The Education Edit: Recognizing a Special Group of Moms
Today, I want to highlight the mothers raising children living with autism.
This is an endless calling. The long nights, staying alert to keep them safe while the world sleeps. The long days create experiences that feel joyful and manageable. Being the bridge to repair misunderstandings because the world through their eyes looks different. Preparing separate meals for your selective eater while realizing you haven’t even had a glass of water yourself. Advocating, explaining, protecting, planning, and then doing it all over again tomorrow.
As a mother of a daughter with significant challenges impacted by autism, I understand how critical it is to identify spaces that allow our children to simply be themselves without apology, without stares, without limits placed on their humanity.
For the moms who stand in solidarity with me, I see you, I feel you. We are often exhausted. Not because we are weak, but because we carry so many considerations at once. We overthink. We over prepare. We overextend ourselves in an effort to ensure our children are safe, included, and most importantly, accepted.
As an advocate and leader in education with expertise in special education, my life’s mission is to make this world better for your daughters and sons. Through the work of my foundation, we continue pushing acceptance beyond a slogan and into real systems, especially as we expand conversations and development for adults with disabilities, an area that still requires significant growth and intentional investment.
I know sometimes you want to participate in everything, the outings, the events, the community spaces, but the reality is that “stuff” can be overstimulating for you and for your child. And when you’re mothering multiple children with different needs, the mental load multiplies. It is a lot.
Mothers, we need both awareness and acceptance. And we also need grace. I am focused and driven, but I can still use a kind hand, a gentle word, a warm smile, or simply a pleasant glance that says, “I see you.” Because we are living this every single day.
So here is my brief but heartfelt message to you:
You are great. You are strong. You are resilient.
Take a guilt-free moment for yourself. Drink that glass of water. Eat the meal. Take a bath with a candle instead of toys. Your care and mental stability are not luxuries; they are essential to your child’s sustainability.
You are loved. You are seen. And you are not alone.
Marvel in Motherhood!
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Precious Young is an accomplished education leader with a lifelong commitment to building systems that truly serve students, families, and educators. She brings decades of experience across every level of public education—classroom instruction, school leadership, district administration, and executive oversight—paired with advanced credentials, including an MPA, MS, MA, and designation as a Certified Chief Business Official (CCBO). This combination of practice and preparation gives her a deep, practical understanding of how policy, finance, and people intersect to drive meaningful outcomes.
Throughout her career, Precious has guided schools and districts through complex challenges, strengthened accountability, and led sustainable improvement efforts rooted in clarity and purpose. As both a seasoned professional and a parent, she approaches educational leadership with a long-term, values-driven lens—prioritizing access, equity, and integrity while honoring the real lives behind the data. Education is not simply her field of expertise; it is the work of her life.
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