My Autistic Son Learning to Spell

Two months ago I knew that my son knew all of his letters. I knew he loved the alphabet with a passion. But I didn’t know what else to do with it. He struggled to pay attention. To focus. To sit and learn. He showed no desire to read or write. But, and there is always a but in our world, I started imagining a world where he could type to me and have a conversation through text. What would he say to me if he could?

And before I knew it, I was energized to teach him. I brought in his ABA team too and asked for sight words to be a goal. In just a few short months Cooper is spelling. He can spell mom, dad, dog, cat, ball and many more. He can also identify hundreds of words.

Here is a video of him spelling a few words and trying a few new ones. I like to share these videos because you can see how happy he is. You can see how wiggly and active he is. And you can see how quickly he loses focus. But, we set a timer, pick a spot in the house, and work on it every single night.

There is nothing more that I want in this world than for my son to communicate with me. I’ve learned as Cooper’s gotten older that it doesn’t have to be through verbal communication. Change your picture of the future friends. It can still be okay. Just look at us. We are still smiling.

Cooper is using Proloquo2Go on his iPad from Talk To Me Technologies.

https://youtu.be/TdU1w4XWcW8

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.