AUTISM MOM ANSWERS QUESTIONS | Raising an Autistic Kid

"If I were dumber I'd be happier." Oof. I don't even know how many times I've thought this to myself, especially as a kid. I can't even remember how young I was the first time.

"I'm not normal enough to be normal, but not autistic enough to be autistic even tho i am" i felt that in the deepests sides of my soul

11:50 "I feel like no matter what, I never fit in anywhere because I'm not normal enough to be normal and I'm not autistic enough to be autistic enough to be autistic". Dude, that statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I feel like my entire life has been EXACTLY like that. I have never had the ability to articulate it like that. I am a 36 year old man, and that explanation of my existence that I have been missing all of my life. Thank you Paige, you really are a gem!

I loved when Paige asked her mother to stop touching her leg or something, and Paige said sorry for asking her not to, but her mother immediently said “that’s okay”. She understands, and does not judge or become angry because she knows Paige and the reason behind it❤️

God this mother is so engaged in the conversation with Paige. Idk why but this made me cry, I wish my mom cared about me this much

I think she's an amazing mom. I hate when people say because I said so. Kids needs an explanation. Because I said so isn't the correct answer

7:00 when you got upset about no one brought up that you might be autistic, i felt that so hard. im autistic myself, found out a year ago and i struggled so freaking hard in school. it was a horrible time. no one brought it up for me either. no one ever looked into why i was struggling or why i was the way i am. it was absolutely horrible, i have a lot of trauma bc of that. i cant handle any school things cause i just get reminded by that horrible time in my life. no one ever understood me, teachers called me lazy and no one tried to understand why i was struggling. its so sad.

I’m getting teary watching this. My 16 year old daughter has just been diagnosed and I can relate SO MUCH to so much of this. Smart, not so much bullied but excluded, needs to be told why, doesn’t/can’t understand why people should have authority without earning it, teen onset depression… and yet it wasn’t til last year the word autism was even mentioned. Weirdly I always noticed correlations between her and her father, and we have always joked/suspected him of being autistic, but I never made the full connection.

I think so many “gifted kid” girls get overlooked because they just come across as clever quirky people, and don’t fit the stereotypical ‘boy’ symptoms. It’s frustrates me so much.

"You're not wrong, you're perfect" "You're drop dead gorgeous" "You're a genius" Love how much your mom gasses you up. When I was a teenager, I finally told my mom that I think I'm depressed and she told me that depression doesn't exist. The times that I did attempt suicide as a teenager, I remember most of my motivation was that I couldn't wait for my family to finally realize what they had done to me and that I wasn't "just being dramatic". Once I became an adult and mother, I found out a lot of terrible trauma that my own mom suffered which led to her being that way so I am more forgiving of her actions now but little did she know I was way more than just depressed, I am autistic haha

"Are you okay? You're looking at me weird!" "No.. I.. had Bailey's.. in my coffee cup." I LOST IT LMAO

I got a lot more out of this than I thought I would. Well done, Mom. Great job. I’m the dad and it was only recently suggested to me that IM the one with autism. I’ve not been formally diagnosed, but if I decide to do so and it is confirmed, then it would make so many things in my weird life make so much more sense. Chin up kid. You definitely have a bright future. -the NotoriousDAD 🤗

Autism obviously manifests in such different ways for every person, but it’s so funny how similar our stories can be

Honestly, as a teacher, I wish we had more content like this when I was in ed school. You are helping me learn so much about my own students.

Her mom was so accepting of her she missed it. That's beautiful and scary.

When she said “i hope I’m a safe space” that resonated so deeply i think thats how my mom sees my mental health as well (i dont have autism but do have bpd) and its the best perspective a parent can have Edit: it also makes me unbelievably happy knowing paige has such a good support system within her family its such a rare but beautiful thing for children with disabilities

THIS is how people should talk to each other to understand disabilties. Excellent.

I can totally relate! In my case, I was initially diagnosed with severe autism, severe mental retardation (now called intellectual disability) and speech delay. My mom was told by the neurologist who diagnosed me that I would never graduate high school, I would never go to college and I would never live a normal life. I was in speech therapy until 8th grade and I was not in mainstream classes until I started high school. My immediate family did everything that they could to help me but some members of my extended family unfortunately didn’t want a relationship with me because I’m on the spectrum. I don’t use the term autistic for myself because in the past, people have used that word to hurt me. It feels good to know that I’m not the only young woman with Autism. Well, I did graduate high school, I have a Bachelors and a Masters degree and I recently got my driver’s license.😍❤️

Females tend to “mask” their autism/adhd. That’s why it’s hard for females to be diagnosed. That’s why her mom couldn’t see it. That’s why any of us can’t always see it

When her mom said "do you need me to do something" it actually brought tears to my eyes. My mom has always been a fixer which made her seem so cold and uncaring. Sometimes I just wanted comfort, not solutions