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Research shows that parents of children with autism work fewer hours and earn less than parents of children with other health problems or none at all. Moms are also found to be the most affected, earning 35 percent less than mothers of children with health problems. They also earn 56 percent less than mothers who have typically developing children. This research was found in an article published by Rocky Road: The Career Paths of People with Autism and their Parents - SPARK for Autism, reviewed in December 2024.
I don’t know about you but I’ve been working ever since I was 13. There’s never been a time in my life where I wasn’t fully invested in my career. Growing up in the Midwest probably had a lot to do with that. I never realized how hard it would be to juggle motherhood while also working full time. My days consisted of waking up, getting everyone ready, dropping the kids off at school and starting my day at work. I have to be on alert because you never know when, a few hours into my shift, I will be forced to leave work to pick up a sick kid. Evenings were filled with doing homework, cooking dinner, and cleaning the mess that they would make as I’m cleaning. Always trying to find that little bit of time with my husband. It was during that time, I’d realized that we had to give the kids their baths and read some bedtime stories. Next, it was time for packing lunches for the next day, as well as packing my own lunch, and getting to sleep by 1am -- if I was lucky. But it was all to wake up and do it all over again the next day! The thought that my job might tell me that I can’t leave work early again or I might lose my job, makes me anxious.
Before having kids, I never missed one day of work. It didn’t matter if I was hungover or not, I showed up. Perfect attendance was important to me. That all changed once I had little humans that relied on me for survival. Asking others for help with the little things in life seems impossible. As a mother, it’s common to feel alone or like you have to juggle things yourself.
All of this is a struggle, but I realized that having a special needs child made it even harder. They require a lot more than you imagine.
I feel like there’s always something coming up; things I wouldn’t even imagine might happen. The hours in the day are never enough. Everyone is pulling me in five different directions. It’s easy to lose sight of who you are.
Maybe you’ve lost your job, or were forced to quit because you didn’t have anyone else to care for your special needs child. You felt like your only option was to stay home because you have too many therapy appointments to attend weekly. The stress that comes with being a stay at home mom is tough to manage. All of the time you spent invested in your career and what you love is gone. The life you worked so hard to build for yourself now feels like a waste.
While you might be feeling lost, stop and think about your life now. You have a family, including a special needs child that NEEDS their mom to be the woman she was meant to be. Remember what your passion was. Maybe that passion looks a little different now. Maybe it’s even changed because of your circumstances. There’s a world of opportunities and possibilities waiting to be found. Never give up on the hopes and dreams you once had for yourself. Those hopes and dreams CAN be possible. Maybe you have to take a different path for now, but that woman you dreamed of becoming is still there!
You were born to hustle and that’s just what you’ll do!
Stay tuned for Part Two, where I will dive into the different ways you can make money and a career; all while still caring for your autistic child.
Leave a comment if you’ve changed your career path due to the needs of your autistic child/special needs child and what that career path is now!
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