APUK Blog

by Esther Whitney (artist name: Dr Doom) Having grown up watching Disney movie after Disney movie (such as The Lion King, Dumbo, etc). It’s often portrayed that as soon as a baby is born Mother and baby have this intense gush of love and instantly develop an unbreakable bond. When I gave birth to my daughter, almost 6 years ago, I assumed that we would bond instantly and I would be consumed by this intense flood of love. In reality, our bonding process was completely differe

By Esther Whitney ( artist name: Doctor Doom ) Content overview: Discussion of difficult breastfeeding experience and unsupportive professionals. This painting explores my experience of breastfeeding as an Autistic parent. I have used colour symbolism to represent the spectrum of intense emotions and sensory input I experienced. I had my first baby in 2016, I was extremely anxious, I had nothing to compare Motherhood to. I put a lot of time into researching the benefits of b

Some may think this is fairly obvious coming from this space but the lack of support and resources indicate how invisible we have been. Our association is often mistaken for a support service for parents of Autistic children and we are often met with surprise when we clarify that Autistic Parents UK is for parents who are Autistic themselves and parents to children of all neurotypes. A lot of existing support for Autistic people focuses on children, and adults in residential

[Video/audio reading available soon] Evidence suggests a strong and trusting relationship between the pregnant person and their midwife...