Immediately after Cooper got on the bus this morning I sent this email to his teacher. Good morning! Cooper wanted me to tell you it’s his grandmas birthday today and we are celebrating tomorrow after the train museum. He’s very excited. He also has crazy socks on!’ I sent it because he is so excited for his grandma’s birthday he can hardly stand it. Add in our trip to the train museum tomorrow and crazy sock day and today is the best day ever for him. He gasped and danced…
Yesterday I visited my dad at his nursing home. He had a stroke in April and while his mind and humor are spot on, his arm and leg don’t want to cooperate much anymore. So, he’s officially in the system as he says. This is my fifth time seeing him since his stroke and I didn’t cry as much this time. Instead we laughed a lot. We joked about a lot of things and it felt good to replace the sadness with humor. It felt natural for us. And then…
The next time you are stuck at the grocery store, irritated with the man at the front of the growing line because he keeps chatting with the clerk, think of my boy. The man might be verbally ruminating about new soda flavors he saw on tv or explaining his frustration that the store is out of the only bread he eats. How it is very important because he eats this bread for every meal in his day. He may also bring up the triangle-shaped crackers he saw on aisle seven.…
I think one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over my 10 years of motherhood is that every child is different. There is no norm really. Or perfect mold. Each one is uniquely made. What makes one tick does not necessarily work for the other. And your children can be like you or entirely different. Or have bits and pieces of you. Maybe even your most challenging traits. So it almost feels like you are parenting a mini version of your naughty self. That’s fun. My three boys range…
My middle son Sawyer is at the age where he asks a lot of questions. The questions are pure and innocent and often make me smile or giggle. Or cringe. He asks me a lot of questions about other children. He will tell me stories from school and ask me why a child was mean or why they acted a certain way. Or he will loudly ask why the cashier at Target is in a wheelchair or why the man in line next to us has purple hair. Or why…
I am so excited to share with you that Finding Cooper’s Voice is launching a brand new initiative to help caregivers! We are partnering with a counseling agency to bring counseling services to caregivers in need. And we are offering it FREE OF CHARGE for the caregiver. Finding Cooper’s Voice, along with donations and support, will pay for up to 3 counseling sessions per caregiver. We are also going to remove the barriers to getting counseling. So often, as parents, we struggle to help ourselves. It can all feel like…
I’ve been smacked across the face, shoved, had my hair pulled, laundered urine-soaked sheets and scrubbed floors covered in the breakfast that was back handed to the floor the minute it was placed on the table … and it is only 6:30 am. This is the direct result of autism, anxiety and a complete lack of bodily control, which is exponentially worsened when a medication must be adjusted or changed. Watching either of my children suffer is probably my most helpless experience as a parent. Add to that a child…
For some people it’s the diagnosis that stings. That punch in the gut that takes the breath right out of you. For me it was the months that followed. My whole life…the word Autism never meant anything bad. It never really meant anything to me. I felt relieved that finally no one could place the blame on me for my son’s behaviors and actions. However, that diagnosis became way too real for me. For the first time ever at Jackson’s first therapy appointment, he would not look at his therapists.It…
My Bubba, You made me lucky enough to be a mom. I thought I had lost the only baby I’d ever have. You’re the only man in my life now buddy. You’re the kid who flips me the bird when you’re mad about something, and you’re the first one to apologize when the dust settles. You write me notes and push them under my bathroom door. You got up before me and made my Mother’s Day card and gave it to me. You referenced all of our little inside jokes…
My daughter Opal is three years old. She loves trampolines, playing in water, swinging, and watching a few of her favorite movies. We are HUGE Disney fans in our house, so we’re always watching Disney plus. Opal’s absolute favorite movies include Cinderella, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. (Monster’s Inc. AND Monster’s University!) Opal also has Autism and is currently non-verbal. She struggles with toys and pretend play. We have tried toy after toy, but she’s just not interested. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but as a…
