Posts Tagged ‘nonverbal autism’
Even Now, It’s Not Going Away
Last week, my son Noah slightly hit himself in the face, and his head out of frustration. And do you like how I say slightly? I have to down play it, because that has never happened before…and I can’t believe it nor can I stop thinking about it. Because my kid’s not supposed to do that. He’s supposed to be high functioning? Not that the label really matters. But I’m expecting the words to come, and the communication to start flowing, and even his interests to change. But what if…
Read MoreMy Son, You are Home to Me
I know you are home Cooper. Because you are always home. If you aren’t at school, you are here. You like being here. Home is your whole entire world. You don’t have play dates. You don’t have sports. There is no one picking you up to take you somewhere special. It doesn’t work like that in our world. Although I can name quite a few people that would literally drop everything to take you somewhere if you ever asked. You are comfortable here. You are safe here. There are no…
Read MoreMedical ID Bracelet Giveaway!
As a mom to a little boy with nonverbal autism, I worry about so many things. A big one is…will he be able to communicate when I am not around? Right now, today, the answer is no. Even with his communication device, Cooper still can’t respond to simple questions. What is you name? Are you lost? Do you need help? And say he did have his communication device with him. What if the battery died. What if it malfunctioned. We just can’t trust that right now. All of this scares…
Read MoreA T-Shirt Made Just For Me
A month or so ago a company named Sevenly reached out to me. Sevenly was founded in 2011 with the mission of leading a generation toward generosity. Based on a simple, core belief that ‘People Matter,’ the Sevenly team activated the now global ‘cause art’ movement and started creating 7-day cause campaigns, inviting customers to purchase “advocacy art, apparel and accessories” that donate to non-profits. Each campaign and every product would also create conversations. For April they wanted to do a campaign around autism awareness and acceptance. They found my…
Read MoreSuperman isn’t Autism…and Autism isn’t Superman
Superman is Superman. He is one of the happiest little boys that I have ever seen in my life. He is also my son. Before Autism, he was my son, after Autism, he is still my son. There is a never ending debate about curing and symptoms and gluten and all of the other crazy stuff that gets wrapped in with an autism diagnosis. Of course we have IEPs and we do whatever the hell we have to in order to make his life easier. But…that’s us, that’s me and…
Read MoreI Can’t Expect You to Understand Autism
I am always in situations where I am around people I don’t know. Or at least don’t know well. I work outside my home. I am a member of a few boards. Involved in clubs. I try to have a social life when I can. My five year old and I attend church. He is also getting more involved in events every day. Soccer, groups, play dates. When I am in many of these public situations my mind will wander to Cooper. It always does. I tend to observe a…
Read MoreI Can’t Turn Off The Worry
In my recent viral video, backlash came over several topics. One that surprised me the most was the anger over me describing how having an autistic child has affected my mental health. How the worry over his safety and his future has changed everything. I had no idea that would anger people. It’s a normal conversation topic whenever I get together with other moms who have children with special needs. We talk about the stress, anxiety, migraines, ulcers. We complain about how our sleep is affected. Our sanity. We joke…
Read MoreChronic Medical Struggles in Nonverbal Children (Video)
Hey all, here is the update on Cooper’s ear infections, Cat Scan, and most recent request for ‘help’ and a ‘doctor.’ So many of my wonderful followers have been asking for an update and it makes me so happy to know that people care about Cooper. I used to think if I could just get him communicating I’d be able to help him. I was wrong. Now that he communicates we still can’t help him. I’m chasing doctors, demanding tests, advocating, researching, going slightly crazy, all while my kid melts…
Read MoreA Super Cooper Update (Video)
Hi friends! Here is a good ole fashioned Super Cooper and Kate update. We haven’t done one in a while! Cooper is healthy, happy, sleeping and working on many different skills in ABA. He’s specifically working on pairing two sounds together! I want people to know that yes, I get caught up in the struggles that go hand-in-hand with parenting. And especially parenting a child with special needs. But, what matters most, is my son’s happiness. And this kid treats every day like it’s the best day of his life.…
Read MoreMy Partner, I’m Sorry Autism Changed Me
Jamie, I’ve been thinking about when we first got married. How young we were. We were so unbelievably happy. We had a little house. We had jobs we liked. We had so many friends. We had two puppies. We referred to each other as mom and dad when referencing the dogs. We were that couple. But most importantly, we knew exactly who we were. We had identities and hobbies. We weren’t defined by anything that we didn’t want to be defined by. Some days, I swear you would just stare…
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