Learning to Acknowledge his Brothers
A glimpse inside our world…Most kids learn by observing others. They watch and learn. Or it’s instinctual.
Kids just ‘pick’ up skills. We don’t have to teach them everything. We don’t have to think about every single possible skill that we do as humans and figure out a way to teach them.
In our autism world, every single skill has to be taught.
We’ve even had to teach Cooper how to learn. How to try. How to play. How to sit. How to care. Skills that are easy for most are exhausting for him. It takes repetition, creativity and patience.
Nothing is easy. Or met without resistance.
For example, we had to teach Cooper how to jump. How to pop bubbles. Stack blocks. How to sit in a chair. How to eat food. Drink from a cup. Give a high five. Blow a kiss. Eat a sucker. Take a bite of a cookie.
For one month we worked on handing mom and dad simple items. Like a balloon. He quite literally had to pick up a balloon and hand it to us. It took hours and hours of practice. It was met with resistance and screaming. It felt impossible.
We are teaching Cooper how to sit next to his baby brother. We practice touching the baby. Acknowledging the baby.
It’s been five weeks. We have built up to sitting next to the baby. We practice. We bribe. We reward. We praise. We celebrate.
Today, we got 15 seconds. And this photo. His face is priceless.
We work for everything. Nothing is easy. And this is why the reward is so much greater.
There is an exhaustion that’s hard to describe in our world. Knowing that everything will be met with resistance…no matter how easy…wears on a parent.
It takes unbelievable strength to keep teaching and not give up.
My three boys. Cuteness overload.
Finding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Because you’re never alone in the struggles you face. And once you find your people, your allies, your village….all the challenges and struggles will seem just a little bit easier. Welcome to our journey. You can also follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter.
