Episode #64: Molly O’Malley Pitman
Molly O’Malley Pitman is the owner of Sweet Charlotte’s, a children’s activity center and preschool for children of all abilities. She was a realtor for almost 10 years prior to becoming a parent to son Donovan and daughter Charlotte. Donovan has autism and was nonverbal until the age of almost six. Sweet Charlotte’s supports organizations helping those with autism and other special needs. Also inspired by her children’s relationship, Molly authored a book entitled Love without Words, sharing the message that love is an action and not just a word.
Molly O’Malley Pitman’s son, Donovan, was diagnosed with autism before he was two years old. For Molly and her husband, the diagnosis was devastating, but it also gave her something to fight for. This diagnosis was different from the condition she was already very familiar with: Huntington’s disease. Molly has eleven family members who have passed away from Huntington’s disease, a neurological genetic disorder that has no cure. On today’s episode, Molly and I talk about how this immense loss has influenced her life’s purpose, and how she aims to honor her family members who did not get to live full lives. We talk about how Donovan’s life is impacted by his diagnosis (as well as his amazing ability to be a human GPS), why the inclusive children’s activity center/preschool she founded is named after her daughter, and how love is the undercurrent that runs through her life.
“I feel like autism was a gift in that it gave me a focus. It allowed for me to fight for something.”
Here are some of the things Molly and I chatted about:
As a fixer and problem-solver, wrapping her mind around the reality of Donovan’s diagnosis
Her out-of-body feeling at Donovan’s second birthday, when she was in the midst of grieving
The importance of understanding that autism is a spectrum disorder and differs case by case
How Donovan interacts with the world, and his astounding recall ability and memory
The academic challenges Donovan faces, and the anxiety that higher-level courses bring
Donovan’s desire to be like everyone else, and his sense of awareness that he is different
The ways that she has created trust and communication with Donovan’s team at school
What Huntington’s disease is, and how it has deeply impacted her family and her life
Her choice to take the pain of losing so many family members and turn it into empowerment
Being asked whether she was going to have children, and why she resented that question
The role her daughter, Charlotte, plays in Donovan’s life, and how Molly balances their needs
How she and her husband decided to give back to the community that had supported Donovan
The reason behind Sweet Charlotte’s, and why it’s important that it’s named after her daughter
Writing the book Love Without Words, and how her children’s relationship inspired it
Her hope for greater understanding about people with autism, and their need to feel connected
Her responsibility when it comes to honoring, through action and love, the family she has lost
Celebrating twenty years with her husband, and how she is learning to take time for herself
“I can’t stop now. I have a choice every morning to lay in bed and to feel sorry for myself, or to get up and do something. And I have to get up and do something.”
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