Raising Her Son With Autism Alone: Yuana’s Story

One in 150 children here in Singapore have autism, according to this Straits Time article.

This is a reality for Yuana who is a mother to her son with autism.

In the final instalment of our month-long celebration of International Women’s Day, let’s welcome Yuana, our seventh #WomanOfWaistlab, who will share about her experience caring for her son with autism.

Meet Yuana

Yuana is a waxing therapist who is a single parent caring for her 15-year-old son with autism. He was medically diagnosed when he was 5-years-old.

Yuana is the gorgeous lady in the middle! This was in November 2019 when she came over to our showroom

Believe it or not, she’s in her mid-forties! Yes, we were surprised too, especially when she walked through our doors during our Black Friday sale last year. She’s such a chirpy character and she looks absolutely fabulous! 💃

"Being Patient Is Not Easy"

Yuana and her son are no strangers to being judged by a society that doesn’t understand them.

Prone to losing his temper, her son used to throw tantrums, sometimes in public. He would shout or scream when upset. Sometimes, he’d talk to himself too.

More recently, he and his classmate got into a fight which left him with a few bloody cuts on his face.

As much as Yuana wants to protect her son, society’s judgment on him is swift and harsh.

“He gets called ‘crazy boy’ and people even call him mean names,” Yuana recounts sadly.

However, Yuana remains steadfast as a pillar of positivity and support for her son. While she admits that being patient is not easy for any parent, she always reminds herself to stay calm and analyse the situation to understand what her child needs if he gets upset.

“Autistic people are special in their own ways. They need so much more love from their loved ones because they are always afraid, unsure and worried of the outside world. They know that not everyone will accept them for who they are.”

A Mother’s Advice To Her Only Son

With the recent fight that her son got into, Yuana knew instantly she had to step in and teach him to be more patient.

The next time he gets angry, she advised him to reflect on himself by taking a good, long look in the mirror and ask himself if he likes that look of anger on his face. From then on, he’s been taking her advice and putting it into practice.

Yuana and her son during Raya 2019

Yuana is pleasantly surprised to find that this strategy works because her son’s teacher remarked that he is much more calm now.

Way to go, Yuana! 👏

Being Kind To Herself And Her Body

Yuana’s selfless devotion to her son is truly commendable. Not only does she teach him to be patient and kind to himself, she also takes this as a lesson to be kind to herself, especially when it comes to her health.

Yuana's health goal is to have a slimmer tummy and look good all the time.

This was prior to discovering waist training!

She shared her struggle of having a slimmer tummy with her godsister about a year ago. It was then that she recommended Waistlab’s waist trainers to Yuana.

This is her waist training routine:

She wears her waist trainer everyday from the time she sends her son to school (7 a.m.) till she finishes work and reaches home (9:30 p.m.)

As she embarked on her waist training journey, Yuana also took some measures to achieve her health goals, such as cutting down on her sugar intake and drinking more water everyday.

Yuana’s Waist Training Results

✅ She uses the Classic 9 and downsized from a size S to XS

✅ In approximately 3 to 5 months, her tummy was visibly toned and she received comments from her clients about her slimmer figure

✅ Even though she’s in her mid-forties, her clients comment that she looks 10 years younger

✅ Her clothes and jeans no longer feel uncomfortably tight

Yuana looking good in her dress while waist training!

We’re so proud of you, Yuana!

A Final Word From Yuana

Roald Dahl once said — “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

This is exactly what we feel about Yuana; her positive attitude, patience, and relentless sacrifices simply radiate from her effortlessly.

As a final word, she has this to say, especially to single mothers:

“I really want to motivate single moms out there not to give up on your children and on themselves. It is tough being a single parent but once you build your confidence, have faith and believe in yourself — life will get better.

Love from me to all the ladies out there and to the Waistlab Team for being so kind, loving and caring.”

Sending love back to you and your son, Yuana 💖

We hope you've enjoyed reading her story! Please check out the six other transformation stories of our #WomenOfWaistlab that we featured this month for International Women's Day below: