The pros and cons of being an autistic parent

Many parents of autistic children are autistic themselves and yet there has been relatively little research on what this experience is like for the parents. In this paper, Shona Murphy who is autistic and has two autistic children, interviewed five autistic mothers and one autistic father to explore their experiences. The literature on this topic often shows that parents with a disability are unfairly judged and stigmatised and not given the support they seek. Other literature suggests that having similar issues to your child can mean that parents are more empathic and able to understand and meet their child's needs more effectively than other parents. Although the sample is small and the parents might have opted in because they were dissatisfied with services, their accounts suggest, and Shona concludes, that there is a need to help professionals appreciate that parenting might look different when one or both parents is autistic, in order to avoid making negative judgements which might lead to further distress rather than being helpful.