Posts Tagged ‘accepting special needs’
The Story Behind the Photos
Six months or so ago my dear friend Alicia put something into motion.. She saw a Facebook post by a photographer asking for people to nominate extraordinary special needs families. This amazing photographer, Kacie K Photography, understood firsthand how challenging and upsetting something like having your pictures taken can be for an autistic child. And for their parents and siblings. Unbeknownst to me, Alicia nominated our family. Here is her letter to Kacie K Photography: Kacie, First of all thank you for providing the opportunity for a family to have a photo shoot…
Read MoreMy Greatest Pity Party
Is Cooper my greatest pity party? Such an interesting question. It was said to me the other day. In anger of course, but there was something behind it. It had some legs on it. And it truly got me thinking. Is Cooper my greatest pity party? Hhhmmm. I am very open that I am heartbroken over Cooper’s autism. It’s gotten better after almost 5 years but, nevertheless, the heartbreak is still there. I am also a tad bit bitter over how my life is different. Which is the part that a…
Read MoreFinally, An Improvement. Thank You Sweet Jesus.
If you talk to parent’s of autistic kids they will often say that their kid goes through periods with no improvement. And often you can mix in a little regression. For example, when Cooper was two years old he forgot how to drink out of a straw. Or sleep is a big one. Cooper didn’t sleep through the night until he was 2. And then slept through the night from age 2 to 3 and then suddenly stopped again. There is no rhyme or reason. Look at your child right…
Read MorePotty Training Desperation
I’ve reached my limit with potty training Cooper. I’ve exhausted all options that I know of. I need help. I am waving the white flag. Or crying in front of the toilet after being kicked in the shins. Either one. There are good things happening. The kid does not want to wear a diaper…especially a wet one. He takes it off if we put one on him. And here’s the kicker. He stays dry. He has excellent bladder control. And when he has to pee he will bring us a…
Read MoreFor An Autistic Kiddo…
I often question how much I should push Cooper. And motivate him. And I really ask myself how much I should expect from him. If I completely lower my standards than I feel that I have given up on him. And his future. But I also can’t expect him to behave like a typical kid. Those skills are not there. I had Cooper’s yearly evaluation at Fraser last week. It went pretty well. He has really, really improved in the last year. I heard a lot of comments on how…
Read MoreSuper Cooper
Do you know that I was actually stressed about posting that video of Cooper making sounds online. I’ve been doing this for 3 years. I’ve been waiting for the words for so long. And I start to feel like my hope is like a broken record. Even today, I regretted it. I know the comments I will hear from people now. Don’t be sad…he’s making sounds. He’s close to talking. Someday he will talk. It will happen soon. It’s almost like these videos are ammunition of hope. But what the mom inside me…
Read MoreWe've Been Hiding Out
So where have we been?!?! Soaking up summer the good old fashioned way! Cooper is done with preschool for the summer and is only attending Fraser. Which is still five days a week. He is also getting speech 1x per week and OT 1x per week. He handled the transition like a boss. As rigid as he can be that kid can go with the flow on so many other things. We found out that Cooper knows all of his letters and numbers up to 10. He also knows his…
Read MoreThe Truth about Special Needs Parenting
There are no medals given out to special needs moms. It’s not like you do all this and at the end you get an award. There are very few breaks. Very few kudos. And in my world even fewer thank you’s. For some moms there are no hugs. Or kisses. But you do it. You keep fighting. It’s a mixture of hope and desperation. And not a day goes by when you don’t wonder…‘Am I doing the right things for my child?’ And here is the truth. I didn’t get a…
Read MoreAn Honest Look at Playing with Cooper
I took this video of Cooper last night. We were ‘playing’ trains. I have so many memories of setting up this train track with Cooper and thanking God that he played with something. And telling therapists that he was fine because he played with toys. I was lying to myself. Lying to them. I set the train track up. I put all the trains together. If one thing is off he will destroy the track and throw every single piece. There is no putting things in the trains. No stopping…
Read More"Where's Cooper?"
I’m sobbing right now. I can’t even summarize how this video makes me feel. I’m not there in the journey yet. Every morning Sawyer wakes up and says, ‘Where’s Cooper?” He genuinely cares and wants to see his brother. And my heart hurts every single time because I don’t believe Cooper knows he has a brother. Cooper wouldn’t notice if Sawyer was gone. He wouldn’t question it even in a nonverbal way. I was gone for 5 days last week and got home late on Friday night. When Cooper woke up…
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