Intense connection and love: The experiences of autistic mothers.
Amber-Sophie Dugdale, Andrew R Thompson, Alexandra Leedham and 2 others
PMID 33840262WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic mothers described parenting as a strong bond with their children, often helped by shared autism, but said professionals judged, dismissed or missed their needs, so getting support felt like a fight.
Key findings
01Participants described shared autism or similar needs as helping them understand and connect with their children, but also as making them the main translator or mediator for others.
02All participants described feeling misunderstood, judged or dismissed when seeking support, and some said masking made their distress invisible to professionals.
03Participants described intense connection and enjoyment alongside exhaustion, emotional strain and fear of not being good enough.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Nine participants, purposive sample, all female and married, so experiences may not apply to autistic fathers, mothers without a partner, or other groups. All participants had at least one child they considered autistic, so it says little about autistic mothers of non-autistic children. Eligibility was self-identified after discussion with the lead researcher, and one participant had no formal autism diagnosis. The eight diagnosed participants had been diagnosed 0 to 6 years earlier, so accounts may reflect recent diagnosis. All had further education qualifications, so findings may not reflect mothers with different educational or support contexts. Qualitative interviews cannot show whether a support service, training or diagnosis improves outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors disclosed financial support from Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust as part of DClinPsy training at The University of Sheffield.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these experiences as evidence that a particular therapy, service model or diagnosis improves parenting. They come from nine autistic mothers in a small qualitative study, all of whom had at least one child they considered autistic, so they do not test outcomes or represent all autistic parents.