Posts Tagged ‘nonverbal autism’
A Conversation with Cooper’s Brother
Last night I was putting my four year old to bed after a particularity hard autism day. I’m to the point in our journey where I can openly admit when autism is hard. I can also admit when motherhood in general is hard. I have two amazing kids. Cooper, my funny, silly, train loving boy, who has autism, is six years old. And his brother Sawyer, is my energetic, smart, curious four year old. Together, they are the perfect storm of joy and chaos. Yesterday, Jamie and I had reached…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Husband
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Jamie Happel and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I would like to honor and thank my husband, Chris Happel. He is an absolutely amazing husband and father. Chris and I met last year at the hospital we both work at. He is an Emergency Physician and I am a Radiographer and Mammographer. Fast forward a year later and we are now a crazy, fun and loving blended family with six children. Our children are ages 20, 13,…
Read MoreAnd Just Like That, Hope Bubbles Up
There is a funny thing that happens when you have a child with autism. When I walked out of Cooper’s diagnosis appointment, I felt every single emotion possible. We waited for 7 months for that appointment. The day came. The appointment happened. We got the diagnosis. We left. I cried. Everything was immediately different yet exactly the same. I was not the same woman that I was just a few minutes prior. I was an autism parent. A special needs parent. I had a label. I was immediately different from…
Read MoreWhat Does Nonverbal Autism Really Look Like?
Before my son was diagnosed with autism at age three I had never heard the term, nonverbal autism. Not once. I had no idea that some children never learn to speak. Even to this day it still confuses me at times. My son is almost seven. He has no words. He is nonverbal. And I don’t know if he will ever learn to speak. I dread when people ask. I don’t know what to tell them. Throughout every step of the last four years all I have ever wanted is…
Read MoreA Guide for Visiting the Dentist With Your Autistic Child
Visits to the Dentist can be very stressful when you have an autistic child. And not just for the child! Parents feel the stress as well. They know how their kid is most likely going to react and then add in other unknowns like a new place, hygienists and dentists touching their kiddo, inability to follow directions, other people at the dentist office, screaming, kicking, sensory processing disorder, anxiety…eek. It’s a lot to prepare for and think about. I brought my autistic son to his first dentist appointment last month.…
Read MoreMy Greatest Fear As An Autism Mom
Raising a kiddo with an unknown future is tough. It takes a toll on a parent’s sanity and emotions. I have fears for my autistic son that I would never have for my typical son. And, I think it is important to say these fears out loud. When my son was diagnosed I just wanted to find someone that talked about autism realistically. I needed someone to say they were scared and that they were tired and worried. But I couldn’t find that person which in turn, made me feel…
Read MoreA Video Update from Cooper and Sawyer
Hi all! I haven’t done a video in a few days! Cooper has a lot to tell you! And it’s just as adorable as you can imagine. Because I know you are going to ask, Cooper’s speech device is an iPad loaded with proloquo2go. He’s had it for three years but only really started using it fluently in the last six months. You can also hear that Cooper is still very vocal. He loves communicating in his own way. We are always working on sounds and modeling in our house.…
Read MoreLet’s Talk About Stimming
My son is six year’s old and on the severe end of the autism spectrum. When he was diagnosed, I had heard about stimming. I think we’ve all heard that word. To be perfectly honest though, I didn’t even know what stimming was. The definition is interesting: ‘Stim, stims or stimming is short for “self-stimulation”. Almost everyone does it (tapping feet, cracking knuckles, twiddling thumbs), but in autistic people these behaviors are more pronounced and may seem downright strange. Autistic people often engage in stimming when they are stressed, to…
Read MoreThree Videos That Changed My Life
When my son was diagnosed with autism I spent hours, days, maybe even months, scouring the internet for information about autism. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to know the best diets, therapies, tactics and resources. This was the business side of me. I knew we needed help and I was going to find it. That part was relatively easy. The help is out there…you just have to find it. But as a mom, I also wanted to find stories of hope. I wanted to find out what autism…
Read MoreWhy I Said Goodbye To Hope
I just changed my six year old’s diaper. It was messy. There was poop dripping down his leg. It was on his jeans. His socks. The poop got on my hand, couch and carpet. This is the side of autism that no one talks about. The kind that challenges your hope and sanity. This was the tenth diaper I have changed this morning. It is 6:37 am. I am exhausted. I am almost crying. I thought, why me, why us, and why my kid. Why. What did I do wrong? And…
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