Otherwise entitled: "Parents Defend Damaging Autism Parent Memoirs" Two people, so far, have directly responded to my concerns about the spread of damaging "autism parent memoirs" with the idea that Autistic adults don't want parents to "have a voice" or write at all in the first place. It's possible that some of us do want … Continue reading Respecting Autistic Children Doesn’t Sell Books (apparently)
Parenting While Autistic
Work, Energy, & Autistic Inertia
CW: some internalized ableism regarding productivity and energy levels. I was (text) chatting with an Autistic friend a while back about how some of our abilities can make us appear to be far more functional to others than we actually are because we do some things that most people would find difficult to do, but … Continue reading Work, Energy, & Autistic Inertia
Vital Inconsistencies – Autistic Parenting
I have found that there's this idea in modern parenting that leads to a great deal of what I'd call "unnecessary consistencies." The idea is basically that if children do something childish or inappropriate then they'll forever be doing it. Or, conversely, that if they aren't doing something that will eventually become necessary for them … Continue reading Vital Inconsistencies – Autistic Parenting
Difficult Days
It's easier to write on the better days and there have been a lot of difficult days lately. So, on this difficult day, I'm attempting to capture some things now. It's not an exhaustive/complete list by any means, but I have a vague idea of this still being a good thing to try and write. … Continue reading Difficult Days
Societal and Parental Expectations
I want to start off by clarifying that I am in no way defending the societal or parental expectations I outline in this post. I find them to be abhorrent, in fact, but it occurred to me that there's not much written by Autistic parents about parenting theory, social expectations, and child development (aside from … Continue reading Societal and Parental Expectations
Parenting is Unpredictable
After writing my Flashback Friday post about planning, I started thinking about the most unpredictable parts of my life and how I manage those. Parenting has given me more practice in unexpected situations than anything else in my life. Mostly I do okay with this. I'm actually very good at analyzing situations that I expect … Continue reading Parenting is Unpredictable
Gentle Parenting isn’t Just for Neurotypical Children
This post is one that's been on my mind for a while now and it got long. I tweeted a short thread about this issue the other day, but I'd like to elaborate about it here also, especially since it's April and articles about "dealing with" Autistic children are being shared with renewed ferver/intensity. Gentle … Continue reading Gentle Parenting isn’t Just for Neurotypical Children
Autistic Disclosure – Parenting Edition
It is my strong belief that Autistic children need to be involved in and have a say* regarding when, how, and who gets told that they're Autistic. For more information about my parenting philosophy, which has heavily influenced my perspective on this issue, please see this post. Now, I understand that there are some situations … Continue reading Autistic Disclosure – Parenting Edition
Autistic Parenting
I've found that being Autistic has greatly influenced my parenting style and I'd like to delve a bit more into that topic. Many Autistic adults are parents. In fact, most of the Autistic adults I know, especially in person, are mothers. Interestingly enough, those whom I know have tended to gravitate towards gentle parenting styles and … Continue reading Autistic Parenting
Representation in Fiction – On the Edge of Gone
Last week I finally got a lovely hard-bound copy of Corinne Duyvis' book On the Edge of Gone. It was a wonderful read! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Young Adult and/or apocalyptic-type fiction. Honestly, even if you don't like those genres, if you're allistic (non-Autistic) and close to someone who's Autistic then you would … Continue reading Representation in Fiction – On the Edge of Gone
Mamautistic 