This is just a vent post.
I’m really struggling with something, and I’ll be honest — I’m angry.
When my son was born, my SIL used to call him “so intelligent” and even a “genius,” while putting her own daughter down in comparison. It made me uncomfortable, but I let it go. Once, when I said he doesn’t even understand basic directions, she brushed it off saying “all geniuses have some flaws.”
I’m likely on the autism spectrum myself (never formally diagnosed), and now they make comments like “he’s just like his mother,” in a way that feels like they’re blaming me for his autism.
After his diagnosis, she started making sarcastic and insensitive remarks — like asking what I ate during pregnancy or comparing him to a movie character with a mental disorder.
Now her daughter is 7 and doing very well in school, and she openly talks about her achievements. I know she has every right to be proud, but in this context, it just feels hurtful.
My son is almost 4, nonverbal, with very limited receptive language. We’re working with him every day, but it’s not an easy journey.
It’s been a year since his diagnosis, but the pain hasn’t gone away. Some nights I wake up in tears thinking about what life will look like for him.
I feel very lonely. Life feels unfair. I didn’t have any other place to vent.