31: Perspectives on Motherhood: The Experience of Autism Moms with Janeen Herskovitz

My guest on the podcast this week features Janeen Herskovitz. Janeen is a licensed mental health counselor in Florida and owner of Puzzle Peace Counseling, LLC. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Special Education from Rowan University in New Jersey, (1995) and her Masters of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Webster University (2010). She is a trained as an EMDR Trauma Therapist and writes as a Topic Expert contributor on Autism Spectrum at goodtherapy.org. She has been married to her husband, Joe since 1995, and together, they have two teenage children.

Janeen’s podcast, Autism Blueprint, will be launching soon and covers a variety of topics surrounding living with autism in the home.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How having a son with autism drew Janeen into her work with autism
The early developments of autism and first things that show up
Speech development issues that occur
Joint attention and how a lot of people on the spectrum won’t have it
How autism is a spectrum of issues
The difficulties for parents through various stages of grief
How common autism is and what causes it
The concern and truth around the “myths” of vaccines, epidurals, and C-sections causing autism
How Janeen’s son was vaccine-injured which damaged his immune system
The definition of “being on the spectrum”
The shared experiences of parents, concerns about education and future planning for their children
A day in the life of an autistic mom from Janeen’s experience and point of view
The emotional and psychological effects on parents
How the experience of an autism mother is like that of combat soldiers experiencing PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
The importance of having a support network, people you can relate to
Helping people to find their new normal
The specific types of support mom’s need in their life
Words of wisdom for moms of autistic kids
Being mindful and micro-care
What the world can learn from families dealing with autism