A mum was driven to share photos of her daughter with autism in "aggressive and violent" situations, after strangers questioned the authenticity of photos showing her daughter smiling and having fun.
The mum's Imgur photo gallery titled: This is what autism "looks like", showed seven-year-old Molly playing outdoors, meeting a clown and eating her favourite vegetables.
However, before long the post started to receive negative comments, with some people stating autism "isn't always cute" and doubting the authenticity of the post.
The mum originally shared the gallery above with the caption: "Just wanted to share with you a little about my wicked daughter, she is seven and has ASD [autism spectrum disorder] and ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder].
"She wants everyone to know about these pretty common conditions because then more people will understand her."
The post received many positive comments praising the mum for raising awareness of autism.
"As an autistic person I wish people had known about it when I was still a kid. Could have saved me so much suffering," wrote one commenter.
Another added: "I can't love this more. All I can do is upvote. I know several people with Autism, and acceptance is so, so vital."
But others questioned the authenticity of the post.
One commenter wrote: "Look, she's cute, but you say 'she has ASD, ADHD etc' like you just looked that shit up online. If she has issues, you have a diagnosis."
Another chipped in: "Not to be that person, but this is what 'higher functioning' autism looks like. I'm happy for you guys, honestly, because it could be worse."
In response to these comments Molly's mum then uploaded another set of photos of her daughter in situations where she was stressed.
"Is this what you want to see? It seems people doubt the authenticity of the disability if they only see it in a positive light, which was exactly my fucking point," she wrote.
"She can't cope walking to the shop, there might be people, too much noise, unexpected situations," the mum wrote.
"She doesn't sleep, she is aggressive and violent and suicidal, she has no danger awareness, runs in front of traffic and has to use a buggy to get home from school.
"She gets too stressed out even going to the park that she has seizures and panic attacks.
"She self-harms and she vocal tics, she can't play with other kids even though she desperately wants to as she just can't cope."
The mum explained she wanted to highlight the other side of autism, the one "where the kid is having a good day and coping".
"People tell her off for vocal ticking because she is conforming mostly and she doesn't 'look autistic' - that's the side of it that nobody has compassion for," she added.
"If she looks normal she should be able to fit in right? Is my kid not the socially acceptable type of disabled?"
Some parents commented on the second post thanking the mum for her honesty.
"As a parent in a similar (well, basically the same) position: Thank you for this post," one person wrote.