Three months postpartum, I started having conversations about delaying going back to work and getting assessed for autism. Pre-baby and pre-diagnosis me would not recognize the person I am today. I haven’t lost my drive, I just stopped running towards the systems that dysregulated my nervous system.

What Was Actually Happening

Pre-baby and pre-autism diagnosis, I was extremely driven, almost to a fault (hello autistic burnout!). I was a first-gen college student who graduated with honors while working 2-3 jobs. I had the privilege of managing a research lab at Vanderbilt University. I have co-authored two peer-reviewed research papers. And I am working on a Master’s degree in Research Administration, on track to graduate with a 4.0. I am no stranger to hard work, determination, and extreme levels of stress.

Packing my schedule so tight I barely had time to eat was a typical day for me, even on the weekends. I started that routine in high school and continued it up until I had my son. I experienced many many cycles of burnout, depression, and always struggled with high levels of anxiety. I was “Ms. Independent” who didn’t need anyone to do anything for me. But that all changed once I had my first child. He was born and I instantly became a SAHM who had to rely on someone else financially for the first time since I was a high schooler. Everything changed, and I was so ready to get back to working. I felt like I was behind and that I was missing out on major opportunities. I just continued spiraling, thinking that my whole career and professional life was over.

Then I hit 3 months postpartum, and all of that drive washed away. I no longer wanted to do all of those things. I no longer felt like I HAD to be the best at everything.

The Part Nobody Talks About

A lot of parents, moms and dads, have an internal debate about returning to work and the life before kids. What isn’t talked about is having that debate while also learning that you may be autistic.

I was torn. This debate was playing in my head on repeat all day, every day. On top of that, I was finding out that I am autistic. Once I got my diagnosis, I went back to being that uptight, “I need to do everything” type of person. I wanted to prove to society that I was still “me” (whoever that was). The real, unmasked version of me kept asking questions like “is it socially acceptable to want to go back to work” and “is it socially acceptable to not want to go back to work,” and “is it normal to feel so paralyzed by making this decision,” and “why can’t I describe how I feel about going to work or staying home,” and so much more.

I felt bad for wanting to be ambitious in my career, and I felt bad for wanting to stay home with my son.

I took some time to learn about my nervous system and actually accommodate my needs. That was the game changer!

What I Did

I started working part-time, just 10 hours a week, remotely for my previous boss. I was able to be flexible with my hours, as long as I was meeting weekly deadlines, I could work whenever! I finally felt like myself again. That only lasted the first week.

Working part-time, while having my son at home with me, and both my husband and I working on Master’s programs was not it. It became more stressful than it was worth, and I wasn’t getting anything done at work, school, or around the house.

I went back to not working and just focusing on school and being a mom. I was happier, my son was happier, and so was my relationship. My nervous system started to calm down. I wasn’t going to bed and waking up with insane levels of anxiety. The panic attacks and burnout stopped.

I found myself actually enjoying motherhood for the first time. I was able to take the time to learn about myself and how my brain works to implement accommodations. I started investing in things that helped me, like putting in one earbud when it is too loud. I started leaning into my special interests, like all things books and research (hello Substack launch-lol!), and I started becoming genuinely happier each day.

What I Want You to Know

It is okay to want a simpler, slower-paced life when you have been treading water for most of your life. It is okay to want to minimize the events and obligations so that you can relax and enjoy the period of life you are currently in. You are not being lazy, you have not “lost yourself”, you have just finally realized what works for your nervous system, family, relationship, etc. and want to prioritize that. You are just now getting to do what a lot of people have already had the chance to: getting to know your true self. So its okay to slow-down, cry, laugh, scream, whatever feels good to you.

Whether you just received your diagnosis, have a family member with a diagnosis, or are just going through a challenging time in life, it is okay to slow down and reprioritize. There will always be something left on your to-do list or some career goal to achieve, but your mental and physical health are more important than checking off a box. There will always be something “more” to strive for, but this is me asking you to give yourself permission to enjoy the phase of life you are in now by doing what is best for you.

