Mum's blog about autism is challenging perceptions one post at a time
LONDON -- The mother of an autistic child is challenging people's perceptions of the reality of living with autism through her blog.
Nicole Duggan from Cork, Ireland, created her blog two weeks ago to write about her son's journey since being diagnosed with autism and to raise awareness about the condition.
Since then, she's gained almost 2,000 followers and words of encouragement from people around the world.
The National Autistic Society in the UK describes autism as a "developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people".
Duggan describes her 3-year-old son Riley, who was diagnosed in June 2016, as "the happiest little boy in the world".
"He is non-verbal but he has started to use a little bit of sign language now. He loves cars, and he loves disney movies. And he LOVES music."
She wrote an open letter on her blog to address the way people behave around Riley in public:
To the people that stare at him because he hums, join in with his little singsong because in his eyes he is singing the best song in the world.
To the mothers that pull their children away from him, you are creating the bullies of the future. Children don’t notice the differences. They just want to play. Let them.
To the lady that called him bold in the supermarket, try to look at things from his perspective. An overload of colours and sounds. People whizzing past you. You too would cry your eyes out if you could not tell anyone how you are feeling when it all gets too much.
Duggan says she created the blog to give a more realistic view of living with autism. "There definitely is a stigma attached to it. But I think people just need to learn more about it," she says.
Duggan says that she really hopes her blog makes a difference to people's attitudes. "Even if it changes one persons view on autism I'll be happy."
Topics Social Good Family & Parenting
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
