One thing I have learned is that life is not without challenges. When difficulties occur, we must move forward to experience renewal. As the saying goes, “The sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
In episode 8, I revealed my personal story of how my life changed when I created a supportive community. That was the point where I realized I was surviving in my autism journey. I needed to thrive as a mom for my son. My family deserved that. I deserved that.
In this episode, I take the message of community support a step further and explore the origins, common barriers, and considerations when building a community for moms of autistics.
Find the transcript for this episode at https://thrivingmomsofautistics.com/10
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I’ve mentioned in previous episodes that awareness is at the core of many aspects of autism parenting. This includes community supports. Having a keen awareness allows us to evaluate our lives and resources.
We all have community around us. Ask yourself, “Does the community that I currently surround myself with bring out the best in me?” The answer might be yes, but you only have one or two people in your circle.
If the answer is no, you need to consider changing that. Don’t do what I did and wait until there is an emergency. I think back about how things would have been very different for us in those three months had we surrounded ourselves with the support we desperately needed.
Positive community means that you are surrounded by people, who understand autism, support you without harsh judgment when you are struggling, show you compassion, and help you out when you are in a pinch.
Community isn’t only about you. It’s about your child too. When you care for your needs, you are essentially caring for your child’s needs. Healthy moms lead to healthy children. Let that marinate a bit.
One of the things I love about my supportive community is that I have people around me that get it. When something comes up with my son, they can recall experiencing the same thing or something similar. It brings some normalcy to my life instead of always feeling like the outlier.
Also, our children have an opportunity to create bonds with one another. Autistic children often struggle with making friends. This allows them to also be around others, who have things in common with them. As parents, we don’t have to walk on eggshells when our child has a behavior that is typical of autistic children.
There are many barriers to finding support, but I have seen moms do it. You might live in a rural area, be a single mom, or struggle making friends for whatever reason. Positive community is still an option. So is not having a supportive community in your journey.
Consider these questions to guide you in finding your community.
It might take some time but tightening up your circle is worth it. You might have someone in mind. But they aren’t quite there yet. That doesn’t mean they won’t be.
You are a natural advocate for your child. It is okay for you to advocate for yourself too. You can set boundaries with others and say, “I need x or y!” More about setting boundaries in episode 11.
The point is that there are others like you. When you come together, you can achieve so much as moms!