As a parent, you may think that it is “selfish” to prioritize taking care of yourself physically and mentally. I definitely have days where I feel that way. What I tell myself in those moments is, “Who else is going to show my children and model for them how to take care of themselves?”

Community Prompt

What’s one thing that you stopped after a major life change (new baby, new diagnosis, burnout, etc.) that you felt defined you, but actually made you feel more free and brought you back to your true self?

For me, that was stopping trying to be the “best” at everything, slow down, and really be present in the current phase of life.

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Interoception is the ability to sense and interpret your body’s physical signals; for instance, when you’re hungry or thirsty. People with autism are known to struggle with recognizing and correctly naming their body’s signals. This study looked at the accuracy, attention, and evaluation of those signals. They found that its not that your body feels different, autistic brains are just more likely to read body signals as a red flag.

The Study at a Glance

• Who conducted it: Adams et al.

• Published in: Autism, 2026 (just came out last month!)

• What they studied: Are autistic traits or autism diagnoses related to the processing of bodily signals?

• Who was studied: 519 people over the age of 18 who spoke English. 232 of the participants had validated autism diagnoses. 143 participants were included in the “not autistic” group. They studied participants internationally through social media, ads, and existing databases. Participants answered questions online about various questions related to autism and interoception.

  Full article citation at the bottom of this page!

What They Found

This study analyzed three different dimensions of interoception (processing of body signals):

1. Accuracy: how well can you correctly identify what’s happening in your own body

2. Attention: how frequently do you notice and focus on the signals your body is relaying

3. Evaluation: how do you interpret your body’s signals (negatively, neutrally, or positively)

People in the general (non-autistic) population who scored higher for levels of autistic traits:

• paid more attention to their body’s signals

• said that they were less accurate at detecting these signals, and

• had more negative interpretations of their bodily signals.

People with an autism diagnosis also had more negative interpretations of their body’s signals. But accuracy and attention (see description above) were not different between those with an autism diagnosis and those in the general population.

It is important to note that the researchers of this study controlled for many variables. This means that they used calculations to remove any outside factors from the results so that it truly looked at the main things they cared about. In this particular study, they removed anxiety, alexithymia, and other mental health conditions. How does this impact the results? This means that they removed anxiety, alexithymia, and other mental health conditions from influencing the results.

Why This Matters

You’re autistic and you have convinced yourself that a stomach ache is more than it actually is; or an elevated heart rate means you’re having a heart attack, this research helps to try and explain why that happens. This study shows that autistic people evaluate their body’s signals more negatively (i.e. you believe your stomach ache is a burst appendix, etc.). For me this shows up as increased anxiety around certain sensations, and I have issues determining if something is emotionally discomforting or physically discomforting. It shows up daily as an overworked nervous system reading its own signals as red flags.

This also effects how we receive healthcare and/or mental health support. Real concerns may be dismissed if a doctor does not understand that an autistic person may be recognizing the sensation accurately, but viewing it more negatively than a neurotypical patient. Mental health therapies often focus on whether signals are noticed or not and how to begin noticing them. Changing this to look at how signals are interpreted and the accuracy of the interpretation could be beneficial for autistic patients.

What the Research Still Gets Wrong

While the researchers did not exclude participants for other mental health conditions (yes for representation on that front!!), they grouped all of them together which makes it difficult to see how something like ADHD or PTSD impacts interoception. It is widely known that autism has a wide range of co-occuring or co-morbid conditions, so this is a large gap that could be fixed in future studies.

This study used self-report measures. These are questionnaires that ask questions for participants to answer about themselves. While these can capture the individual person’s experiences, it doesn’t capture the full picture. For those of us who may have trouble with describing our interoceptive experiences, it may not capture what we are actually experiencing to the fullest extent.

Finally, the study was majorly white and all English-speaking. Participants were recruited from social media and online databases. This causes issues for applying these results to the broader population. Experiences can differ greatly across cultures, races, socioeconomic backgrounds, physical location, etc. Those differences are not reflected in this study sample.

