New Hampshire -- Mommy tattoos are an emerging trend, but for some early adopters from the Granite State, getting "inked" is taking on a special meaning.
Airing Thursday, January 26, the popular TLC reality show NY Ink features four northern New England moms who have children "on the spectrum" -- the autism spectrum.
Join the Movement!
To see design details
or purchase a download-
able stencil, link to our
Tattoo Shop. ©
Unique Tattoo Celebrates a Shared Experience
"Having a child with autism creates a bond, a sisterhood, between mothers of the same," explains Manchester, NH's Elizabeth Webster, who designed a unique symbol to celebrate this connection. The tattoo sets a puzzle piece, often used as a symbol for the perplexing condition of autism, inside a triquetra which is the Celtic symbol of sisterhood.
Last fall, the four friends traveled to the swank Wooster Street Social Club in Soho in lower Manhattan where each had the tattoo colored and placed according to her own taste. Their hope: To kick off a nationwide awareness campaign for autism and the connection between parents that share the unique reality of loving someone who experiences this complex neurological condition.
The idea is already gaining interest: The four autism sisters have arranged for like-minded parents to meet for a tattoo party in Nashua, NH in February, 2012.
This website has been created to celebrate the one in 110 individuals who experience an autism spectrum disorder and their families.
We are deeply grateful to the team at TLC's NY Ink and at the Wooster Street Social Club for their professionalism and support
To contact the webmaster for this sight, link here.
Here's how it all began...
by Kirsten Murphy on 02/12/12
by Kirsten Murphy on 01/26/12
Please tell us what you thought of the show!
by Kirsten Murphy on 01/21/12
There is no doubt that the bond between autism moms is pretty strong. I can personally attest that what got me through the past 21 years of living on the spectrum is my relationship with other mothers. They have offered me the best advice, have comforted me when I fell apart, and shared a knowing smile when I speak my "darkest" thoughts out loud. My fellow autism moms are like my own family, and I feel as protective and proud of them as any mother bear.
--- Viki Gayhardt, one of the original tattoo four
March 16, 2012
Dear Autism Mom:
When you are staggering around during the day because you didnʼt sleep a wink last night, or the night before, or the night before that because your child just wonʼt sleep, take comfort because I see you. I know what you do.
When the house is so messy that there is no free flat surface as far as the eye can see despite your picking up all day, take comfort because I see you. I know what you do.
When youʼve filled out endless forms, just to learn that there is one you missed and several more that come to your attention the next day, take comfort because I see you. I know what you do.
When you make a call, which leads to four more things to put on your “to do” list and three more calls to make, which then leads to12 more things to put on your “to do” list and nine more calls to make...and so on and so on and so on, take comfort because I see you. I know what you do.
When youʼre in the store, and your child is in full meltdown mode, but you have to buy something to make for dinner and tomorrowʼs lunches, and you hear the whispered judgement and see the eye rolling, take comfort because I see you. I know what you do.
When your partner comes home and just happens to catch you as you slump on the couch for a minute from sheer exhaustion and asks, “What did you do today?” Take comfort because I see you. I know what you did.
When on the rare occasion you gather with old friends and they talk about their straight-A student athletes, and complain about carting them from social event to social event, take comfort because I see you. I know what you wish you were doing.
When you know every pattern, poster, and leaflet on the waiting room walls of the doctor, therapist(s), social security, Medicaid, and school administrator better than the walls of your own home, take comfort because I see you. I know what you do.
When you find convenient, affordable, no-child-care-needed entertainment/escape in a book, on the computer, from a reality show, or on a social network and are criticized for having no life and too much time on your hands, take comfort because I see you. I know what you do.
During yet another sleepless night, when you recall the events of your day and you wonder why there is nothing to show for how hard youʼve worked, and you worry how youʼll manage to live forever because who on earth is ever going to take on the responsibility of caring for your child after you die, take comfort that Iʼll see you. Iʼll know what youʼre doing.
And when you donʼt think there's a soul in the world who could possibly understand what you endure day in, day out, year in, year out, take comfort, because I see you. I know what you do, because I do it too.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Webster and Mariellen Yatzus outside the Wooster Street Social Club in Manhattan.
Blog Posts: For Autism Moms and Dads to Share their Thoughts about Living Life on the Spectrum
The day at Wooster Street ends with smiles.
