Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, just wondering if there is anyone here who has an autism diagnosis and is a parent?
I received my diagnosis at the age of 35, it was liberating and a relief that there was a reason to what I felt was happening to me, now it is something I'm struggling with.
I am ccurrently experiencing a period of burn out and have taken leave from work as a result. The largest stressor and trigger unfortunately are my children. They are aged between 2 and 7 and typically with young children very demanding.
If anyone is in a similar situatio how do you manage? Taking leave from motherhood is not an option.
Thank you for reading. Afer many deep dives on google I think here is my best chance of finding some help.
Emma
Hi there. You may find that you get more responses if you also post in the Autistic Adults section. :-) I don't know of how many of us look in this section regularly.
I am autistic and a parent. I am further on than you and have found that things do get better. Mine are 20 and 14 now.
I survived those times you are going through in a couple of ways:
- I used nursery until they were school age while I was at work, even though this meant that I earned basically nothing.
- I have a partner who gave me huge amounts of support - he cooks and cleans.
Looking back I think I would have avoided some things:
- I found mother and toddler groups and children's parties incredibly stressful and think I would have done them less. I was lucky to make 2 friends from that time but I think most people just didn't get me.
PM me if I can help in any way.
Michelle