Autism Diagnosis
Understanding Grief :
Through the Eyes of a Psychiatrist and Autism Mom
By Lorerky Ramirez-Moya , MD and Allison Hopkins
An autism mom and child psychiatrist shares her journey through grief and accepting her son ’ s autism diagnosis .
My name is Lorerky Ramirez-Moya . I ’ m 44 years old and a mom of a happy , loving , and very brave 11-year-old autistic boy . I ’ m also a child psychiatrist and my job includes medication management for children and adults with developmental disabilities like autism .
I ’ d like to share what I know about the grieving process a parent goes through when a child is diagnosed with autism . It is unique . My knowledge is gained from personal experience and from stories of families I know .
My husband and I live in Northern California with our son and our seven-year-old daughter . She loves her big brother and is a great advocate for him . We are a close-knit family — we do things differently than other families but we have learned to have joy .
I come from a small country in Central America . In Costa Rica ( the size of West Virginia ) you can drive to the hot Pacific coast beaches and you can drive to the cool , foggy mountains all in one day .