Give Your Child A Voice

This morning I had a conversation with my nonverbal son. A real one without words.

To all of the mamas and dads out there with children who do not speak verbally, hang on. Never give up hope.

Keep working towards functional communication.

I sat on the couch drinking my coffee. He sat next to me immersed in his trains.

I asked him if something happened at school yesterday.

He grunted ‘yea.’

I asked him if there was a little boy who frustrates him.

He grunted ‘yea.’

Now this isn’t the super exciting part. See, we’ve had yes and no questions for a while.

We started with ‘point to a hand for yes and the other hand for no’.

We worked on sign language for yes and no.

We focused on yes and no on his speech device.

But this morning, I decided to ask more.

‘Why does this boy frustrate you buddy?’

He looked up at me, from his Kindle, pointed to his foot and said ‘ow.’

‘Did he hurt your foot?’

A grunt for yes again.

Then he grabbed my hand, pulled it to his face for comfort, and mimicked crying. ‘Ow’ he said again.

This is communication. Beautiful communication.

Two minutes later his brother Sawyer came downstairs. Cooper gasped, waved, and said ‘SSS-AAA-EEE-R’ and patted his chest.

Sawyer knew this meant to hug him.

Immediately after, Cooper realized Sawyer left the gate to the stairs open and knew that was dangerous for his baby brother.

He pointed, giggled, and ran over to close it. Then immediately gave all of his high fives, obviously so proud of himself.

This is communication friends.

I’m a big enough person to admit that this is not the communication I prayed for. In fact, 6 years ago, I may have cried if I was told this it. But learn from me.

There is nothing better on this earth than my son’s communication today. I am so proud of him.

Give them a voice. It’s that simple. Never stop looking for it.

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.