I’m Thankful For You: My Daughter Olivia
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Melissa Prater and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.)
This December I would like to honor and thank my daughter Olivia. She is my rock.
A little bit about our family. We are a family of four but a village of many. My husband works full time and I get the privilege to stay home. We have two children ages 5 and 16. Jack is my youngest and is diagnosed with ADHD, a speech delay and is on the autism spectrum. Jack attends preschool and my oldest Olivia attends the local charter school in our area. We come from a small town in the country of North Carolina.
Around age two I started to suspect Jack was a little off. I noticed he wasn’t talking as much as a typical two year old. Jack was diagnosed with speech delay at age two, diagnosed with ADHD at age three and diagnosed on the spectrum at age four. Suddenly we were introduced to the whole new world of autism. I was in denial and cried all the time. I felt so lost. Olivia hit all of her milestones on time and was even an early talker. With Jack it was different.
After I got out of my pity party when Jack was around the age of three, I began to see change, not just in myself, but in my son also. I wanted to know ten years from now I did everything I could to help my son. We started therapy in all sorts of directions and found the best people to be members of our village.
My son has changed so much over the past couple of years. Jack’s vocabulary has tripled and his anxiety is under control. We are actually able to get in the door at the doctors now and stay a whole week at school without a phone call.
Throughout it all my amazing daughter has been by my side. Olivia has been my rock and has cried the same tears as me. She is the one that has been put to the side because it’s tough having a sibling with disabilities but yet never complains. When the two of them are together you can not only see the love but feel it. Olivia will do great things in life because she has seen this world not too many get the privilege to see.
After all the years of defeat and success, Olivia has decided to do her senior project on children with disabilities at school. It’s something that she has lived and breathed right by my side. I am so proud of her thinking and humble ways. She deserves to be honored every day but never expects a thing and that’s why I am the thankful for her.
Thank you Olivia!
Side note: Kate you are killing it! Keep up the journey to change the world. Lots of Love from Bear Grass NC!
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 you find your people, your allies, your village….all the challenges and struggles will seem just a little bit easier. Welcome to our journey. You can also follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter.