Your Take

One thing I loved about this study was that the authors were intentional about including autistic voices. By asking autistic non-researchers for feedback on the questionnaires and what they hoped to see in autism research prior to the start of the study, they showed their commitment to really seeing the population they are studying.

As someone who struggles greatly with interoception, the evaluation (how you feel about what you notice about your body signals) piece of this study was striking. I see struggles with this in my daily life. For example, I frequently ignore my body’s signals to use the restroom until I can’t wait any longer; or it will be 10pm before I realize that I am thirsty and haven’t had water all day. When I feel any slight twinge of pain, I immediately assume something is wrong until it goes away (i.e. a headache is actually a tumor). There is no middle ground sometimes, and I think that’s why this study is so important. My nervous system has learned, for one reason or another, to stay on high alert.

Interoceptive evaluation showed up as the most consistent result with “not autistic” people and people with an autism diagnosis, this feels like something very significant. Future research is needed to dive into the details more, but if it can be translated into interventions and strategies, it could actually help people change their relationship with their bodily signals.

The Takeaway

• Negative interoceptive evaluation, meaning interpreting body signals negatively (example: a buildup of gas in your stomach is actually a ruptured appendix) was the most consistent finding from this study.

• Even without having a formal diagnosis, having more autistic traits was related to paying more attention to body signals, more negative explanations of them, and less accuracy in identifying the signals.

• How you interpret or explain your body signals could be more important than whether are noticed at all. This could inform therapy and healthcare practices

• Evaluation needs more research, and the researchers of this study believe it is an important focus for mental health in autistics.

Further Reading

• Go read the full article: Adams, K.L., Catmur, C., & Bird, G. (2026). Associations Between Autism and Self-Reported Dimensions of Interoception. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261434431

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Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-stress, and Unmask! by Dr. Megan Anna Neff is warm, validating, and written by an autistic clinical psychologist. This book focuses on working with your brain, not against it. It is a self-help book, but offers easy-to-understand scientific explanations for why an autistic’s brain may or may not respond to certain self-care strategies.

The Book at a Glance

• Title: Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-stress, and Unmask!

• Author: Dr. Megan Anna Neff

• Published: 2024, Adams Media

• Who it’s marketed to: Autistic adults

• Who it’s actually for: Autistic adults wanting to engage in self-care that actually works for their brain, and autistic adults who want to learn to unmask while protecting their needs

• One sentence summary: An autistic clinical psychologist’s approach to neuro-affirming self-care techniques to help prevent burnout and build an authentic life instead of conforming to neurotypical standards.

Why I Read It

I had just been diagnosed with autism a week prior. I was at the library for Storytime with my son, and we arrived a bit early. I went to find the autism section to look for books that I could offer my parents and family members who wanted to educate themselves. That’s where I stumbled across this book. At first I was hesitant; self-care books and lists never really worked for me. This was the first one I’ve ever found that I could relate to, the strategies have worked for me, and it hasn’t felt overwhelming to implement some of the ideas.

What It Gets Right

Dr. Neff outlines and structures the book into different categories: sensory, physical, emotional, mental, social, and professional self-care. Each category has subcategories to give more context. For example, Chapter 3: Emotional Self-Care is broken down into the following topics: Autistic Burnout; Boundaries and Self-Advocacy; Emotional Awareness, Literacy, and Resilience; and Emotional Regulation. I think the structure of this book mirrors how autistic people process information. I also appreciated the very detailed table of contents, which makes it easier for me to just navigate to the specific topic and subtopic I want to know more about without feeling overwhelmed by going through the entire book.

The sensory and emotional chapters highlight Dr. Neff’s clinical background. She helps breaks concepts like interoception (ability to sense, interpret, and integrate internal body signals) and alexithymia (inability to recognize or describe emotions) down into easy to understand terms. She also uses it to describe why certain techniques have or have not worked for some autistic people. This is something that has been missing in mainstream wellness and self-care books, in my opinion.

Neff’s discussions around internalized ableism and supporting your identity rather than managing your symptoms were extremely relatable and offered new insights into my own internalized ableism.

