#ImThankfulForYou
I’m Thankful For You: My Daughter’s Grandma
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Katie McGregory and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November, I want to honor my mom Julie. She’s my number one partner in this autism journey. Yes, I have a husband, but he works and is not as involved in the autism/therapy/insurance stuff on a daily basis. My mom is the first person I usually call about Addie’s accomplishments, about ABA, speech, etc. She’s been to many important appointments and evaluations with me. She’s read books and educated herself…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: Jackson And His Jedis
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Melissa Stone and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) When I think about who I am thankful for this November, I hardly know where to begin. I cannot restrict all of my thanks to one specific person. Rather, I am thankful for “Jackson’s Jedis” (our “village” which is comprised of many individuals who support us where we reside in California). Together, we love and advocate for awareness and acceptance. The first and foremost member of this village is Jackson, our…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Daughter, My Son’s Best Friend
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Amy Vipond and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November, I am so thankful for my daughter Olivia, who is 4 1/2 who is literally my son, Jace’s, best friend. She doesn’t see him as different, she only sees him as her brother, or ”baby” as she still calls him! When Olivia was younger, she had a speech delay. She could only say a handful of words, but everything else was right on track for her development. So we…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Son’s Middle School Teacher
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Sydney and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) My name is Sydney Sorkin, and I live in Leawood, Kansas. My 14 year old son, Noah, was diagnosed with autism at age two and with ADHD at age seven. Noah’s autism-related issues were more severe when he was younger, but over time, thanks to a combination of therapies, medication, behavior modeling, and a very supportive village, Noah has progressed a great deal, and I’d like to offer up one of the…
Read MoreA Teacher’s Message to Children and Their families
This is difficult to write for many reasons. Most of all because there are simply too many people that I have have encountered over the past 12 years in my work as an early childhood special education teacher, ABA therapist, and early intervention specialist. Too many amazing children, moms, dads, grandparents, foster parents, siblings, daycare teachers, caregivers, fellow educators and therapists, to thank. Throughout my career, I have focused on working with kids on the autism spectrum, from birth – five years of age. Because of privacy concerns, I cannot…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Husband
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Penny Mack and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) The November I want to thank my husband Joe, my village in the isolating world of autism. This spring we found out our son Henry has severe nonverbal autism. Before the diagnosis we had signs of autism. For one we could not go anywhere without a severe meltdown. Our son loves trains and we learned the hard way that he does not like train rides. We sat on the Christmas train…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Mom, My Son’s Best Friend
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Amanda Lo Re and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I want to thank and honor my mom. There are some people who are truly angels on earth and my mom, Cindy is one of them. She is one of the most giving and selfless individuals I have ever met. She is our constant. Our rock. My sanity. And my son’s best friend. I guess our journey really began eight years ago. My mom became a caregiver to my…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Children’s SLP
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Tara Surowiec and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I would like to thank Christine, my children’s Speech Therapist. She first started working with my son Greyson when he was just two years old. Currently, he is five years old, on the spectrum and nonverbal. A little bit about us…My husband Paul, myself (Tara), my daughter Alexa (8) and my son Greyson (5) make up our family. We just celebrated our 17th anniversary! My husband Paul is an RN…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: The Founder of CASANA
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Laura Kay Smith and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I would like to thank Sharon Gretz, the founder of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association. When my child was diagnosed with apraxia, a rare and severe speech disorder in children, even as a speech/language pathologist, I felt lost. I met Sharon at an apraxia conference and it changed my life. Her love, caring, and guidance was instrumental in not only getting the help and proper help my daughter…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Son’s Teacher
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Jenn Wilson and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I would like to thank my son’s teacher, Ms. Bastedo. My son, Jaret, is currently 10 years old and in the fifth grade. He has Autism, ADHD, anxiety and Apraxia. He is in a special education class primarily geared towards kids on the autism spectrum. His class consists of children in fourth through sixth grade. When I saw your video today, I knew I had to email you because…
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