shaking in fear. We tried again to calm him. It was too late.’: Mother to son with autism addresses mom shamers in emotional letter
“‘Finally’ you said under your breath as I said ‘excuse me’ so we could exit the bleachers. You didn’t know my 4-year-old son has autism. You didn’t know about all of the ear infections and hearing loss. You weren’t there the day we discovered his new sensitivity to loud noises. I’ll never forget the way you made my family feel. I will make sure no one ever feels like that.”
‘How do you feel?’ I said, ‘Shocked.’ But the relief I felt was unreal. Tears streamed down my face.’: Woman diagnosed with autism at 30, ‘Autism is not something I have. It’s who I am.’
“As my phone began to ring, I noticed there was no caller ID. My heart skipped a beat, my throat tightened, and I froze. I knew this was it. Why were they calling now? This was not a good time. My report was ready. I felt the blood rush to my head. I was walking through a busy street. Tears streamed down my face. I had waited for forever. Why had we not seen it for so many years? I was 30 years old – so much of my life had been a lie.”
‘Can I give the a tree a hug?’ She tells me her brain is stuck. ‘Why is the sun shining?’: Caretaker of an autistic child insists ‘I am a better person because of her. I see the world in a changed way.’
“I said, ‘Break a leg!’ She got furious and started yelling at me, ‘Why do you want me to break a leg?? She takes things exactly the way they are, what you say is what she hears, and she processes the language just as it’s spoken. Katy has her own unique way of thinking, which I adore.”
‘No Jack! No doctor!’ I hold him tightly, feel his heart beating. It is heart breaking. I question why I put him through what feels like torture.’: Mom thankful for affectionate siblings who help calm autistic brother, ‘It just melted my heart’
“I have had to physically put myself between our boy and the floor so he doesn’t hurt himself by banging his head in frustration. It is heart breaking. I make sure to bring Jack to all of his siblings’ visits as well. WHY?! These rare moments. ‘Oh Jack, I’m not hurt. Give me a hug!’ She assured her anxious brother. ‘See Jack, Maddie is okay.’ Olivia whispered into his hear. It quickly became a sister sandwich. How beautiful is that?”
‘How did you know?’ My little baby went completely silent, no words, no babble, nothing. There were warning signs, we just didn’t know.’: Mom’s journey with autistic son
“Does this make me feel guilty? Of course, it does. As a mom you are meant to know these things, you are meant to protect your child. Parents have pulled their kids away from him. They leave him out of play dates. People ignore him, because he cannot talk. This is heartbreaking, but they simply don’t understand.”
‘My son makes fun of the autistic boy in his class and it’s hilarious!’ You could hear a pin drop. We stopped our giggling, and turned to her.’: Mom of son with autism raises awareness about adult bullying
“I immediately thought I must not have heard her incorrectly. No one would think this, let alone say it out loud. She continued without fear. ‘My son has the whole act down. He covers his ears, repeats words, and even does a hand twitch! He has the flap down perfectly.’ My stomach dropped. I started repeating to myself, ‘Do not cry. Do not cry.’ I willed myself to hold it together. My son covers his ears. My son’s hands twitch. My son flaps his hands. And one of my greatest fears is he will be bullied for it.”
‘Do you work?’ My answer was no. I thought about that last night and realized, I was wrong.’: Mom of autistic son reflects on 24/7 job of being a special needs mom
“Meeting up with friends, trips away and nights out become distant memories. Because your tribe becomes parents in the same position. We can’t relax, because we still have someone to care for. It doesn’t go away. If this job was advertised, I couldn’t see many people applying.”
‘I sat in our garage, started my car and let it run. I wanted to die. And then I saw my son open the garage door.’: Woman gives hope to other victims of narcissistic abuse, ‘I’m not ready to die. In fact, I’m ready to be reborn.’
“When I was 9 months pregnant, my husband was in a horrible car accident. I learned he’d been to a strip club and cheated on me that night. ‘He loves me enough to change.’ I wanted to be a ‘whole’ family. He was taking my car keys, my money, making sure he knew where I was. My son’s needs with his autism were increasing so we moved to Arizona to get him more help. This wasn’t about bettering our life at all. This was all just a master plan of isolating me. I finally knew I was done.”
‘I find you arrogant, rude, disrespectful and jealous.’ A workplace conflict left me hurt. She didn’t believe a single word.’: Woman learns of autism diagnosis at 23, ‘I finally learned the truth. I am not broken’
“Teachers would say, ‘Lauren is very polite, gifted, such a cute little girl.’ My peers started to reject me. My school life was marred by rumors and taunts. I began to tell myself, ‘There is something wrong with you.’ I could never remember to bathe. I once went half a year without washing my hair. At age 23, I finally learned the truth. I am autistic. I am not broken.”
