049: The Isolation of Raising Kids on the Spectrum, with Ana & Curt Warner
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In this episode of the podcast, I'm honored to have talked with Ana and Curt Warner about the challenges and isolation of raising kids with autism. They've shared their experiences raising twin boys with “low-functioning” autism in their new book, The Warner Boys: Our Family’s Story of Autism and Hope, and they've graciously shared a glimpse of their parenting experiences here with us. While your child may not have autism, the struggles and triumphs of this parenthood are much the same. I promise, you'll be moved by their story.
Resources
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The Warner Boys: Our Family’s Story of Autism and Hope, Ana & Curt Warner
Download a Free Preview of the Book: Chapter 1 from The Warner Boys
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My Guest
Curt Warner is an honors graduate in communication, a two-time All-American at Penn State, a 2009 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, and a former All-Pro running back for the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. A three-time Pro Bowler, Warner was inducted into the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor in 1994.
Ana Warner has dedicated her life to the care of her family and the study and treatment of autism spectrum disorder. Both she and her husband have served as keynote speakers at the National Autism Conference at Penn State and the Texas Autism Conference in San Antonio. The Warner Boys is their first book.
Thank you!
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This episode was so relatable. My son is 3 1/2 with profound ADHD, Autism and a severe communication disorder. The isolation is real. People stop asking you to do things because they already know the answer. Although I do try to find as many things we can say yes to but it’s difficult. My child is such a safety concern as well so I totally understood that. It also helps to hear from someone as well known as Curt to be brave enough to share his family’s story. I see a lot of me in Ana. I’ve become consumed to the point that I’ve starting forgetting who I used to be. I also have three older children who still need me. Thanks for sharing. It helped so much!
On my podcast app it seems that this is a different episode than the one described?
Yes. I accidentally uploaded the wrong file at first. It was fixed a week ago. You probably need to delete the episode from your app and RE-download it. Many of the apps automatically download new episodes when they are released if you’ve subscribed to that podcast.
Thank you!
The isolation is real. No one understands it f they don’t have an ASD child with this type of “presentation” and symptoms. I can’t let anyone in to our house or get too close to them, they wouldn’t understand. My younger son’s friends, their moms, I can’t share too much. If I do, I can visibly see them backing away, frightened. Family doesn’t understand either, they end up judging and assuming that the behaviors are due to poor parenting or a lack of effort from us to secure services. Everyone who might visit or see a glimpse thinks that they know the answers and how to “fix” the behaviors and situation (like teaching functional life skills that are very challenging to teach).
No amount of explaining gets through to those who don’t live our lives. And like Penny said, it’s exhausting to have to explain. Even “experts” like BTs have very limited knowledge of the ASD brain & perspective.