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.”
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.
