Becoming an Autism Mum - Interview with Chantal, Mum to Four Neurodiverse Kids

Chantal is a mum of four children, all of whom are neurodiverse. Chantal joins Aniesa to talk about life with multiple children with additional needs, including seeking a diagnosis, coping with the mental health implications and how to advocate for your neurodiverse child, especially when you aren’t believed by professionals. Chantal also opens up about receiving her own diagnosis and the impact this has had not only on her but her children's lives too.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Chantal’s third child was diagnosed with autism in South Africa at just 22 months old. previous to this she didn’t have any experience with autism or what it would mean for her family.
• It was after moving to the UK that Chantal started getting more support, it was also here that her eldest child was diagnosed with autism at the age of 8.
• Looking back, Chantal can see so many autism traits in all of her children, including the complex masking of her eldest.
• Teachers often aren’t armed with the knowledge and skills needed to teach neurodiverse children, something that Chantal has experienced across different schools and in different countries.
• Autism is experienced by the individual in many different ways and their coping mechanisms also look different to the outside world. This is why austim doesn’t look the same and also why it is frequently missed or misdiagnosed.
• Chantal’s eldest taught himself to appear normal because he didn’t receive the support with his autism that he needed.

BEST MOMENTS

“He was just very different to what you would expect a child of that age to be”

“All my kids, were so different as babies”

“Teachers aren’t given the support and education they need”

“They don’t know you come home and have a breakdown every day, they have no idea what people go through when your mask comes off”

“He’s taught himself to be normal, to be neurotypical, because he’s never had the support”

CONTACT METHOD

www.instagram.com/aniesabblore/           
www.instagram.com/sensationalkidstherapyuk/    
www.facebook.com/sensationalkidslondon

ABOUT THE HOST

Aniesa completed her degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Stellenbosch, in South Africa. She has since been focusing on pediatrics and sensory processing and integration. She has worked across a range of pediatric fields and has extensive experience in autism, specific learning difficulties, as well as anxiety and emotional regulation.

Aniesa has one teenage son with autism, and one with sensory difficulties. She herself was diagnosed at a late age as having ADHD and has found that understanding her neurodivergence has led to a greater connection with children and their parents.

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