As parents of autistic/ADHD children, we spend a lot of our time helping and supporting our kids through challenges. We are there to encourage them and fight for the care and services they need to live their best lives. Yet, we need encouragement too. A lot of times, inspirational quotes can motivate and encourage me when I am feeling stressed and overwhelmed. I’ve gathered several inspirational quotes about autism, ADHD and parenting that I hope will give you a pick-me-up when you need it.
Autism Quotes
“I’ve learned that every human being, with or without disabilities, needs to strive to do their best, and by striving for happiness you will arrive at happiness. For us, you see, having autism is normal—so we can’t know for sure what your ‘normal’ is even like. But so long as we can learn to love ourselves, I’m not sure how much it matters whether we’re normal or autistic.”
– Naoki Higashida, autistic who wrote The Reason I Jump when he was 13 years old
“I see people with Asperger’s syndrome as a bright thread in the rich tapestry of life.” – Dr. Tony Attwood, psychiatrist and Asperger’s Syndrome/autism expert
“This crusade to fix herself was ending right now. She wasn’t broken. She saw and interacted with the world in a different way, but that was her. She could change her actions, change her words, change her appearance, but she couldn’t change the root of herself. At her core, she would always be autistic. People called it a disorder, but it didn’t feel like one. To her, it was simply the way she was.”
– Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient
“I don’t want my thoughts to die with me, I want to have done something. I’m not interested in power, or piles of money. I want to leave something behind. I want to make a positive contribution – know that my life has meaning.” – Dr. Temple Grandin, autistic author/speaker and animal behaviorist
“Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing. … But autism … is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over-expression of the very traits that make our species unique.” – Paul Collins, autistic and author of Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism
“Autism, is part of my child, it’s not everything he is. My child is so much more than a diagnosis.” – Sandra L Westendorf-Coelho, author of The World According to August – One Good Friend
“The concept of neurodiversity provides a paradigm shift in how we think about mental functioning. Instead of regarding large portions of the American public as suffering from deficit, disease, or dysfunction in their mental processing, neurodiversity suggests that we instead speak about differences in cognitive functioning.” – Dr. Thomas Armstrong, author of Neurodiversity: Discovering the Extraordinary Gifts of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Brain Differences
“Our duty in autism is not to cure but to relieve suffering and to maximize each person’s potential.” – John Elder Robison, autistic adult and author of several books including Look Me in the Eye
“Everyone has a mountain to climb and autism has not been my mountain, it has been my opportunity for victory.” – Rachel Barcellona, autistic and pageant professional
“The most interesting people you’ll find are ones that don’t fit into your average cardboard box. They’ll make what they need, they’ll make their own boxes.” – Dr. Temple Grandin
ADHD Quotes
“ADHD isn’t a bad thing, and you shouldn’t feel different from those without ADHD.” – Adam Levine, lead singer of band Maroon 5 and diagnosed with ADHD as a child
“ADHD is not about knowing what to do, but about doing what one knows.” – Dr. Russell Barkley, psychiatrist and ADHD expert
“I prefer to distinguish ADD as attention abundance disorder. Everything is just so interesting, remarkably at the same time.” – Frank Coppola, movie director
“With the disorganization, procrastination, inability to focus, and all the other bad things that come with ADHD, there also comes creativity and the ability to take risks.” – David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airways
“I didn’t let ADHD prevent me from achieving my goals, and neither should you.” – Howie Mandel, actor
“ADHD hasn’t changed me…It is me. It’s an undeniable and simple fact of who I am.” – Tilly” – Mazey Eddings, author of Tilly in Technicolor
“You have to take a leap of faith and believe that living an authentic life of personal power and pride is more important than the fear and pain that have been holding you back.” – Sari Solden, author of A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers
“Passion isn’t everything, but everything is better with passion, especially if you have ADHD. I hope that you all find that passion about something or someone. Never stop looking for it. Once you find it, fight for it with every breath.” – Shayne Neal, author of From Misery to Happiness: A Poetic Journey Through Love, Loss, and Second Chances
“Each one of us is different, but one thing that is true; Each one of us is wonderfully made, and so, my dear, are you!” – Donna Anello, author of Understanding Charlie
“ADHD is not a deficit of attention, but rather a difficulty in regulating one’s attention.” – Dr. Ari Tuckman, psychologist
Parenting Quotes
“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” – Dr. Benjamin Spock, pediatrician
“I think that the best thing we can do for our children is to allow them to do things for themselves, allow them to be strong, allow them to experience life on their own terms, allow them to take the subway… let them be better people, let them believe more in themselves.”
– C. JoyBell C., author
“What it’s like to be a parent: It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do but in exchange it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love.” – Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding
“I don’t remember who said this, but there really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.”- Anne Lamott, author of Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year
“…the love, respect, and confidence of my children was the sweetest reward I could receive for my efforts to be the woman I would have them copy.”- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
“I don’t think anyone can grow unless he’s loved exactly as he is now, appreciated for what he is rather than what he will be.” – Fred Rogers, American television host and author
“Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting.” – Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
“By loving them for more than their abilities we show our children that they are much more than the sum of their accomplishments.” – Eileen Kennedy-Moore, author of Smart Parenting for Smart Kids: Nurturing Your Child’s True Potential
“It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.” – Joyce Maynard, novelist and journalist
“You’re going to get a lot of advice from people, and you can take bits and pieces, but you know innately what your child needs. You should trust that. Don’t beat yourself up for making decisions about things that may or may not work. It’s an experiment in life, and you’re a part of that.” – Lucy Liu, actress and director
More inspiration
Need a reminder about the positive side of autism and ADHD? Read my blog post. Other parents, teachers and autism advocates share how they focus on a more positive mindset about their child’s autism in this post. Finally, here is why I’m thankful for my son’s autism.
Do you have other quotes about autism, ADHD and/or parenting that inspire you? If so, leave them in the comments to share and encourage each other on this journey?
Additional resources
Looking for more sources of inspiration in addition to the autism, ADHD and parenting quotes above? Check out these books!
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism (affiliate link)
Forever Boy: A Mother’s Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy (affiliate link)
I Will Die on This Hill (affiliate link)
Optimism for Autism: The Inspiring Journey of a Mother and her Autistic Son (affiliate link)
The Autistic Brain: Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed (affiliate link)
