{"id":375525,"date":"2026-04-12T05:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T05:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375525\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T05:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T05:34:08","slug":"all-in-author-karina-mchardy-on-autism-burnout-and-fighting-for-her-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375525\/","title":{"rendered":"All In author Karina McHardy on autism, burnout and fighting for her son"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KarinaKarina is mum to twin toddlers, with her son showing signs of autism. Photo \/ Woman’s Day<\/p>\n

When her son \u201cMax\u201d (not his real name) was diagnosed with severe autism at 19 months old, Karina was sent home with no plan or meaningful support. It\u2019s a scenario faced by countless families. Autism affects around 26,000 Kiwi kids<\/a> between the ages of two and 14. It\u2019s a neurodevelopmental condition that influences cognitive, sensory and social processing, and presents in diverse ways. <\/p>\n

Early on, Karina says she was positioned by doctors as an overanxious first-time mum who was unfairly comparing Max with his twin sister Matilda, who progressed in the 99th percentile of development.<\/p>\n

\u201cComparison is the thief of joy, right?\u201d says Karina, 45. \u201cAt that time, it was clear to me that my son was following a different path. He didn\u2019t sleep, and he struggled to communicate and to play. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat were everyday sensory experiences, like being out in bright sunlight, feeling the texture of clothing or visiting the supermarket, became completely overwhelming for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I was told repeatedly that I should \u2018wait and see\u2019 \u2013 that \u2018boys are just different\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, with a professional background in health, Karina saw the opportunity of that early window of brain development and knew in her gut that Max would benefit from having additional support. <\/p>\n

When it wasn\u2019t forthcoming, she stepped away from her career, did the research and built an individualised plan to give her son every chance to thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence-based support my husband and I designed for him was never about fixing or correcting anything about Max,\u201d she explains. \u201cLife was simply harder for him than it needed to be. Autism is a difference, not a deficit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max is now a \u201cbright, chatty, engaging\u201d 8-year-old and proof to his dedicated mum that early support changed his life\u2019s trajectory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were originally told that Max\u2019s profile of autism doesn\u2019t shift,\u201d she explains. \u201cHe used to not be able to respond because he didn\u2019t understand language and communication. <\/p>\n

\"Max\u2019sMax\u2019s social transformation is extraordinary. Photo \/ Woman’s Day<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, last year, he gave his school speech on crocodiles \u2013 which he\u2019s obsessed with! \u2013 and confidently made the finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another example of an outdated stereotype she\u2019s found herself battling against is that autistic children aren\u2019t interested in socialising. <\/p>\n

When Karina sought guidance from a skilled professional around developing Max\u2019s social skills, she was told that autistic children don\u2019t like to play with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to that professional specifically because my son had come to me and said, \u2018It hurts my heart when I can\u2019t play with the other children. I want to, but I don\u2019t know how.\u2019 He needed extra tools for that to happen.\u201d <\/p>\n

Max\u2019s transformation \u2013 from a child at high risk of never speaking<\/a> and struggling with forging friendships \u2013 is extraordinary. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s thriving,\u201d says his mum. \u201cMax has friends, enjoys a number of after-school activities and is in mainstream primary school, in the same class as his sister. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing I\u2019m most proud of is my son is authentically himself. It\u2019s such a gift that he feels safe and secure in who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Equally compelling is Karina\u2019s own transformation. In going \u201call in\u201d for Max, she lost her career, identity and her health. Yet she found purpose and a new understanding of what care, health, success and hope truly mean.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never imagined writing a book that was so personal,\u201d she says of the part-memoir, part-call-to-action. \u201cThe hardest part of this journey was the isolation. It isn\u2019t about feeling alone \u2013 it\u2019s about feeling unseen. Managing the gap between what the child needs and what\u2019s there to support them is completely overwhelming, mentally, emotionally and financially. That needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

So does Karina have time to eat oranges with two hands now? \u201cYes, they\u2019re delicious!\u201d she laughs. \u201cIt was a tiny thing, but it spoke volumes about the frantic reality of what life was like.\u201d<\/p>\n

All In: A Mother\u2019s Journey Through Autism ($45, Bateman Books) is on shelves now. Follow Karina\u2019s blog NeuroThrive at kmchardy.substack.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karina is mum to twin toddlers, with her son showing signs of autism. Photo \/ Woman’s Day When…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[63058,5263,95,13851,5993,13019,18399,38403,18791,2082,14154,42,134,1364,78,135145,6451,45000,43,6662,90,3109,5348,5652,4525,22639,8229,150065,40,38,41,39,1847,3608,52398,102,195948,19135],"class_list":{"0":"post-375525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-63058","9":"tag-all","10":"tag-and","11":"tag-author","12":"tag-autism","13":"tag-burnout","14":"tag-christmas","15":"tag-falling","16":"tag-fighting","17":"tag-for","18":"tag-give","19":"tag-headlines","20":"tag-health","21":"tag-her","22":"tag-in","23":"tag-karina","24":"tag-knew","25":"tag-mchardy","26":"tag-news","27":"tag-off","28":"tag-on","29":"tag-public","30":"tag-showing","31":"tag-signs","32":"tag-something","33":"tag-son","34":"tag-they","35":"tag-toddlers","36":"tag-top-news","37":"tag-top-stories","38":"tag-topnews","39":"tag-topstories","40":"tag-twin","41":"tag-were","42":"tag-wheels","43":"tag-with","44":"tag-wobbling","45":"tag-working"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}