
112. When the Police Show Up: The Reality of Parenting a Child with Severe Autism
Welcome to the Autism Parent Club Podcast! Are you parenting a child with autism and navigating the challenges of high support needs, communication barriers, challenging behaviors, medical concerns, or the uncertainty that comes with this journey? You’ve found your people. We’re Chris and Becky—parents to a 19-year-old son with Level 3 autism and very high support needs. Each week, we share real-life stories from our journey, the things we’re learning along the way, and honest conversations about the joys, challenges, uncertainty, and everything in between. In this episode: What happens when someone sees a moment of your life as an autism parent and completely misunderstands what they're witnessing? This week, Becky and Chris share a frightening and deeply emotional experience that happened when police showed up at Bridger's school after someone reported seeing Becky abusing him while driving him to school. What they didn't understand was that Becky was actually defending herself during one of Bridger's aggressive episodes. Becky was read her rights and questioned for over an hour before police determined that no criminal act had been committed. We talk about the fear, heartbreak, and trauma of being accused of hurting the very child you spend your life protecting, loving, and advocating for. It's a difficult story, but one that brings up an important conversation about the realities of severe autism, aggressive behaviors, and how easily situations can be misunderstood when people don't see the whole picture. If you're an autism parent, we hope this conversation reminds you that you aren't alone, even in the moments when parenting feels more overwhelming than anyone else could possibly understand. We’re building something new! Visit the Autism Parent Club website—a growing resource created specifically for autism parents. Take a peek at what we’re building and check back as we continue adding resources! Autism Parent Club We’d love to hear from you! Email us: unabridgedcoaching@gmail.com Connect with us: Facebook: Unabridged Life Coaching Instagram: @autism_unabridged Looking for more autism-parent support? You’re invited to be part of the Autism Parent Club—a place where autism parents can find helpful resources, real-life stories, and the reminder that they don’t have to do this alone.