Posts Tagged ‘speech delay blog’
This Will Forever By My Favorite
I was filling out Cooper’s application for the Minnesota Autism Center earlier this week and I had to write down his diagnosis. It kills me every time. He has multiple. Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder and the killer…lack of normal physiological development. And we could very easily add Apraxia in there. Sigh. It’s hard. It hurts. And I hate it. I hate it so much I could scream. Anyhow, I stumbled across this on Facebook today and it’s a damn good reminder of the power a parent can have. It…
Read MoreLoyal Dog Jumps on Hospital Bed to Comfort 9-Year-Old Boy With Autism
This story about the service dog that comforts an autistic boy made my whole morning. I’m not sure if it is because I am an insane dog person. My puppies are my babies. They are my children. Or, if it’s because Cooper will soon be having his fourth surgery. 3 sets of tubes, a tummy blockage and now adenoids. And if I was to rank some of the hardest days of my life those surgery days would be up there. I would give anything to provide comfort to Cooper. I…
Read MoreCheerleader Asks an Autistic Boy to Prom
I’m on this mission to share stories of autism that give us hope. Mostly, stories that give me hope. Enough sadness. I’m very vocal that my greatest fear is that people will be mean to Cooper. It could be a fellow child. It could be a teacher or a caregiver. Or it could be a complete stranger. There is a handicapped boy that works at our local grocery store. He is slower than the other people that work there. He is harder to understand. But he is the happiest person…
Read MoreA Good Reminder
When Cooper wakes up in the middle of the night and comes to my bed he touches my face. He usually rubs my forehead and lays his hand on my cheek. It is so gentle that sometimes it takes me a second to register he is even there. Although he struggles with social cues, emotions, showing love, controlling his anger, etc., he is hands down the sweetest child I have ever met. I can’t even summarize his innocence with words. I don’t know how people could give up. It’s just…
Read MoreJoining the Club
I received an email from a fellow autism parent. It was so raw I actually cried when I read it. I wanted to crawl through the computer and hug this person. It resonated with me so deeply. This person reads my blog so I know they will see that I used their email. I just can’t stop thinking about it. I could have written this myself. I so get it friend. I read it this morning. I actually stumbled across it in my junk mail folder. I almost missed it.…
Read MoreHaving a Child With Special Needs….
I received Cooper’s Kindergarten packet in the mail a few weeks ago and like it was planned….I promptly lost it. The packet actually came the exact day that we were moving to our new house. So, you can understand why it got lost. The chaos of moving was too much. And to be honest, I have been dreading that damn packet like the plague. I don’t want Cooper to go to a mainstream kindergarten. It makes me feel completely helpless and out of control.I remember when Cooper was 3 or…
Read MoreSeeing the Ignorance First Hand
I had a conversation this past weekend that I can’t stop thinking about. It just keeps coming back. Not negatively. Not positively. Just more thought provoking I guess. It opened my eyes to the ignorance out there. I don’t share Cooper’s autism with most people. You would never meet a new person and immediately say…I have two kids…one is deaf. Or one is blind. Or whatever. I get to be choosy about who I share my Cooper story with. And I use it wisely. Maybe that’s weird. I’m not embarrassed.…
Read MoreFighting for an Autism Diagnosis
I thought getting a diagnosis would be easy. My son is different. He doesn’t talk. He flaps. He screeches. He hates to be touched by strangers. As a baby he never slept. Ever. He cried constantly. Endless ear infections, stomach issues, constipation, hearing problems. The list goes on. He never babbled. To this day he’s never said a word. I thought it was obvious. There is something wrong. Tell me what it is so I can fix it. That’s what you do. It’s broken and you fix it. No one…
Read MoreAre There Any Stressors At Home?
Living with Cooper is stressful. I feel it. I’ve always felt it. Half of this damn blog is about the stress of autism. Since the day he was born sleeping has been a challenge. Eating is hard. The list goes on. I know that as a family we walk on egg shells to avoid meltdowns. We give in when we shouldn’t. We allow behaviors we shouldn’t. Candy and suckers and bribes are used more than they should be. We are at the mercy of autism. Cooper throws. He lashes out.…
Read MoreWord Vomitting and Hating Yourself After
I said something really horrible about autism. And it wasn’t in the privacy of my own home after few glasses of wine like a good mother would do. It was a full blown word vomit in front of Cooper’s doctor. Sometimes I feel like I am the only mom in the world that has these thoughts. Or at least the only mom that shares them with the world. We brought Cooper to the doctor for his pre-op physical a few days ago. Per the usual Cooper tore that room apart. He gets in these…
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