People ask me all the time to describe what it’s like to be an Autism parent. That’s a tough question and I often struggle to come up with the words to help people better understand.
It occurred to me yesterday that being an Autism parent is very my like trying to catch water in a sieve. In my experience, I’m raising kids who’s needs are like constantly moving targets.
What works now, likely won’t work later and there’s absolutely no catch all that would cover my three kids with Autism at the same time..
Trying to meet their, unique and ever changing needs is like trying to catch water in sieve. It’s a seemingly impossible task, even on the best of days. No matter how devoted I am as a parent, I will always fall short in meeting their needs.
Having said that, there’s a universal truth when it comes to Autism or Special Needs parents. No matter what, we will spend all day, every day, trying to catch as much water in that sieve as we can because we love our kids so much.
I feel like that’s also a pretty good description of trying to survive the neurotypical world as an autistic person.