Posts Tagged ‘nonverbal 4 year old’
Having the Only Autistic Kid at the Party
I want to tell you something I’ve learned. If you read my blog regularly you know that I talk mostly about my experiences raising an autistic child and how they make ME feel. I feel like I rarely ever give advice because I spend 95% of the time in survival mode. And autism is the biggest mystery in the world to me. But I try to help when I can. So I am pretty excited to say that I had an epiphany this weekend. I guess you could call it self growth.…
Read MoreI Saw the Autism in My Son
Most days I don’t think about Autism. Not the word or the disorder or anything to do with it. Cooper is just Cooper and he is who he is. And that’s that. Dare I say I was getting cocky. I may even say I let my guard down. Since we did the move and put Coops in intensive therapy there are parts of him that seem almost healed. Or normal. Or whatever PC word I’m allowed to say. Zero meltdowns, good transitions, improved skills, etc. Still no words but great…
Read MoreMore Changes for Cooper
I was chatting with a friend today and she said to me….“I have never met a more resilient family. It’s like change doesn’t scare you.” I just smiled and nodded. It must appear that way to the outside world. Oddly enough I usually feel like I am standing in a room screaming and people are rushing by me. But, apparently from the outside, I appear to have my shit together. Score one for me and bring on more changes. Cooper is starting an autism preschool at the local elementary school on…
Read MoreI Would Always Choose Cooper
Coopers birthday is on Saturday. He will be 4. I’ve been thinking about it nonstop. Even sneaking little peeks at Cooper. Watching closer than usual. Wondering how we got here and marveling in how far we’ve come. And thinking how far we have to go. And most importantly melting at just how wonderful this kid is and secretly wondering if maybe his way of thinking isn’t all that off. For example I am trying to teach Cooper to sign ‘thank you’. The sign is touching your hand to your chin and would be pretty…
Read MoreA Conversation with Myself
A couple nights ago Cooper was being a real bear as I was putting him to bed. I read him a story, tucked him in, put up the gate at the door to his room, grabbed the baby monitor, and went downstairs to continue my never-ending packing journey. We were moving in a few days. A new city. New services for Cooper. As I suspected Coops did not want to go to sleep and screamed/yelled at the gate. Normally, I don’t let it bother me. Sleep is not something he…
Read MoreSo What's The End Game Here….
I think about that a lot. How is this blog going to end? When I first realized Cooper was delayed I became obsessed with finding another kiddo like him. And to take it one step father onto the crazy train that I was riding…I wanted that kid to be healed. Or fixed. Or however you want to put it. I needed to find a kid that was nonverbal at 3 who ended up talking and leading a normal life. Now, don’t freak out on me here…but I have yet to find that…
Read MoreA Humbling Experience
Last Friday Jamie and I visited Cooper’s new school. During the first portion we met as usual, in a tiny room, with Cooper’s psychologist and the Intake Coordinator. It went well. We talked about goals and expectations. Every kiddo that starts at Fraser begins with the same goals. They range from eye contact to stopping and when asked and playing with toys. My two concerns with Cooper starting school are: I need to know that they are going to challenge him. When Cooper is even the tiniest bit challenged he…
Read MoreTricking Dr. Google
I was chatting with a wonderful mom over at My Yellow Brick Road the other day about our autistic boys. Facebook messaging with her is so amazing for me. I can be honest and open and I don’t need to preface every sentence with, “I swear I’m not a bad mom” or “Don’t judge me.” It’s refreshing. And she gets it. I tend to be obsessive about Cooper. It’s kind of my thing. Pre diagnosis I would research everything. I googled things like, “nonverbal at age 3, nonverbal at age 4, my…
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