‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman reveals son Aidan is ‘severely autistic’ and requires ‘total care’

Riley Cardoza

Sharing their story. “Octomom” Nadya Suleman opened up about her son Aidan’s special needs in a Monday, August 20, Instagram video.

“This is my adolescent infant Aidan,” the California native, 44, captioned the social media footage. “He is 14 years old, going on one in his head. Aidan is severely autistic and [needs] total care. He requires complete assistance in meeting all needs in activities of daily living. Aidan is non-verbal, requires feeding, changing (he is not potty trained), bathing, and one-to-one supervision, as he has no safety awareness and would walk aimlessly into traffic. I, his mother, am, and always have been, his ONLY care provider. This ‘job’ is my life (other than caring for 13 other children singlehandedly). My children are my LIFE.”

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The following post is not about me, but rather, to set strong boundaries with self righteous bullies, who have been harassing me and my family in our neighborhood. Past attempts to stand up for my family were apparently to no avail. Slashing my vans tires (within months of moving in), breaking my back headlights (an open police investigation ensues), pouring coffee all over my vehicle, leaving unwanted discriminatory notes on my van and property (still ongoing), and relentlessly filming my children, who do NOT want nor ask to be filmed, is unacceptable. This is my baby Aidan. He is 14 years old, severely autistic and requires total care. Aidan relies on me, his mom, to completely assist him in meeting all his needs in activities of daily living. Aidan is non-verbal, requires feeding, changing (he is not potty trained), bathing, and one to one supervision, as he has no safety awareness and would walk aimlessly into traffic. I, his mother, am, and always have been, his only care provider (I only trust my kids to help out, and on rare occasions a sitter I’ve known over a decade). This “job” is my life (other than caring for 13 other children singlehandedly). My children are my LIFE. Aidan has been off two months for summer and attends a special needs school during the year. I love him with all my heart, and will care for him until I die. I drive Aidan and ALL my children in the same van you hateful, volatile humans vandalize and leave threatening letters on. Aidan is with my other children when you selfishly choose to film them with your iPhone or even have the audacity to fly a done above them with a camera pointed directly onto them. I chose to share about Aidan, who is both a blessing and challenge in my life, to provide a contextualization for you oblivious and condemnatory critics, who erroneously believe I am compartmentalized from my children. You violate me, you violate them. Enough is enough. #UsAgainstTheWorld #LeaveMyFamilyAlone #StopTheHate

A post shared by Solomon Family (@nataliesuleman) on Aug 20, 2019 at 11:40am PDT

She added, “Why did I choose to share this aspect of my life on the same day as my other kids’ first day of school, as opposed to posting an adorable picture? For a couple reasons. First, to describe the details of my REAL life, not a ‘perfect’ depiction of what I want people to perceive my life to be. Second, to provide a contextualization for both my supportive followers, and the condemnatory critics, as to what truly matters in my life: my family.”

In the Instagram upload, Aidan sat outside while his mom called him her “baby” and her “angel” from behind the camera.

In 2009, Suleman made headlines when she gave birth to octuplets, six boys and two girls conceived via in vitro fertilization. She already had six other children.

Suleman opened up to The New York Times in December 2018 about raising her 14 vegan children in a three-bedroom townhouse in California. Her brood helps out with the cooking, eats in shifts and some sleep on the couch.

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