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An Australian mother of five spoke about the reality of raising a child with autism and how others in a similar position can be supported through a new app.
Amanda Kenny, from Sydney, did not work full-time for years to support her nine-year-old son Ashton, who was diagnosed with autism when he was seven.
The 40-year-old mother told FEMAIL that she had trouble finding the right school for him, as he was just “running away” and getting into public spaces was also difficult.
“He would always run in the opposite direction from school and get a call an hour after I dropped him off to pick him up, so working was out of the question,” she said.
At the same time, while caring for her five children, Amanda was also supporting her husband and dad who were going through cancer treatment.
Sydney’s tough mom Amanda Kenny (pictured with her son Ashton) opened up about the hardships she’s faced in recent years. Her son Ashton was diagnosed with autism at age seven.
“Ashton (second from left) would always run in the opposite direction of school and get a call within an hour of dropping him off to pick him up, so working full time was out of the question,” he said. saying
‘Life with Ashton is a constant challenge. It requires psychology, speech therapy, occupational therapy and behavioral therapy,” Amanda said.
“Often these sessions would have to be during or directly after school hours, making employment impossible once again.”
As a young child, Ashton showed ‘all the signs’ of autism, from delayed language skills to a lack of social skills.
“I knew he was different from my other children, and if anything, the diagnosis helped clear this up because it meant we now knew how to help him,” Amanda said.
It also meant that she and her husband Nick needed to change their parenting tactics.
“He would have meltdowns in malls and other people would look at him thinking he was just throwing a tantrum,” Amanda said.
Amanda said Ashton is “very particular” about his food and only drinks water from a clear plastic bottle.
“He loves canned pineapple and he only wears special socks, it’s a sensory thing,” she said.
“He also doesn’t like noisy spaces as he has very sensitive hearing.”
When she’s out for family events or school, Amanda always packs snacks, brings her signature water bottle, and makes sure she’s wearing her favorite socks.
At first, she was also honest with her three oldest sons — Ethan, 14, Lucas, 13, Jackson, 12 — about Ashton’s diagnosis.
“I said things like ‘his brain is a little different from ours and he thinks too fast’ and how his ears hurt because they are so sensitive,” he said.
‘But the boys, when they were younger, didn’t quite understand that.’
As a young child, Ashton (pictured) showed ‘all the signs’ of autism, from delayed language skills to a lack of social skills. “I knew he was different from my other children, and if anything, the diagnosis helped clear this up because it meant we now knew how to help him,” Amanda said.
At first, she was also honest with her three oldest sons (pictured), Ethan, 14, Lucas, 13, Jackson, 12, about Ashton’s diagnosis.
Unfortunately, in 2018, Amanda’s husband, Nick (pictured, second from right), was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which took a toll on the family financially and emotionally. ‘At that moment I thought he was going to die; I was preparing myself for the worst, it was a horrible time,” Amanda said. What followed was an ongoing battle for the family.
Unfortunately, in 2018, Nick was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which took a toll on the family financially and emotionally.
‘At that moment I thought I was going to die; I was preparing myself for the worst, it was a horrible time,” Amanda said.
‘I thought it was cursed; It was one thing after another and everything kept getting worse.
What followed was an ongoing battle for the family with Nick participating in surgeries and cancer treatments, while Amanda cared for the children.
Fast forward to this year and both Nick’s and Amanda’s fathers were in the hospital.
“It was hell on earth, I felt completely torn and guilty that I couldn’t be in two places at once.” she said.
Unfortunately, his 72-year-old father breathed his last on September 16 while Nick was in remission.
Despite experiencing years of ongoing challenges, Amanda said she “did what she had to do” and kept going. Today she works from home for the new Australian brand Kindship, a new app developed by four mothers who also have a child with a disability.
Despite experiencing years of ongoing challenges, Amanda said she “did what she had to do” and kept going.
“At the time, I was constantly wondering what bad thing would happen next. After my father passed away, I realized how short life is and that we don’t know what is around the corner,” he said.
“But when you’re in a situation like mine, you don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself, you have to keep going and be strong for your children and your family.”
Currently, Amanda works from home for the new Australian brand Kindship, a new app developed by four mothers who also have a child with a disability.
The social media platform offers a place for parents to receive support from others within the community who are also going through similar experiences.
And the app is already helping more than 1,000 families every week.
The brand is set to launch an Australian first innovation called the Kindship Wallet that combines AI technology with community recommendations to match parents with the best service providers for their needs.
Kindship Wallet allows parents to search for services by parent rating, wait list times, and distance.
“The Kindship team is built with so much heart that I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it and will be forever grateful for the opportunity I have been given,” said Amanda.