"I do my best to do right by her": Autistic motherhood and the experience of raising a non-autistic adolescent daughter.
Natalie Libster, Robin Harwood, Karen Meacham and 1 others
PMID 38529855WHAT IT FOUND
Seven autistic mothers described close, supportive relationships with their non-autistic daughters, citing mutual understanding and effective problem-solving.
They reported social exclusion from other parents but actively arranged social opportunities for their children, challenging deficit-based views of their parenting.
Key findings
01Mothers described relationships with their daughters as characterized by love, affection, and safety, often noting that disclosing their autism diagnosis brought them closer.
02Mothers identified social exclusion and difficulty with social dynamics as significant challenges, particularly when interacting with other parents, which sometimes led to feelings of guilt.
03Despite concerns about their own social limitations, mothers were proactive in creating social opportunities for their daughters, such as arranging playdates and enrolling them in activities.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was very small (n=7) and homogeneous, consisting entirely of White, cisgender, highly educated, employed mothers diagnosed or self-identified in adulthood. The wide age range of daughters (10-37) means findings may not apply to specific developmental stages of adolescence. Recruitment was limited to online communities, potentially excluding mothers with less access to these networks or different demographic profiles. The study did not include the daughters' perspectives, so the mutual understanding reported is solely from the mothers' viewpoint.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The easy way to misread this
Do not generalize these positive relationship findings to all autistic mothers or assume social challenges are absent. The sample was highly educated, White, and recruited online, and the study did not test efficacy or outcomes, only lived experience.