Parenting a Child on the Spectrum—My Unofficial PhD

Sometimes, I joke that being the parent of a teenager on the autism spectrum feels like earning a PhD by experience alone. It’s like I’ve spent years deep-diving into the intricate details of sensory needs, decoding social cues, and navigating the ins and outs of IEP meetings. I can practically give a lecture on everything from occupational therapy to behavioral strategies, and I’ve amassed enough notes, books, and resources to fill a library. Yet, just when I think I know what I’m doing, my child shows me that there’s always more to learn.

So, tell me—does anyone else relate? Like you’re constantly studying, adapting, and revising your thesis on your child’s unique needs and strengths? I mean, I’ve had to pick up new languages, too: the language of neurodiversity, self-advocacy, and therapies. I didn’t sign up for this course, and there’s definitely no graduation ceremony, but here we are, navigating the complexities with love and grit.

For any other parents out there—do you feel the same? Like you’re simultaneously professor and student in a field you’d never expected to study? Like just as you mastered the syllabus, the rules change? It’s the hardest, most enlightening, most heart-filling “PhD” I could imagine, and while I never feel confident enough to feel like I can say I’m nailing it, for those of you in the same boat, I think we can all agree that there are enough hard times that we have truly learned to cherish every bit of progress.

So to the autism moms, to the autism dads, to the grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles— to all the villagers out there who have left no website unread, no appointment unattended, no milestone uncelebrated— you now have my blessing to add that PhD behind your title. Signing off for today— Jackie L PhD in ASD parenting