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Testimonial from a new member:

“So this morning I went to MOCHA. …MOCHA is …a monthly support group for Mothers of Children with Autism (and related developmental disabilities)… What a great resource. The meeting was wonderful and terrible all in one.  The women were intensely knowledgeable, and so experienced. … I felt very welcome.   And here is the wonderful and terrible part… I felt… Like I fit in. I wasn’t so alone.  And it WAS wonderful, and unexpected.  And horrible too. Because… My son is very high functioning… I embrace the idea that an ASD label does not change him or who he is. But… I don’t want to be a mother of a child with autism. I just want to be a mother to a child (children) who I love. …He has delays in social, communication, and “adaptive behavior.” Will he outgrow some of these things? Maybe. I hope so. He’s made tremedous (sic) progress over the last six months. He’s almost like a different child. Yet…Some of those things (the delays) are REAL problems for us. Sometimes big problems. My friends and other people on the outside looking in probably can’t tell, aside from the fact that I sometimes am visibly flustered and noticeably stressed out. …The fact is, as M (my younger child) grows into a toddler, I notice more and more things that I missed when E (my ASD child) was a baby. Odd, little things. Waving at strangers in the supermarket, asking for things, demanding solid food, even separation and stranger anxiety. I knew he was not developing typically. I didn’t know to be concerned. I never expected to be told he had “red flags for autism.” I never expected to be a part of this rising epidemic.  Yet, here I am. My child is a bit different that many (most). Sometimes we struggle. Yet, I don’t want to focus on diagnostic criteria and labels and deficits. I want to focus on my quirky, curious, busy, intense, sensory seeking, newly verbal, car-loving four year old BOY. If being with others with similar challenges once a month will support me in that, I’m there.”

~ MOCHA-Seattle, Member

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To learn more about our group go to our “About MOCHA-Seattle” page located in the column to the right.

To learn more about our upcoming meetings go to our “Upcoming Meetings” page located in the column to the right.

To learn more about past speakers at MOCHA-Seattle meetings go to our “Past Speakers” page located in the column to the right.

To learn more about other resources and support for autism go to our  “Support and Related Links” page located in the column to the right.

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