Posts Tagged ‘Special Needs’
I Will Never Give Up Trying To Help My Son
Imagine not being being able to tell someone what’s on your mind. Imagine not being able to tell someone if you’re having a hard day. Imagine not being able to tell someone that your tummy hurts. Imagine not being able to tell someone that you’re upset. Imagine not being able to tell someone that you’re feeling down and why. Imagine not being able to tell someone why you can’t sleep. Imagine not being able to tell someone that you’re happy. Imagine not being able to communicate. Imagine being a mother…
Read MoreShades of Grey
I never gave much thought to social norms before I had my son Cooper. Although I do remember a college professor speaking about them and advising each of us to stand backwards in an elevator and watch people squirm. Besides that though, I guess I have just always done them so they rarely cross my mind. That is until autism. My sweet boy is 10. He has blonde hair that is coarse like straw and ruddy cheeks, and he is entirely himself in every way. He doesn’t know how to…
Read MoreMama, Will He Have Autism Forever?
You’re five and half years old now. You’ve never asked me a question. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I notice how tall you are now. Reading it takes my breath away a little. I blink back a tear or two. After I take a deep breath, I remember. That’s not exactly true. You learned to request around your last birthday. You come up to me. Always wanting something when you stand so close. You say a very clear and beautiful, “popsicle”. With great intonation, by the…
Read MoreYou Will Get Better Mama
I know, mama. I know that right now it’s really bad. I know that it feels like the world is crumbling around you and you don’t know how you are going to move on. One day, things won’t be so scary. Don’t get me wrong…it is always going to be hard. The hard will never really get better, but you will mama. You will get better. You will get better at the paperwork. One day, those forms won’t make you cry. You will get better at the meetings. One day,…
Read MoreAn Open Letter to Those who Bully People With Special Needs
Dear Bully, When I was in public school I used to be bullied by people like you. You would see me in the corner, usually trying to keep to myself and wonder why I was there. Other times you would see me having issues reading out loud in class and snicker while I tried to pronounce different words. You’d take my inability to understand sarcasm as a way to get me in trouble. Worst of all, you’d make me feel like an outsider when more than anything I wanted to…
Read MoreHappy Birthday Sweet Boy
Please help me wish this little cutie a happy 8th birthday today! I know it’s cliche, but the days are long and the years are short. I’m not sure how he’s 8 already! He will forever be my little buddy. Happy birthday Sawyer! Now time needs to stop! I can’t have you grow up anymore. Finding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Because you’re never alone in the struggles you face. And once…
Read MoreThis is the Part No One Talks About
I went to an event a while back, before COVID-19, to honor and celebrate special needs moms. It was one of the first times I realized how lucky I was that my son just had ‘autism.’ He isn’t medically complex. He isn’t terminal. He can run and eat, and we don’t live a chunk of our lives at Children’s Hospital. We are the lucky ones. Story after story was told. Mother after mother. All unique. All important. One of the moms spoke about the moment her daughter passed, and they…
Read MoreCommunication With Cooper
When it’s just Cooper and his dad and I, the house is pretty quiet. No brothers fighting for attention. No talk of monster trucks in mud or hockey practice. Well, I mean, Blue Mountain Mystery is usually singing from an iPad and I’m constantly saying, ‘turn it down Cooper.’ But besides that, it’s pretty quiet. You will hear an occasional laugh and giggle. A gasp. A question from me. But chatter back and forth…nope. Cooper is ten years old. He has never coo’d. He never babbled. When he was younger…
Read MoreAn Important Lesson
My family visited my dad today. With covid precautions, it’s been quite some time since we’ve seen him. As I sat with him today, I found myself thinking back. Nearly two years ago, my stepmom lost her battle with pancreatic cancer. The night before we lost her, I was driving my dad back to his house, from the nursing home where she would spend her last days. It was nearing midnight. He was exhausted, close to 80 himself. He needed to rest for a few hours. It was foggy and…
Read MoreA Crystal Ball
We are packed up and headed home after a wonderful adventure up north. We stayed in a hotel which is a huge deal for us. No restaurants yet but it’s definitely are biggest goal. We went to Adventure Zone and the Great Lakes Aquarium successfully! Swam three times. And visited Two Harbors, MN, where Jamie and I lived when Cooper was born 10 years ago. So many memories wrapped up in one little city. Getting married. Buying a house. Becoming first time parents. An autism diagnosis. Moving to a bigger…
Read More