A mother with bi-polar disorder who has two sons with autism has lifted the lid on their daily struggles – and how she has overcome them.
Emma Plows, 37, was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder several years ago. Son Moses, now 12, was then found to have Autism while older son Noah, now 14, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.
The mother-of-two has now written about the struggles in a bid to to help parents and carers of children with autism to realise they don’t need to be perfect and that they need to look after their own health and wellbeing in order to care for their children.
In the book, Autistic Blessings and Bipolar Me, she chronicles in diary format the highs and lows of her individual day-to-day life with a glaring lack of self-pity and plenty of straight talking, love and appreciation for her one-of-a-kind family.
With the love and support of husband Ben and help of registered therapy dog Pink, Emma has now come to realise that to raise children with autism, parents should accept the diagnosis and understand that while people with the condition see the world differently, most of the parenting issues such as homework, discipline and sibling rivalry are just the same.
‘I’ve never thought, why me?,’ she said. ‘I’m the luckiest mum in the world to have the boys I do. I’m challenged, I’ve been educated and I truly believe I wouldn’t have been given two boys that I couldn’t fight for and take so much joy from.
‘Autism isn’t the tragedy, ignorance is.’
The book has already received glowing online reviews and has been awarded 4.8 out of a possible 5 stars at online book store Amazon.
‘I loved the honest portrayals of both the good and the bad days, ‘ says one reviewer. ‘It made me laugh and cry and was a bit of a roller coaster,’ added another.
Emma also has a 4.86 rating on Goodreads with over three hundred ratings.
Autistic Blessings and Bipolar Me is available in paperback for £7.99 and in Kindle format for £2.99.
