Posts Tagged ‘special needs family’
I’m Thankful For You: My Daughter
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Mandy Conner and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December I want honor and thank my daughter Rilyn. Her love for her sister Katelyn ‘KK’ is unbelievable. My oldest daughter Rilyn is 11 and Katelyn is 10. Rilyn and Kk are 15 months apart so the majority of her life she has lived and dealt with Autism on a daily basis. There have been parties we had to miss, vacations cut short and nights where no one slept. Through it…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Husband’s Aunt and Uncle
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Carmen and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) I’m honoring my husband’s Aunt Sandra and Uncle Harry. I am thankful to them for simply loving my children from the beginning. Aunt Sandra and Uncle Harry have taught me to have faith in humanity again. They love my children unconditionally, no matter what, and have never known my kids are on the spectrum, because we ourselves didn’t know for a good while. Sounds simple enough to love children, but it hasn’t…
Read MoreHow Does My Autistic Son Fit Into The Real World?
We spent the weekend at a water park. I will be honest when I say I was very worried about it. The trip involved a long drive, a hotel stay, waiting, walking, crowds, chaos, etc. You get it. Bringing Cooper somewhere like a water park would traditionally threw off his schedule for weeks. We’d go, have a really tough time and then come home thinking it would be better once we got him back into his routine with his things. Except we were wrong. Cooper, and our family, felt the…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Son’s Super Grandma
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Corinne Doyle and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December, I would like to honor and thank my mom, Mary Doyle. She is the epitome of a SUPER GRANDMA. My son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder on May 26, 2017. A day that forever changed my life. Jett has always kept us on our feet starting from the day he was born. He was born premature at 36 weeks and then shortly after birth caught RSV at five weeks…
Read MoreChristmas Cards with a Side of Hope
I am so excited to share our 2017 Christmas card with you. Christmas cards are one of my favorite holiday traditions, and I love documenting the end of our year with a new card. Every year I include a quote about autism and hope on the back of our card. I think people get the subtle reference and hopefully smile. My favorite: ‘Anything can happen child. Anything can be. Never stop believing.’ I also love receiving cards from our friends and family. I hang them all over my kitchen and…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Parents
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Samantha and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December I would like to honor and thank my Mom and Dad. Without their help with my son I don’t know what I would do or where my family would be. A little bit about my family…I’m 29 and a single mother of two. My daughter Anissa is nine, absolutely beautiful and hilarious. My son Mason will turn five in December. He is the most handsome and funny little boy ever.…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Family
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Amber Watts and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) The November I want to honor and thank my mom and my sister-in-law. We are working on building our daughter’s village but as of now these are the two I’m most thankful for. On the left is my mom (Reba) and on the right is my sister-in-law (Jennifer). Both with my baby girl. My daughter’s name is Kendal. She turned four on November 1st. As of now, she is nonverbal and…
Read MoreA Letter From the Sibling of Child with Autism
A few days ago I shared a letter I wrote for my son Sawyer. You can read it HERE. It was a toughie to share. It was brutally honest. It was real. And I really put myself out there. I purged every ounce of worry and self-doubt that I have about raising an autistic child alongside a typical child. Let’s get something straight. Cooper is an amazing little boy. He is funny and sweet and brings more joy than I can put into words. But…it’s different for me. I am…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Son, The Best Big Brother
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Carrie Indelicato and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) I want to tell you about the best big brother in the whole wide world, my oldest son Danny. From the moment Danny saw his baby brother Aaron he was in love! I would often come into Aaron’s room in the morning only to find Danny had gotten there first, talking to his baby brother through the slats in his crib. Whether he was planting a kiss on Aaron’s big, irresistible…
Read MoreA 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…
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