“I Was Born to Be a Mom”: Raising Triplets With Autism

Eti Cohen never expected her audition for a popular cooking show to create such a powerful response. A mother of triplet boys with low functioning autism, Cohen shared a glimpse into the reality of raising three children on the autism spectrum. Afterward, hundreds of mothers reached out to tell her that she had given a voice to families who often feel unseen.

In an interview with the Israeli magazine LaIsha, Cohen explained that she went on the show wanting to speak out as a mother raising three children with autism. “I received hundreds of messages from women who wrote to me, ‘Thank you for shouting for us; our children are invisible,’” she said.

Raising Triplets With Autism

Cohen, who owns a custom cake business, has faced an extraordinarily difficult decade. Her three sons, now 11, were born as triplets and were later diagnosed with autism and intellectual disabilities, with very low functioning. When the boys were four, Cohen’s mother died of cardiac arrest in her 50s. Cohen later divorced and lost her younger sister to cancer. Her father was among those harmed by the ringworm treatments administered in Israel during the 1950s, and Cohen has been caring for him for several years.

Despite everything she has endured, Cohen continues to focus on the positive.

She married young, and when she struggled to become pregnant, she decided, as a traditional woman of faith, to ask for a blessing. A month later, she discovered she was pregnant.

When she learned that she was expecting triplets, she was not frightened. Quite the opposite. “I was born to be a mom; I was always a little mother to my siblings,” Cohen recalled.

Still, a triplet pregnancy carries increased risks. Unsure of what to do, Cohen consulted her uncle, a rabbi. He encouraged her to continue the pregnancy and reassured her that everything would be fine. “He said, ‘At worst, they’ll be in little boxes for a while,’” she recalled, explaining that he did not know the word for an incubator. “I went back to the doctor and told him we were continuing.”

The pregnancy progressed normally until the 31st week, when one of the babies experienced a drop in heart rate. Cohen was hospitalized for a week to allow time for the babies’ lungs to mature before undergoing a C section.

“They were born healthy and whole; they didn’t even need help breathing,” she said. Doctors explained that because the boys had been born prematurely, they would likely experience developmental delays, but Cohen understood that they were expected to catch up. “I wasn’t worried at all. I was euphoric.”

The Diagnosis That Changed Everything

The triplets remained at home with their mother until they were one year and eight months old. Cohen did not suspect that anything was seriously wrong, even though only one of the boys had begun walking.

It was only after they entered daycare that she realized their development was different from that of the other children.

“I knew there was some delay because they had been born prematurely, but they told me the gap would close, and it seemed normal to me,” Cohen explained.

The daycare director encouraged her to have the boys evaluated at a child development institute. There, Cohen received life changing news: all three of her sons were on the autism spectrum, had intellectual disabilities, and were considered very low functioning.

Today, the boys are in fifth grade at a special education school, where Cohen says they are making significant progress.

“I’m Only Asking to Hear the Word Mom”

Because of their developmental challenges, Cohen’s sons do not call her “Mom.” But there was one unforgettable exception.

“When they were about five, I flew to Uman to pray for them,” she recalled. Standing at the grave of the tzaddik, she made one simple request: “I’m not asking for much, only to hear the word Mom.”

When Cohen returned home and opened the door, one of her sons ran toward her.

He said one word: “Mom.”

“I felt that my prayers had been answered,” Cohen said.

It never happened again.