--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What it boils down to is that parenting a…" description: "\"What it boils down to is that parenting a child with autism is a difficult job; writing about it is far easier.\" — Elizabeth Moon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/elizabeth-moon-9310_autism_what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting_483950.png" --- # What it boils down to is that parenting a child with… ![“What it boils down to is that parenting a child with autism is a difficult job; writing about it is far easier.” quote by Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/elizabeth-moon-9310_autism_what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting_483950.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/elizabeth-moon-9310_autism_what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting_483950.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/elizabeth-moon-9310_autism_what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting_483950.png) > “What it boils down to is that parenting a child with autism is a difficult job; writing about it is far easier.” [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parenting an autistic child is demanding, yet describing it is comparatively easy because writing allows distance and reflection. **In simple terms:** Raising autistic kids is hard; writing about it is easier. Key Takeaway Acknowledge challenges, seek support, and share experiences. Themes parenting autism writing challenge reflection Mood empathetic thoughtful Type narrative advocacy When to use this quote - family life - support groups - blogging - advocacy - therapy Key Concepts neurodiversity empathy self-care Questions to Reflect On - How can sharing stories improve support for autistic families? - What aspects of parenting are hardest to convey in writing? A Different Perspective Writing may oversimplify complexities and not replace lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autism/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children with autism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-with-autism/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If you can't see the gift in having a child with autism, you're focusing too much on the autism and not enough on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-duncan/if-you-can-t-see-the-gift-in-having-a-child-with-autism-you-re/) [Stuart Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-duncan/) > [Working with children with autism is difficult, tiring work, especially since the social rewards - the smile, the eye-contact, the hug, the thank you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeynep-tufekci/working-with-children-with-autism-is-difficult-tiring-work-especially/) [Zeynep Tufekci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeynep-tufekci/) > [Having a child with Autism can mess with your head: You feel like you can move mountains for them yet you're powerless at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-duncan/having-a-child-with-autism-can-mess-with-your-head-you-feel-like-you/) [Stuart Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-duncan/) > [As a parent with a child with autism, its been really tough to experience your child having autism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deron-williams/as-a-parent-with-a-child-with-autism-its-been-really-tough-to/) [Deron Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deron-williams/) > [“Hearing those four little words, 'Your child has autism,' can hit parents like a Mack Truck, leaving them scared, confused,and overwhelmed. Once that happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-picon/hearing-those-four-little-words-your-child-has-autism-can-hit-parents/) Deanna Picon > [“Yes, raising a child with autism can be highly demanding, but please remember, just as you worry about your child, so your child worries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoki-higashida/yes-raising-a-child-with-autism-can-be-highly-demanding-but-please/) [Naoki Higashida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naoki-higashida/) > [As a parent with a child with autism, it's been really tough to experience your child having autism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deron-williams/as-a-parent-with-a-child-with-autism-it-s-been-really-tough-to/) [Deron Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deron-williams/) > [Parents of recovered children, and I've met hundreds, all share the same experience of doubters and deniers telling us our child must have never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/parents-of-recovered-children-and-i-ve-met-hundreds-all-share-the/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [It's not just the child that has autism. It's the whole family that has autism. It's not a one person thing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lindsay/it-s-not-just-the-child-that-has-autism-it-s-the-whole-family-that/) [Ted Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lindsay/) > [“Then the dreaded words, Your child has autism. These words echo in their heads like a freight train blasting through their hopes and dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-linda-barboa/then-the-dreaded-words-your-child-has-autism-these-words-echo-in/) Dr. Linda Barboa > [“Adapting our own perception, following rather than leading and building bridges are all keys to helping the child with autism learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-devine/adapting-our-own-perception-following-rather-than-leading-and/) [Adele Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-devine/) > [If you have a child with autism, and he or she has good intelligence, with no delay in language learning maybe there is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/if-you-have-a-child-with-autism-and-he-or-she-has-good-intelligence/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [Winning isn't the end of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pleat/winning-isn-t-the-end-of-the-world/) [David Pleat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pleat/) > [Children with Autism aren't missing. Instead, they are off making discoveries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-barnett/children-with-autism-aren-t-missing-instead-they-are-off-making/) Jacob Barnett > [We can either continue to collectively stand on the sidelines and debate what is causing autism and if it is an epidemic or we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/we-can-either-continue-to-collectively-stand-on-the-sidelines-and/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) ## More by Elizabeth Moon > [Most eyes have more than one color, but usually they're related. Blue eyes may have two shades of blue, or blue and gray, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/most-eyes-have-more-than-one-color-but-usually-they-re-related-blue/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [“My advice is, the next time you see someone you think you need to rescue, walk quickly away on the far side of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/my-advice-is-the-next-time-you-see-someone-you-think-you-need-to/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [When a person responds emotionally to intellectual things, or emotionally only to traditional emotional things - I find that an interesting break between myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/when-a-person-responds-emotionally-to-intellectual-things-or/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [“I do not think God makes bad things happen just so that people can grow spiritually. Bad parents do that. Bad parents make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/i-do-not-think-god-makes-bad-things-happen-just-so-that-people-can/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [“Apparently they didn’t realize that people who buy thousands of rounds of ammo are likely to know how to use it. