You will Never Understand

To the mom in the grocery store, who stares while my child is screaming, and your child is calmly walking alongside of you…you will never understand.

What you don’t see, is that he has sensory processing issues, and he is overstimulated.

To the doctor, that says “He will be fine, it’s just a speech delay.”

You will never understand.

I knew at my child’s one year checkup that something was different. But, you shrugged it off. 

To the acquaintance that says “Oh, so he is high functioning…he will probably grow out of it.”

Ohhhhh, how you don’t understand.

What you don’t understand, is that autism is life long. Just because he is higher functioning, doesn’t mean it will just disappear. 

Nobody really understands, unless they are living it. This Autism life is hard.

It’s hard on us parents, but even harder on the kids living with it. 

You live in the now, and roll with the punches!

Sometimes, they are super hard punches. But, just like every other parent… you get up, and keep fighting. 

I’m not quite sure where my life would be today, without Autism.

It would probably be filled with happy squeals, games and books, play dates, smiles, and lots of laughs.

Sounds a lot like our life now! Perfectly imperfect. 

Although, this isn’t the life I imagined for my little boy…I couldn’t ask for him to be any other way. I wouldn’t change one thing about him. 

He doesn’t know that he is any different. He doesn’t know that everyone else isn’t like him. But, one thing that he does know…is that he is loved.

He is so special, and I will spend the rest of my life making sure that he never forgets that. 

To all of you not living a life revolved around Autism…

You will never understand. And that’s okay.

But, you sure are missing out. 

Written by, Sarah Bybee

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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.