Posts Tagged ‘advocate like a mother’
Living With Self-Injurious Behaviors
One thing I’ve learned as the mother to an autistic child, is that when your child has self-injurious behaviors, you’ll never be able to describe the feeling accurately. I’ve also learned that if a person doesn’t know what you’re going through, you’ll never be heard accurately. Any time that I have thought I might open up and share the fear, frustration, sorrow and deep gut wrenching pain, I’ve learned that unless a person has lived it as a parent or caregiver, they can never understand. Sometimes you get even worse,…
Read MoreA Foot in Two Very Different Worlds
Last week, my five-year-old son Sawyer spent four days with his grandparents and his cousin. They fished, swam, biked and lived the cabin life. I was so excited for him to go and have fun. One of my worries and honestly, very real realities, is that he misses out on things. Having a sibling with special needs can do that. There is no sugar coating it. As parents to our children, we kill ourselves, and stretch ourselves way too thin, to make sure our children are getting what they need.…
Read MoreCall for Guest Posts: Siblings
Are you interested in writing for Finding Cooper’s Voice? I am always looking for guest posts that fit within the mission of my site. Posts should be autism related, honest and come from a place of love and support. August Suggested Blog Topic: Siblings Let’s talk about siblings! I am 30 weeks pregnant and siblings are on top of mind. Tell me how great your kids are. Or about your decision to have more children after your child was diagnosed. Or your decision not too. Tell me how your kids…
Read MoreAlways Be You Little Man
My Little Wild One, Some days aren’t easy, and some days the unknown future can get me down, but I want you to know something. It’s never you. It’s never your fault. You are perfect the way you are. You might always be the oddball, the odd one out. You may be called names. You might get left out, and overlooked, ignored and maybe picked on, but I want you to know something. It’s never you. The sad thing is people are too busy. The world moves too fast. People…
Read MoreI’m Not So Scared Anymore
My dear little one, The last few days with you have been utter bliss. Maybe I am being overly dramatic, but at least that’s how it feels after some pretty tough weeks. Although we do have one behavior getting a tad worse…My heart breaks every time you forcefully bring your beautiful little face to the ground in frustration but I don’t want to talk about that right now. Because there are way too many little big wins we are having. Like the time I pointed to your cup across the…
Read MoreAutism and Other People
One of the hardest things about raising a child who is different is other people. When we’re at the grocery store and my child has an iPhone in her hand, it’s not because I’m lazy. Lazy would be the last word anyone would use to describe my parenting. My child has an iPhone because it comforts her and it keeps her from wriggling out of the shopping cart, screaming at the top of her lungs, running away from me, or melting into a puddle. When we’re at the playground and…
Read MoreThe Day I Will Never Forget
It was a beautiful Wednesday June 7, 2017 day. Extremely sunny and warm. Our son Kash was in a great mood. My husband and I were not. We were on edge that day. We were headed to get Kash’s evaluation to see if he was on the autism spectrum. Adam was trying his best to cheer me up, but in the end I couldn’t cheer up. No parent ever wants to go through wondering if your child could be on the spectrum. We arrived and got him all checked in.…
Read MoreWhat Would Cooper Want?
We met with Cooper’s social worker yesterday for another 6-month evaluation. If you follow our journey, you are probably noticing the uptick in medical appointments and evaluations. It seems to always work like that in our world. It is all or nothing. We will have a few quiet months and then boom. It feels like every day there is something. Evaluations are inevitable when you have a child with needs. We meet every three months for one area, every six months for another and bigger, more meaningful evaluations are yearly.…
Read MoreWhen Time Seems to Stand Still
I went for a walk tonight with my dogs. Like I try to do every night. It’s my sanity after long days. As I was walking I took note of four house being built down the road from mine. So much change. I let myself think about the house we moved into just a month ago and how I plan to live here the rest of my life. No joke. I’ve told Jamie he will have to carry my dead body out of here. I let myself think about our…
Read MoreWe Have A Little Secret…
We have been keeping a little secret! I am 21 weeks pregnant and couldn’t be more excited. Baby S is due in October! I know you will all have a million questions and I will gladly answer them for you. I am guessing this list will cover a few of them. Yes, we were planning this. Yes, we are excited. Yes, we are very nervous and scared but Jamie and I also refuse to spend our days worrying. Yes, Cooper’s autism impacts every decision we make. Yes, Cooper’s number one…
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