Last week I received a heartfelt message from another Autism mum expressing her gratitude and appreciation for the damaged books I donated and sent her. Our message exchange developed into quite an emotional conversation that has really resonated with me.
She read my new book, ‘Never Give Up!’, in one night, she could not put it down and said it had already helped to give her strength.
She had started to see a psychologist about her son’s diagnosis and to talk about the way their life was not what she thought it was going to be…
Her son was diagnosed at 16 months, now nearly 5 years old and thought she should have accepted things by now… She was worried about him starting school, aide support, inclusion, kindness, making the right decisions and her own anxieties and regrets.
I had been exactly where she was before and had all of the same thoughts, feelings and fears that she had and still do now to some extent...
Knowing that you have done so much to help but still feeling like it’s never enough. The constant pressure to be more consistent and able to transfer learned therapy behavior to home. That self judgement and disappointment for not feeling strong enough to make everything ok as hard as you try…
I expressed to her that I don’t think I’ll ever truly be 100 percent ok with it either to be honest but we just have to do the best that we can at the time. That no-one can be completely perfect all the time, kids or adults.
I was so glad that my book had helped and this was exactly one of the reasons I decided to write it for!
There was that instant special needs parent bond, even though we had never spoken before and I wanted her to know that she was not alone…
I told her that, “It is a long, slow and painful journey but talking to people and getting help really does make a huge difference and Never Give Up!”
