WE ROAR Magazine April 2024 - Magazine - Page 54
Moon Sade
OurLocalOnline.com Member Empowering and Supporting
Neurodivergent Families
Moon Sade. is a late-realised neurodivergent
(Autistic & ADHD) woman, mum to two
Autistics, an Autism Success Mentor, Autism
Parenting Coach, and the Founder of Autism In
Disguise, where they specialise in guiding and
empowering young adult autistics and their
families through the complexities of their
journey into adulthood. Her 25+ years
expertise is anchored in certifications as a Life
Coach, NLP Practitioner, Time Line Therapy
Practitioner, and Understanding Autism,
underscored by her years as a qualified high
school teacher.
Why did you start your business?
As with many neurodivergent families, the
road we travel is often filled with many
different challenges, difficulties, and traumas
mixed in with the triumphs. When my oldest
was little, he showed signs of developmental
differences, but they weren't the stereotypical
signs of autism. He was bright, intelligent, and
quickly became a master at masking and
mimicking, so when I raised concerns, they
were dismissed - year after year, and my child
slipped through the cracks. We put strategies
and techniques in place at home to help him,
struggling on our own, becoming more
isolated, more lonely, more marginalised, and
more inwardly focused.
My second child's birth forced a rethink. If I
wanted something different for my children, a
change was needed. I left teaching to focus on
my children's needs. Finally, just before turning
17, my oldest was diagnosed with highfunctioning autism. A few years later, my
54
youngest was diagnosed as ASD+. Knowing
how isolating, lonely, and confusing those
early years had been and how many young
adult autistics and their families silently
struggle every day,
I am driven to make a difference, to lift the
stigma and share my story as a late-realised
neurodivergent parenting autistics. To use my
skills, knowledge, and experience by helping
young adult autistics find the courage to step
out from behind the misconceptions and
flawed expectations of others.
How do you balance your work and family?
Balancing work and family is still a project in
progress! Running a business, parenting
autistics, balancing a family, and managing my
own self-discovery as a neurodivergent
woman takes some doing, at times. There are
times when one, or the other, of my children9s
needs will take priority over everything else,
including work. This is built into the business
and is non-negotiable.