Lastly, she frames self-care in a way I have not heard before. Looking at self-care as a community-level effort rather than a purely individualistic routine was refreshing. She offers suggestions on how to bring your community in to your self-care practice and advocate for yourself. She also offers suggestions on how to talk about some of these things with neurotypical people in your life.

What It Gets Wrong

My biggest points of criticism was the narrow population or audience and the sections on unmasking.

Autistic people who have higher support needs, are nonverbal, those diagnosed in childhood, or those from underrepresented communities are not represented or considered in this book’s frame of reference. The book maps closely onto Neff’s own experience being late-diagnosed, and research on topics like autistic burnout has been conducted in largely late-diagnosed and white samples.

While the sections on unmasking are well-intentioned, it fails to address some of the negative outcomes that may come from unmasking and how to determine when and with whom it is safe to unmask around. Unmasking is a complex thing and while it does help with cognitive load and self-acceptance, there can be issues for openly-presenting autistics like ostracism and bullying. While I think unmasking is important, I think a self-care book discussing this should also include some of the realistic negativities that may come with it, and considerations for safely unmasking and openly presenting as autistic.

The Representation Check

This book was written by an AuDHD clinical psychologist. Not only does she have lived experience, but she has professional experience with autism as well. She also has a Substack called Neurodivergent Insights! Dr. Neff acknowledges “the collective wisdom of fellow travelers on this journey” used throughout the book. It uses identity-first language (i.e. autistic people, autistic person); the broad neurodiversity movement prefers identity-first language as neutral descriptors rather than a stigmatizing label.

Who Should Read This

This book would be great for:

• Late-diagnosed, autistic adults who prefer highly-structured information of a low cognitive load.

• Anyone who is in the early or middle stages of making sense of their diagnosis and beginning to build a life that fits their needs rather than what society wants portrayed.

• Autistic adults who are able to read independently and engage in self-directed practice.

Readers who should approach it with caution or skip it altogether:

• autistic people with higher support needs, those who are nonspeaking, or do not relate to the challenges of being late-diagnosed

• caregivers making decisions on someone else’s behalf

The Verdict

Overall, I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars. My criticisms of the book aren’t enough to remove it from my recommendations list, however I would only recommend it to certain autistic adults (see Who Should Read This). I enjoyed the scientific explanations throughout the book on what the autistic brain is doing with certain techniques. I also enjoyed how easy it is to read and understand, keeping the cognitive load low and not overwhelming. Lastly, I have begun implementing some of the practices in the book, and looking at them with this new framework, I have found success with some of them!

Your Rating System

Category Out of 5

Scientific Accuracy⭐⭐⭐⭐

Autistic Representation⭐⭐⭐⭐

Practical Usefulness⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Accessibility of Writing⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Where to Get It

[https://bookshop.org/lists/the-neurodivergent-mama-book-recommendations ]— purchasing through this link supports independent bookstores and The Neurodivergent Mama at no additional cost to you.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

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You’re 25 and just had your first baby three weeks ago. Your husband is back at work and you’re still having out of town visitors every weekend. You’re bed-ridden due to issues with labor/healing. Your baby is screaming. You’re holding him while crying on the bathroom floor, wondering if you’re good enough to be his parent.

Your heart is constantly racing, you feel on the verge of tears every moment of every day. Your body hurts. You’re exhausted. You just want to feel the calm of running water in a hot shower for 10 minutes, but mom guilt prevents you from enjoying it.

The feel of your shirt rubbing against your skin sets off a full-blown anxiety attack. The dishes are piling up and you can’t find your favorite cup. You’re becoming more rigid about routines and get irrationally angry when anyone messes up the plan you had in your head. All the while, you’re trying to physically heal from pushing a baby out.

What Was Actually Happening

At this point in time, I was undiagnosed autistic and just presumed my anxiety had escalated. Being a first-time mom is difficult for anyone. But being an undiagnosed autistic, first-time mom was hell.

Not only was I going through one of the largest hormone drops I had ever experienced, but my nervous system was in overdrive. Not only was I a new parent who had (and still has) no idea what they are doing, but I had nothing left to regulate myself.

