Being an Autism Mom
Beat the Stigma
Having Autism as an adult comes with a whole set stigmas and demonizing labels. Unfortunately, this can only get worse for Autistic adults who go on to have Autistic children.
Evidence seems to suggest that there is a hereditary component to Autism: because of this, people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) are more likely than others to have Autistic children. The stigma of being an Autism parent is only exacerbated when that parent is a woman.
Autistic mothers have long been the target of blame for their own children’s diagnoses. But it’s not only popular culture and the postulations of laymen that lead to this misconception: this myth has long been promoted by male academics. These academics are responsible for promoting the idea that mothers of Autistic children caused their Autism due to fitting the unflattering, derogatory trope of the ‘Refrigerator Mom.’
What is a ‘Refrigerator Mom’?
In short, it’s a misogynistic trope, wrapped in an ableist trope. Here’s a short history lesson:
Sigmund Freud promoted the idea that experiences in early childhood lead to divergent brain development, and his successors used his body of work to begin researching the childhood factors that might contribute to Autism. Many concluded that the emotional…
