Hi Moms! When your child was first diagnosed, you had a million questions and a million more fears and what ifs. The fear of the unknown is strong during this time.
As your child and their development grows, you consider new possibilities. In this episode, I explore the importance of self-care when you are entering a new territory with your child.
Find the full transcript for this episode at www.thrivingmomsofautistics.com/30
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When Moms of Autistics Shift Their Thinking from Impossible to Possible
As moms of autistics, our dreams for our child change with the diagnosis. We come to accept that there will be experiences that we will not likely have with our child.
As time goes on, many of our original questions are answered. We learn this through trial and error throughout the development process. We start to see what the future holds.
This can be a bit overwhelming, but you were made for this mama! I truly believe that.
Emotions and the Fear Can Weigh Heavily on Moms Autism Moms
This is completely normal for all of us. Please do not beat yourself up over this. It is a very human experience to fear the unknown.
You are not weak. In fact, moms of autistics are incredibly courageous and gritty!
Nevertheless, those emotions will be present along the way. In previous episodes, I explored how anxiety impacts mom’s body and mind. Find episodes related to this topic at http://www.thrivingmomsofautistics.com for more. Click Self-Care & Boundaries under topics.
In previous episodes, I gave you a variety of ways to deal with stress and anxiety. In this episode, I relate this to milestones and events you thought might not be possible.
Scary Milestones that Moms of Autistics Are Unsure About
We live in Indianapolis and can hear the cars practicing for the Indy 500 every year. It is an exciting time in Indy.
Our son loves cars, racing, and measuring distances. He does not love noise. Nor does he assess danger well. Crowds and traffic are barriers to his safety.
Attending events at the track was just a dream for us for years. We did not expect it to ever become a reality. Until it did.
My husbands said, “Let’s go to Carb Day this year!” I looked at him like he had three heads. I reluctantly said yes. I didn’t think he was serious, but he was.
I am all about planning ahead in all things in life. Yes, I am one of those. This is a good trait to have as an autism mama.
I alerted his BCBA to get a social story together and assess the pros and cons of attending. I am that mom that nails down every aspect beforehand. But I had been slammed in the last two weeks.
It turns out that being a mom of an autistic is a lot of work. Throw in daily life tasks and work and you have the perfect storm. That is our normal, right?!
I gathered all the sensory goodies, headphones, water, and sunscreen. One ball I dropped was to do a full assessment of parking lots and call ahead to alert them we were coming to get a full analysis of what to expect as an autism family. I like to know what they have to offer families like ours.
The day of, I was a hot mess because I did not do this. It was not like me, but I am not perfect. I have a lot of ducks in a row, but I am still a human being. I could not let him sense my anxiety. We had a meeting that morning with his BCBA before we left for the event, so I worked out the kinks of my nervousness.
It worked out beautifully. When the cars got too loud, he asked for a break, and we went to
