Spectrum Women—Autism and Parenting

What are the experiences of mothers who have autism? We can now read about those experiences and recognize the qualities of mothers on the spectrum and the challenges that they face. The personal disclosures, insights and advice will be of great benefit to women on the spectrum, their families and professionals. – Tony Attwood, Adjunct Professor, Griffith University, AustraliaAutistic parents peer through a unique looking glass when they raise their family. Consequently, there will be many moments when self-doubt, family, friends and people in authority challenge the autistic’s ability to parent successfully. This book comes to the rescue with clearly outlined and pragmatic suggestions for parenting and the definitive reminder that people with autism can, and do, parent beautifully well. – Liane Holliday Willey, EdD author of Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome and Safety Skills for Asperger Women: How to Save a Perfectly Good Female LifeA book of deep parental wisdom. Although it will be a powerful source of support for autistic mothers everywhere, this touching and intelligent collection of insights carries equal value for those of us parents who don’t have the advantage of experiencing autism first hand. Through them, we can learn what it means to truly respect the needs of our autistic children, unencumbered by societal expectations. – Debby Elley, author of 15 Things They Forgot to Tell You About AutismIn this valuable, original book, written by three mothers who grew up as undiagnosed autistics … the authors take turns to explore how so many autistic qualities can be positives when parenting, particularly children who are on the spectrum but also those that are neurotypical. They also explore the challenges. An uplifting, thoughtful and encouraging book. * Human Givens Journal *

Renata Jurkevythz is a features writer for Spectrum Women Magazine and contributor to the book Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism. Before writing about autism, Renata used to write about parenting in her blog and in the website of a local parenting/birth group in Brazil. She was professionally diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 2016. She lives in Germany.

Maura Campbell is senior editor and features writer for Spectrum Women Magazine and co-author of Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism and has written on autism and learning disability for a range of other publications, including AuKids Magazine, and for the BBC. She was professionally diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 2011. She lives in Northern Ireland.

Lisa Morgan is author of Living Through Suicide Loss with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and a co-author of Been There Done That, Try This! both published through Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Lisa is an assistant editor, feature writer, and columnist of Spectrum Women Magazine and provided the foreword to Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism. She is also co-chair of the Suicide and Autism committee of the American Association of Suicidology. She is an autistic adult and lives in Maine, USA.