This Is Our Autism – Finding Cooper’s Voice

I wanted to find families like mine. And kids like my Cooper.

I wanted to learn all that I could about autism, the spectrum and what it could look like as my sweet son aged.

I wanted to build a village of parents, teachers, therapists, and friends who wanted to support and raise each other up.

I wanted to create a safe space for families to share the unique wins and struggles that we encounter on this journey.
I wanted to celebrate when amazing things happened. I wanted to cry when we had setbacks.

And, one that I am afraid to say out loud, I wanted to document our journey so one day, when my son was talking and in college, we could look back at our path. We could show how we made it. But most importantly, we could give hope to families like ours. Because we would be the one in a million.

Well, that last one has changed a bit. Autism had a way of taking me down a notch. Reminding me what really matters. And showing me how to be the best mom to my son.

Now, when I look at this page, the focus is hope. Realistic hope. And showing the world how hard my son, and people like him, work to be apart of this world.

We just went to two stores. Target and Cub. That’s new for us. We’ve worked on it for almost 8 years.

My son walked safely in both parking lots, in and out. He helped me grocery shop. Up and down the aisles we went.

He waited while I paid. He was calm. He was happy.

Then we went to Target. A second store! He picked out three (okay four) treasures. He handed them to me at the self checkout.

He even walked through both stores…no cart! We’ve really been practicing that. And he did it!

When he was done he said ‘home.’

Never, ever give up hope parents. Keep going. Keep trying. Even when it’s hard and people stare and it’s uncomfortable. Keep pushing to be part of the world.

Here is your hope parents. My son is one in a million. That part I know is true.