PA R E N T I N G
The Special Journey
Mums of Children with
Text By Ruhie Jamshed
H
aving a child is one of the most exhilarating
events in the life of a woman. For most, life
transforms into being almost entirely about
their little one. A mum closely watches her
child and eagerly anticipates his every move, the first
eye contact, the first smile, the first word, the first step.
Communication is one means of strengthening the
bond between mother and child. However, for some,
those moments remain elusive due to a developmental
disorder, known as autism.
Here, four brave and inspiring mothers, tell us
their story on living life with a child on the Autism
Spectrum.
The Signs
Amina Asad says, “I started noticing changes in
Abdullah when he was two and a half. He stopped eye
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contact and babbling and went mute.”
In fact, all four mothers, point out to similar signs
such as lack of eye contact and no response to their
child’s names being called out.
“It was almost as if he was hearing-impaired,” says
Donna Van Vuuren who noticed these signs much
earlier when her son, Ethan, now 10, was 9 months
old.
Donna recalls, “My mum, who had many other
grandchildren before Ethan, noticed that he wasn’t
babbling a single word. She alerted me to the
peculiarity much earlier on.”
Other than early detection, Donna was also a lot
luckier in getting the family support she needed but
for many other mothers, it’s a battle to convince those