Keeping track of when the baby was fed last, how much did he eat, how may wet and dirty diapers has he had, nap times, and how to properly feed or change him required executive functioning that I had to consciously allocate rather than automatically access. Then, trying to decide on a dinner plan, cleaning the house, ensuring bottles are sterilized, and laundry is done. Then the task of changing my own diaper, cleaning and checking on stitches, doing breathing and pelvic floor exercises for better healing. Then having to mask and feel like you have to entertain guests because they came all the way from another state.

Don’t forget about the sensory issues. Having a baby who constantly wants to be attached to you, especially if you don’t like touch in general, is incredibly difficult. And there’s absolutely no quiet in the house either from the baby crying or the white noise that helps him sleep.

My nervous system was overloaded to the max, and I had no idea. I wasn’t able to engage in the activities that managed my nervous system and help my body and mind recover. Most days I’d forget to eat or drink water, because my ability to read my own needs was overridden by the demands of having a newborn and being a first-time mom. I had nothing left for myself. Not because I’m a bad mom. But because I am an autistic mom who spent all day and night doing things that cost me twice what they cost someone whose nervous system processes the world differently.

I didn’t know at the time what was happening. But I was so dysregulated and didn’t have the words to identify the emotions I was experiencing and the things I needed to feel okay, that I would have random breakdowns and outbursts. And it sent me into an anxiety and depression-ridden spiral most days, wondering how people can feel like this all the time without the chance to reset their brains.

No one prepared me for parenthood with a nervous system that does not function the same as neurotypical parents. No one taught me how to regulate myself with an unpredictable newborn.

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The Part Nobody Talks About

Mainstream parenting content has a lot to say about having a newborn and being in the “newborn trenches.” There is a lot of advice on how to handle and get out of the newborn trenches. But what it fails to address is how to do this when you’re autistic.

When you are so dysregulated that you have a breakdown, the standard advice is to lean on your support network: ask a friend to come over so you can shower alone or have an adult to talk to, sleep when the baby sleeps so you aren’t as tired, etc. Advice like this assumes that taking the baby off of your hands is what will help; it assumes that the dysregulation is emotional rather than neurological. For me, those assumptions were wrong.

What I needed was to have the time to do the task in my usual routine. For example, not being able to shower long enough to complete my whole shower routine made me more dysregulated instead of helping since I was at least able to get A shower in. What I needed was a space where I didn’t need to mask or feel like I was hosting. What I needed was to be able to put on noise-cancelling headphones and not hear every tiny sound in my house.

Feeling guilt for not being able to regulate or relax with the small moments of time throughout the day—feeling like your autistic nervous system is a personal failing rather than a neurological reality—adds a layer of shame on top of the overwhelm that doesn’t help.

What I Did

I struggled.

I struggled and struggled and struggled. My anxiety was through the roof, even when I had time to regulate myself. Depression started to creep in and intrusive thoughts became the norm.

At my six week postpartum appointment, my doctor noticed I was more withdrawn and seemed detached. I was in an autistic shutdown. She recommended seeing the in-house postpartum therapist. Through my work with the therapist, we determined that my anxiety was stemming from possible autistic tendencies rather than ways of thinking—especially after I started anxiety medication and it only went slightly down. I went and completed neuropsychological assessments that confirmed I had autism-level 1, as well as generalized anxiety, major depressive disorder, and PTSD. Only then was I able to change my “relaxation routines” to work for my brain, instead of against it. Once I was able to understand my own brain, I was able to navigate parenthood, the overwhelm, and all the things that come with a new baby so much better. I started enjoying being a parent and being so happy being around my son. I finally started experiencing the “new parent glow” and the happiness I had heard so much about.

Now that I know my nervous system and what works best for my neurodivergent brain, I think postpartum the next time around (if we have more kids) will be a bit easier and I’ll feel more supported by my community.

What I Want You to Know

Because you need to regulate your nervous system differently than how society advises you to as a new parent, or as a parent in general, does not mean you are failing. It is evidence that you are doing an extremely demanding job with a nervous system that requires accommodations or different ways of coping that the parenting industry has not considered.

