Ketanji Brown Jackson discloses daughter’s autism diagnosis in new book

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson opened up about her struggles into parenthood, particularly as the mother of an autistic child, in her new memoir.

The passage in “Lovely One,” marks the first time Jackson has publicly disclosed her eldest daughter’s diagnosis. 

“It has not been something that we disclosed publicly before,” Jackson said in an interview with NPR’s Juana Summers. “This is so much a part of who we are as a family and who I have become as a human being.”

Jackson’s memoir chronicles her family’s experience with segregation to her confirmation as the nation’s first Black woman to serve on the court, all in the span of one generation.  But the justice said she heavily considered her daughter’s diagnosis before accepting President Biden’s nomination in 2022 to the nation’s highest court. 

“This was something that we focused on when I decided to accept the president’s nomination, because I felt that if I were to go forward and be the nominee for the Supreme Court, this might be something that reporters would find out,” Jackson said. 

“If my daughter was uncomfortable with it, I might have chosen not to pursue this position,” she added. “But she encouraged me and that gave me the courage, I think, to disclose it, not only part of the confirmation process internally, but publicly now as a part of the book.”

She also spoke of both her faith and her family during her confirmation process. At her swearing in, Jackson was flanked by her husband and two daughters, Talia and Leila.

The justice noted that her family faced challenges throughout her older daughter’s upbringing, but she wanted to be transparent in her memoir. 

“I just wanted to be honest, in part because I wanted people to understand that as a working parent, you can manage even when you have challenging circumstances in terms of your family,” Jackson said.

“And my daughter said, ‘I’m not ashamed of it. I’m happy to have you tell the truth about our family,’” she added.