My Plea, Please Don’t Criticize a Child in a Stroller

Here is my plea, from a mom. Please, pretty, please, don’t criticize a child, a teen, or an adult who is riding in a stroller. Even if they appear ‘normal.

A few weeks ago, our family was out for a walk. I was carrying the baby on my chest in a carrier, Sawyer was riding his bike, and Jamie was pushing Cooper in the stroller.

This was a pretty big deal for us.

Just a short time ago we were unable to go for walks. But we practiced.

We made social stories. We put walks on the calendar.

We came up with epic bribes of reams of paper. And eventually had success. But despite all that, our son gets tired.

So, when he decides to sit down in the middle of the street, and we can see that he has no more gas in his tank, he gets to ride in the stroller. We are working on endurance. Another goal.

On this particular walk, a stranger walked up, and very bluntly said, ‘something is wrong with this picture. I’m pretty sure that kid can walk.’

See, our son Cooper is almost 9. He’s a big kid. He looks like every other kid you see riding a bike or a scooter. Except he isn’t.

He has an invisible disability. And while his legs look able, walking can be really hard for him.

It’s not just motivation he lacks, it’s endurance, it’s regulation, it’s unsafe behavior, it’s a whole lot of things.

It’s seeing a moving car and running towards it to be funny. It’s sitting down in the middle of an intersection, a street, a sidewalk, a driveway, a stranger’s front yard.

It’s not being able to move him. It’s being trapped with an audience.

At this point in my mama bear journey I can be pretty quick tongued. I smiled and calmly said, ‘Well, if you’d like to walk with us and show me how to get my severely autistic son to walk, I’d greatly appreciate it. I’m all ears.’

He quickly backpedaled. Apologized and told me how his friend’s daughter is on the spectrum.

What this man didn’t know is that this walk is a huge deal for us. Every single one of them is. They signify growth in our journey.

Yesterday, I took all three of my boys for a walk alone. A pretty good distance too. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to get us outside.

Three different times Cooper sat down on me. I had to wait him out, bribe him, hug him, motivate him, you name it. But we made it. And we had a wonderful time.

Here is my plea, from a mom. Please, pretty, please, don’t criticize a child, a teen, or an adult who is riding in a stroller. Even if they appear ‘normal.’

Don’t say mean things to the parents. Don’t shame. Don’t embarrass. Just walk by as if nothing out of the norm is happening.

And if you want to do something, say hi. That goes a long way.

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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.