You are not broken. You are an autistic person navigating a whole new world and role that was not designed for you. You are showing up, you are trying to navigate this new era, and you are giving all that you are able to. That is not a small thing. That is not something to just breeze over. Just because you need something different, doesn’t make you any less of a good mother.

Community Prompt

If you are autistic, or have an autistic person in your life who has a child, what did those first few weeks postpartum look like? How did you/they feel? Was there anything you struggled with that you were surprised by?

If you were late-diagnosed with autism, like me, you may have lots of questions: How did I get missed, how did no one notice the signs, etc. This may help answer some of those.

The Study at a Glance

• Who conducted it: Milner et al.

• Published in: Autism Research, 2024. Full citation and link to the full article is at the bottom of the page

• What they studied: They looked at whether camouflaging (aka masking) is related to the age at which someone receives an autism diagnosis, and whether it is different for autistic males and females.

• Who was studied: A total of 812 cisgender participants were included (242 men and 570 women) who had an autism diagnosis and were between the ages of 18 and 75. Participants were asked questions online regarding a variety of topic areas. For example, social behaviors, relationships, stress and burnout, and more.

What They Found

Both men and women in this study camouflage to some extent. However the results of this study suggest that camouflaging is associated with a later age of diagnosis for females, but not for men. Autistic females were diagnosed later than males.

The researchers looked at if camouflaging and sex could predict the age of diagnosis for a person. The results showed no interaction, meaning that camouflaging and sex could not predict age of autism diagnosis. The researchers argue that this could be due to the fact that both men and women in the study were diagnosed with autism in adulthood, so there was less variation in the ages at which people were diagnosed with autism.

Level of autistic traits were not taken into account for these results, but the researchers of this study believe it is something important to consider.

Why This Matters

This research study provides potential avenues for future research, like focusing more specifically on particular camouflaging, or masking, behaviors in females, age at diagnosis, when those behaviors started, etc. It also highlights a potential reason for why females are typically diagnosed later than men, and something to look into more: females may camouflage their autistic symptoms more.

This study also provides helpful insights for anyone considering an autism diagnosis for their child or loved one. It could help people identify autism in their child or loved ones sooner if you are able to identify and reduce masking behaviors, especially for females; in turn, allowing them to provide support for their autistic loved one sooner.

The researchers offer important messages from their results:

1. Professionals, parents, and those involved in referrals or the diagnosis process, including teachers and clinicians, should be informed on camouflaging, or masking, and should be able to identify masking behaviors to eliminate it as a barrier to early identification and diagnosis of autism.

2. Autism should not be ruled out because someone seems to be neurotypical and have neurotypical behaviors.

3. During an autism assessment, clinicians should consider assessing for camouflaging behaviors. It may be helpful to look at a person’s behavior in more natural situations, or in complex social situations where social differences and difficulties may be more evident.

What the Research Still Gets Wrong

It is important to note that most of the participants in this study were from the UK and were white, limiting the ability to accurately apply the results to other races and/or ethnicities. While the language was neurodivergent-affirming, it is unclear if any of the researchers have lived experiences with autism.

One question it brought up for me, was ‘Why has it taken until the 2020’s to more seriously look at masking as a barrier to getting diagnosed at a younger age?’

Your Take

I think this type of research is very important and needs to be studied more in depth. Women and girls are often missed at a young age. Some may never get diagnosed, and a lot of us are diagnosed later in life. If understanding masking, or camouflaging, behaviors can help get females support earlier in life, I am 100% for it!

I am very excited to see where this research is headed! I am interested to see research emerge on specific types of masking behaviors; reasoning as to why girls may mask more than boys, especially at a younger age; and what we can do to prevent young girls from learning to mask so young.

I think this is also important for those of us who are late-diagnosed and are learning to unmask, or camouflage, less in our life. For me, it was very validating to learn that females may camouflage more than males and are often diagnosed later in life. It made me feel less like an “anomaly” in the autism community that I am just beginning to enter as an autistic.

