Since social media has become a space for everyone, and Autism has been more easily diagnosed, there has been a resurgence of ableism. With this growth, we’ve seen mothers victimizing themselves due to their children being disabled, whether it be physically or mentally. For example, mothers will post things saying that they’ll have postpartum depression forever since their child was diagnosed with autism. This implies that the mother will be forever depressed about their birth since they gave birth to an autistic child.
Stigma around autism will always exist, but it shouldn’t be mothers creating the stigma. organizations like Autism Speaks give platforms to these women and other people who are often uneducated on it, which just causes the information to spread like wildfire. Then it continues along this path until it repeats itself. Having a mother, who is supposed to be a safe space, posting on social media about how she pities you (or herself) because of something out of your control must be such a terrible thing to find out about. This isn’t to say mothers can’t have safe spaces to talk about their children, but rather to emphasize the importance of not making social media, a place where people can openly judge your child, that safe space. It gives an unhealthy dynamic to other mothers who may look up to you due to your experience and/or following.
Giving your child a platform at such a young age, especially a platform developed around their autism, ADHD, or physical disability is incredibly irresponsible. It makes it even worse when the child is young enough to be unaware of the social media you’ve created around them in order to throw a pity party.
Continuing to add to the stigma of a condition your child may have is one of the worst things you can do as a parent. My advice is to, instead of posting about children and their mental disorders, talk to a therapist. Find healthy coping mechanisms that don’t infringe on your child’s privacy and medical history.
