Posts Tagged ‘severe autism’
I Never Lost My Son…In A Way, It Felt Like I Never Had Him.
I want to talk about the first three years of Cooper’s life because they were the saddest of mine. I had dreamt of becoming a mother for years. It was the thing I wanted most in my life. And then in the blink of an eye I was a mama to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. Except from day one something wasn’t right. Only, I couldn’t describe it and to make it worse it was like no one believed me. My son didn’t need me for anything besides a bottle…
Read MoreInvisible No More: Day 30 of 30
April is Autism Awareness Month and my Invisible No More Project. Autism, like many other disabilities, is an Invisible Disability. I have shared the pictures and stories of 29 beautiful children with the intention of inspiring you and providing hope. The isolation that parents of disabled children feel can be suffocating. I feel it often as well. You are not alone. Other parents are experiencing the same things. Today is day 30 of 30. Here is my son’s story. The Beginning Cooper was diagnosed with ASD at age three. As…
Read MoreLeaving The House With An Autistic Child
I want to talk about leaving the house with my severely Autistic, six year old son. I think there are misconceptions about why we choose too and not too bring him places. I’ve been accused of hiding my son. Of being embarrassed of his behavior. I’ve been accused of letting the bullies win. On the other side, I’ve been praised for continuing to try and bring my super challenging son to stores. Everyone has an opinion. Measures of Success Last night we had a really tough outing. And if I’m…
Read MoreUnderstanding The Entire Spectrum Of Autism
I had the honor of doing an interview with Kerry Magro. He is an Autism Advocate who is truly making a difference in the world. Here is our conversation. This guest Q&A is with Kate Swenson who is the mother to two amazing little boys. Her son Cooper is on the severe end of the spectrum. She shares a glimpse into her secret world through videos at Finding Cooper’s Voice. Q. How did the idea of filming your story first come about? I started blogging about Autism when my son was…
Read MorePutting Your Mask On First
I’ve been having some minor medical stuff going on. Nothing huge but still slightly concerning. My fatigue and exhaustion were starting to affect my outlook on life and parenting so I broke down and went to the doctor. Of course it took me a while…like six months. I have no time for medical appointments when my son has so many of his own. You get it. I feel guilt about missing work so often already and then adding in another appointment. It’s just a lot. But like I said, my…
Read MoreThe Secret World of Autism
April is Autism Awareness Month. Prior to my son’s diagnosis, I never knew this month even existed. That’s how it typically goes I guess. People don’t pay attention until it’s their life. I get it. That was me pre-Autism. Now, my whole world is an Autism Awareness Month. I have a six-year old with nonverbal, severe Autism, and I invite you to take a peek inside our secret world. Autism can be scary, isolating, beautiful, humorous, amazing and sad. I, along with many other families, live in this world. Honestly, having…
Read MoreWhen the Autism Super Mom Gets Depressed
There is a stigma around depression. A really, really ugly one. And I think there’s especially a stigma around mothers who have depression. If you’re depressed, you’re weak. Broken. You are medicated. You cry a lot. You sleep a lot. This isn’t true. At least not for me. I have a wonderful life. Two beautiful children. Three wild dogs. A wonderful and supportive partner. A beautiful home. I’m not weak. I am strong. I am freakishly independent. And I am not broken…at least not completely. I am not medicated. And on…
Read MoreWhen Does Parenting An Autistic Child Get Easier?
Have you ever wondered that? I used to all the time. I would be at a particularly low point in our Autism journey and I would ask that question to my mom or a friend or a doctor. And no one would tell me the truth. I just needed to hear if it was going to get easier or get harder. I needed an honest answer. The problem was I was asking the wrong people. I’m not surprised I get asked this question every day by parents of newly diagnosed…
Read MoreGut Health and Autism
I shared a video on Facebook today about our first visit to a Naturopath. There was quit the response and 99% of it was positive. That’s a pretty great feeling. I am bringing my son to a Naturopath solely to work on his stomach complications. We have reach a dead end with traditional GI doctors. My son has not had an in-medicated poop in over 4 years. My kid is 6. That is messed up. I am hoping this Naturopath can work with us on diet modifications. I am hoping he…
Read MoreWhat Autism Stole From Me As a Mother
I will openly admit that the hardest part of the Autism mom journey for me was missing out on milestones, typical parts of childhood development and overall special moments with my son. I dreamt of first words and teaching him to ride a bike and our first camping trip. I didn’t get most of them and if I did they were usually really upsetting for all of us. And at my lowest, saddest times, typically after an event like the first day of kindergarten or his birthday, I even felt…
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