It's Autism Awareness Month, and while awareness of autism has never been higher, our actual understanding of the diagnosis is still far behind where it needs to be. In this episode, Lisa Candera draws on her 18 years as an autism parent, her background as a certified life coach, and her work with over 100 autism moms to break down three things every autism mom needs to know right now: why the experts don't have it all figured out, why your judgment as a parent matters more than you think, and why you deserve real support — not just platitudes about oxygen masks and superpowers.

Lisa shares candid personal stories about navigating conflicting medical advice, the limitations of ABA therapy for her teenage son, and the real-world consequences of SSRIs prescribed without autism-specific knowledge. She also highlights examples from her coaching clients — including mothers whose children were diagnosed with everything except autism for years, and a mom whose own observations led to a PANS/PANDAS diagnosis that doctors had missed entirely.

This episode is a grounding, no-nonsense look at where we actually are in our understanding of autism, and what that means for you as the person closest to your child.

Key Takeaways

1. We are still in the early stages of understanding autism. Like other complex neurological conditions, we don't fully know what causes autism or why it presents so differently from person to person. Autism is not a simple spectrum — Lisa describes it as more of a "soup," where the interaction between autism, anxiety, sensory processing, ADHD, and OCD changes everything. Treatments that help one child may not help another, and the experts themselves frequently disagree on the best course of action.

2. Your parental judgment is one of the most important tools you have. When the professionals don't agree and the science is still catching up, the parent's proximity to their child becomes a critical source of information. You are the one who sees the full picture — before school, after therapy, after a medication change. Lisa urges autism moms to build the muscle of trusting their own observations, pattern recognition, and instincts, while being clear that this is not about blaming yourself for past decisions with the benefit of hindsight.

3. You need support — and you don't need a permission slip to get it. There is almost nothing in the current system designed to support the parent who is coordinating therapies, handling meltdowns, sitting in IEP meetings, and making high-stakes decisions every day. Lisa explains why she built her coaching practice to fill this gap, and why real support means something more substantive than being told you're a superhero or that God gives special kids to special parents.

Timestamps

[00:00] Introduction — Autism Awareness Month and why awareness is not the same as understanding
[02:30] Lisa's updated podcast intro and coaching philosophy
[04:45] Announcement: The Autism Mom Coach 2.0 rebrand and new website
[07:00] Why we are in the "dark ages" of understanding autism
[08:30] Autism is not a spectrum — it's a soup
[10:15] Why the experts disagree: Lisa's experience with ABA therapy at age 13
[13:45] Conflicting medication advice: SSRIs and autism
[17:00] The disconnect between autism specialists and OCD specialists
[19:30] Why your judgment as a parent matters
[22:00] Mothers who suspected autism years before their child was diagnosed
[24:30] Client story: How a mom's observations led to a PANS/PANDAS diagnosis
[27:00] Why autism moms need real support, not platitudes
[30:00] The gap in the system — and what Lisa's coaching practice is built to address
[32:30] Closing: Visit theautismmomcoach.com

Resources Mentioned

The Autism Mom Coach website: theautismmomcoach.com

About Your Host

Lisa Candera is a lawyer, certified life coach, and mother to an 18-year-old son with autism. After years of searching for support that actually addressed what she was going through as a parent — and not finding it — she built The Autism Mom Coach to help other mothers of autistic children stop white-knuckling it and start parenting from a grounded, regulated place. She has coached over 100 moms through meltdowns, impossible decisions, and the daily reality of raising a child with a complex diagnosis.

If this episode resonated with you, subscribe to The Autism Mom Coach wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you can spare a minute, please leave a review — it helps other autism moms find the show.

Ep 198: What Every Autism Mom Needs to Know in 2026