Autism. That word describes so many people. So many…different people. Have you heard the saying, “If you have met one person with autism, you have met that one person with autism?” How true is that? If you live on this roller coaster ride, that is autism, you know this to be true. You can’t talk to someone else about their journey, and expect yours to go the exact same way. You just take YOUR journey, one day at a time. I had to learn this, the hard way. “When did…
Play doesn’t come easily for some children. My son Cooper is a perfect example. He is seven years old, on the spectrum and has never played with a toy typically. Playing is so important for brain development, socialization, imagination, etc. I remember filling out evaluation after evaluation before my son was diagnosed and always checking ‘never’ to ‘does he play?’ It was scary and not something we could not fake. Even after years of encouraging and practicing play, we can walk through the toy aisle at Target and he will…
“Did you pack the toothbrushes?” When we met each other’s eyes we realized neither of us had. This sentence means something different for our in family. Our toothbrushes were in fact tucked away neatly into a side pocket of my bag. But we have a separate grouping of toothbrushes. A special one, just for our son Cormac. It started small. When Cormac was first diagnosed at 18 months he exhibited many sensory seeking behaviors and had not yet delved in the graces of therapy or Early Intervention. He was chewing…
When my peanut was diagnosed with autism I was so scared. Hell, at times I still am. But most of the time, this is what nonverbal, severe autism looks like for us. Funny, silly, adorable, snuggly, loud and oh, so cute. This is my Cooper. He’s pretty much the best thing ever. And this mama knows to not take one second for granted. We’ve worked for this. Every sound. Every touch. Every look. Sitting. Communicating. Loving. Hoping. Don’t give up my friends. Keep going. If your child is newly diagnosed,…
Good morning! We are having a much needed snow day in Minnesota. It’s nice to slow down once in a while. I haven’t had a relaxing morning with Cooper in months. It has been pretty busy around here lately. We are the early risers while Sawyer and dad sleep. We sit together. I watch the news and drink coffee. Cooper gathers his favorite things and a blanket. This mornings favorites include a picture of Dad, a coaster, Thomas DVD case, Thomas picture, a yellow magnetic block (so good for visually…
Being an autism parent is extremely isolating. I can say that I don’t have a tribe. I don’t have a group of mom friends to hang out with, who will be there when I need to vent or to even vent about their struggles. I don’t like to just wallow in our struggles. It is what it is, but it’s nice to hear what’s going on in other people’s lives, happy or sad. I want to give advice and listen to someone and celebrate their victories. I have a couple…
Yesterday was Sawyer’s fifth birthday. I know I don’t show all that much about Sawyer on this blog. I try to focus my posts around autism and everything that goes into having a child on the spectrum. I do that because I know that some day Sawyer will read this website. He already talks about Finding Cooper’s Voice with me. I want him to be able to tell his story if and when he is ready. Some day, I hope he spreads autism awareness like me. Anyhow, I wanted to…
I have a Super Cooper update. He’s been ‘off’ for a few days. Protesting school, quick to meltdown, not communicating. When this happens with my nonverbal child I know something is probably wrong. As Cooper’s mom, I’ve learned that when behaviors change in a child on the spectrum, finding the reasons why can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. They can’t verbally tell you something hurts or feels weird. Nor can they always process it. In my son’s case, he shows us pain with increased or…
Dear Emma, my beautiful daughter. You just turned three and a half and I still wait to hear a word…any word… from your sweet little mouth. You will be four soon and I can’t help but think back to that day. The day I was told you were autistic and ‘that you might never learn to speak.’ I have heard that sentence so many times now you’d think I would be able to just brush it off. Be over it. But every time I hear it, it flaws me. I…
We have one hard and fast rule in our home. Check Cooper’s treasures before he leaves the house because he has a habit of trying to bring ‘semi’ inappropriate pictures of his mother to school. Lucky me. Well, apparently, Daddy hasn’t been following the rule with the same intensity as me because the photos that Cooper has been bringing to school this week are OUT OF CONTROL. And they are all of me. The staff at his school has now seen photos of me at my graduation party, dressed as…