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/apparently-they-didn-t-realize-that-people-who-buy-thousands-of/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [Sometimes I wonder how normal normal people are, and I wonder that most in the grocery store.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/sometimes-i-wonder-how-normal-normal-people-are-and-i-wonder-that/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [I regarded drugs as somewhat like rattlesnakes - it's possible to pick one up without getting bit, but why bother?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/i-regarded-drugs-as-somewhat-like-rattlesnakes-it-s-possible-to-pick/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [My first degree came years before my second. I had wanted to be a physicist, but I flunked calculus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/my-first-degree-came-years-before-my-second-i-had-wanted-to-be-a/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [No, but a cello is the perfect string bass for an accordion. Works with it beautifully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/no-but-a-cello-is-the-perfect-string-bass-for-an-accordion-works-with/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [“...it forces concentration, and thus opens up the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/it-forces-concentration-and-thus-opens-up-the-world/) [Elizabeth moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [Fantasy allows you to get past defenses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/fantasy-allows-you-to-get-past-defenses/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [I had, of course, no model for that sort of woman being married, but I can make that up as I go along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/i-had-of-course-no-model-for-that-sort-of-woman-being-married-but-i/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [No matter what I do, no matter how predictable I try to make my life, it will not be any more predictable than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/no-matter-what-i-do-no-matter-how-predictable-i-try-to-make-my-life/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [When I was starting out, I did not do short fiction well, because I kept wanting to write books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/when-i-was-starting-out-i-did-not-do-short-fiction-well-because-i/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [This individual does not know where initiative ends and rocket-propelled idiocy begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/this-individual-does-not-know-where-initiative-ends-and-rocket/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) [Explore all 70 Elizabeth Moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) ## More Autism quotes > [“We know that children with autism like order, that they are often very visual and that they can be quite literal. They deserve beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-devine/we-know-that-children-with-autism-like-order-that-they-are-often-very/) [Adele Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-devine/) > [In fact, when we as neuro-typical people encounter a person with autism spectrum syndrome who's always been that way it is that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamlyn-tomita/in-fact-when-we-as-neuro-typical-people-encounter-a-person-with/) [Tamlyn Tomita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamlyn-tomita/) > [If you give us a safe vaccine, we'll use it. It shouldn't be polio versus autism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/if-you-give-us-a-safe-vaccine-we-ll-use-it-it-shouldn-t-be-polio/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [Autism is a big continuum, going from someone who remains nonverbal, all the way up to geniuses on Silicon Valley. And some kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/autism-is-a-big-continuum-going-from-someone-who-remains-nonverbal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [The position of Autism Speaks has been for quite awhile that we need to find out what's happening. We know there's a genetic component,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-emken/the-position-of-autism-speaks-has-been-for-quite-awhile-that-we-need/) [Elizabeth Emken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-emken/) > [Some people with autism who don't talk, all they hear are vowel sounds. Like if I said 'cup,' they might just hear 'uh.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/some-people-with-autism-who-don-t-talk-all-they-hear-are-vowel-sounds/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. You don't want people to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/mild-autism-can-give-you-a-genius-like-einstein-if-you-have-severe/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [“The autistic mind is not the wave at the surface of the ocean, but the whole world that exists below.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krissy-bells/the-autistic-mind-is-not-the-wave-at-the-surface-of-the-ocean-but-the/) Krissy Bells > [In the person with autism, the brain may already be seeing the part and be less distracted by the whole, and in the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/in-the-person-with-autism-the-brain-may-already-be-seeing-the-part/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [I think that the definition of autism is too broad. You got to remember, autism definition is a behavioral profiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/i-think-that-the-definition-of-autism-is-too-broad-you-got-to/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [There is a small segment of people with autism that have savant skills, where they can memorize entire maps of whole entire city. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/there-is-a-small-segment-of-people-with-autism-that-have-savant/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [When you have autism or aspergers, it's so hard to get a social life but trust me, in the end everyone can achieve at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia/when-you-have-autism-or-aspergers-it-s-so-hard-to-get-a-social-life/) Lia > [“Unfortunately, by this time it didn't matter. Self-diagnosed autistics and fakers were asking diagnosed autistics whether or not they had a diagnosis, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-d-taylor/unfortunately-by-this-time-it-didn-t-matter-self-diagnosed-autistics/) [Thomas D. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-d-taylor/) [Browse all 621 Autism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What it boils down to is that parenting a child with autism is a difficult job; writing about it is far easier.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Moon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting-a-child-with-autism-is-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting-a-child-with-autism-is-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/elizabeth-moon-9310_autism_what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting_483950.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/elizabeth-moon-9310_autism_what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting_483950.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/elizabeth-moon-9310_autism_what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting_483950.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What it boils down to is that parenting a child with autism is a difficult job; writing about it is far…” — Elizabeth Moon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Moon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What it boils down to is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting-a-child-with-autism-is-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/what-it-boils-down-to-is-that-parenting-a-child-with-autism-is-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```