Single mom embraces 'life of triage' with autistic boys

By Louise Kinross Please check out the latest in our A Family Like Mine series!

Susan Cosgrove is a single mom to three children, including Liam and Phoenix, who have autism, and their sister Kaya.

"I call us the travelling circus," Susan says. "We're a commotion. Everywhere we go, noise follows us, and chaos follows us. And we definitely tend to be the centre of attention wherever we are. Autism is an invisible disability. So when people look at the boys, they don't immediately see autism."

Watch how Susan balances the needs of her boys and daughter Kaya with the help of her mother Rosie, who lives nearby. Susan also offers advice to other parents who've received a diagnosis of autism for their child. Susan is a family leader at Holland Bloorview and sits on our research family engagement committee.

A Family Like Mine is BLOOM's video series about diverse families raising children with disabilities. This video is captioned.