Car Safety and Autism

Sharing our families huge wins is one of my favorite things to do on this page. Because I know how hard we worked for them. And how so many other families are working towards them too.

Before we had the baby, Jamie and I agonized about Cooper’s lack of car safety.

He would throw, kick, flail, even rock in his car seat so ferociously that the whole car would rock.

We did everything we could to work on his tolerance.

We did social stories. We rewarded. We split the boys up in different rows. We drove separately. I sat in the back with them. You name it. We tried it.

Nothing seemed to work.

If we turned the wrong way, stopped at a stoplight, or even pulled into a drive thru, Cooper would meltdown. It wasn’t rare to have things bounce off of our windshield.

We were so unbelievably scared about the baby arriving. We pretty much accepted that Cooper could never ride in the car with him.

Which added a layer of stress that we struggled with.

And then he arrived. And we had huge wins in therapy and with medication. Cooper’s anxiety lessened. He relaxed. He changed. Almost overnight.

We haven’t had a car safety issue in 5 months. The same amount of time the baby has been here.

Now that’s a pretty big win in my book.

Don’t give up friends. Trust the process. The therapy. Keep trying. You’ll get there.

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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, subscribe for exclusive videos, and subscribe to our newsletter