A Single Mother’s Journey Raising a Neurodivergent Child | Agnes Lai Ying Ng | LOSD Podcast | S7

What's the community like in Australia? I know you said the healthcare community's really good.

What about just m- mental health and the social side of things? Are there a lot of social networks, or is it very scattered?

Um, I would say some people, it really depends whether you are open to get help or to be supported.

S- if, if, um, some mothers, they, uh...

I, I come from an Asian background, so I...

But I've been residing in Australia for a very long time.

I h- I know both sides.

I have got Asian mothers who are very conservative, or they have been very careful whether to disclose their children, um, have special needs.

I think there is a, um, a social pressure.

They, they, they might feel shameful.

They might not want to disclose it because it might affect them, uh, in their career, whether it's gonna affect them in, um, on the insurances or health, or in the future that the child might not have a better future if you disclose this.

Whereas in the Western countries, um, we are very open, we are very honest, and we think it is something for others to know about us because if you sees a, a child on the street and, um, he or she is not behaving, I, I now understand, because in the past I didn't realize my son was neurodivergent.

I said, "Oh, wow, why is that child behaving like that and the mother did not do anything?" And now I come from, you know, through the lens of compassion, I know because I understand that's the best way she is actually doing, because if she's gonna step in too much, the, the child might even behave, you know, in a more n- uh, negative way, and she is trying to hold everything together.

So, um, by understanding the...

By mothers who are very open to, to share their journey, this is how we support each other, yeah.

No, that's lovely, and they say that the universe, God, whatever your belief is-

Mm

... can never give you more than what you can hold, and when they give you something, it's purely because they're trying to make you an even better soul, a better human in this world, in this universe.

And this seems like this is the path that he's, like someone has set out for you, is like, "I wanna give you these skills of love, compassion, understanding, emotional intelligence, so you can be that change maker, and you can share your stories-

Mm

... share your voice, because you never know who will be inspired by what you're giving to them."

Mm.

And what I find is really beautiful, no one would know your story or what you're actually hiding.

So, and what it really reminds me of is when we're on the street, don't assume just because someone's very well put together or someone looks like they're completely homeless, that-

Yeah