The Takeaway

• Both men and women camouflage, or mask, to some extent. It is often found to happen more in women though.

• Women are often diagnosed with autism later in life than men. Could it be due to masking or something else???

• Being able to identify masking behaviors can help remove the barrier to getting diagnosed, especially for females.

Further Reading

• Link to full article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aur.3059

• Full Article Citation: Milner, V., Colvert, E., Hull, L., Cook, J., Ali, D., Mandy, W., & Happé, F. (2024). Does camouflaging predict age at autism diagnosis? A comparison of autistic men and women. Autism Research, 17(3), 626-636. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3059

There is an abundance of content about autism and neurodivergence in the media. However, there is a shortage of content about autism, especially late-diagnosed neurodivergence, that resonates with autistic people, is research-backed, and written by someone who lives it. This is why The Neurodivergent Mama was created.

Who Am I?

I’m Carlie and I was diagnosed with autism-level 1 at 25 years old after the birth of my first child. I have been involved in the research space since undergrad. I have contributed as a research coordinator and researcher to the autism literature, as well as the Alzheimer’s space. I am also currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Research Administration.

I am an autistic woman, a stay-at-home mom, and a graduate student who spends an insane amount of time reading peer-reviewed research that is written in language designed to keep non-researchers out or that most people don’t have time to read.

I am also an avid reader, who is writing a fantasy book, which means my plate is FULL! But hyperfocus can be a gift in situations like that :)

Why This Newsletter?

Autism and neurodiverse research has made TONS of advancements over the past few decades. But the public understanding of autism and neurodiversity has not advanced with it. Autism is not something that needs to be “fixed”. It is a neurotype that should be studied and people should be educated on.

New studies are being published that challenge outdated assumptions, narratives, and stereotypes. This new information also offers greater insight into what its actually like to be autistic. Unfortunately, most of it never reaches the people who need it most: autistics, educators, people who have an autistic person in their life, and many many more.

Additionally, most of the autism parenting spaces I have found are not autistic parents, rather, they are parents of an autistic child. Autism and neurodiversity representation in the parenting world should not be geared only toward parents of autistic children. Parents who are autistic themselves deserve to feel supported and seen as well.

At the same time, a good portion of the public knowledge about autism, neurodiversity, and/or neurotypes is built on a foundation developed by neurotypical people.

This is the problem this newsletter hopes to solve.

What The Neurodivergent Mama Offers

Each week, The Neurodivergent Mama publishes one article from the following categories:

Research Summaries: Peer-reviewed autism and neurodivergent research broken down into plain English from academic language. What was studied, in what groups was it studied in, what was found, and what it means for the autistic/neurodiverse population.

Parenting as an Autistic Person: An honest, chaotic point of view of what it means to be an autistic mom who was late-diagnosed. This will not be inspiration content. Just the raw, real bits of navigating a neurotypical world, while raising tiny humans.

Book Reviews: Review of autism-focused books, mainly nonfiction but potentially some fiction (book recs always welcome!!). Who it is written for, what I thought was helpful or unhelpful, and whether autistic voices played a part in the creation of the book.

This newsletter is written by an autistic person with the sole purpose of helping people understand autism better. Whether you are autistic, love someone who is, have autistic people in your life, or just want to pay attention to a conversation that is becoming more prevalent in society, I hope you find some of my content helpful.

Note

Everything published here is from the lens of one person (me!). Research will always be cited and opinions will be identified as such. The goal of this newsletter is to be honest, shed light on autism, and build a community that makes autistics feel welcome and seen.

What I’m Asking of You

If you have ever felt frustrated by the gap between research and what the public believes about autism and neurodiversity, or if this resonates with you at all, share it with someone who needs it.

Send it to a parent who has been given conflicting advice, or the educator operating on 2000s research. Share it with an adult who was recently diagnosed (like me) who is coming to terms with a whole lifetime of not feeling understood or is having difficulty navigating their diagnosis.

The research exists and can be useful, it just needs a translator. That’s what I’m here to do!

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