A Message From a Self Advocate

Since it’s Autism Awareness month, my daughter Alexa wanted to share something with you. Here is a little background on my beautiful daughter. 

At 6 yrs old, Alexa was diagnosed with Autism. Everything suddenly made sense! All the quirks, the struggles, sensory issues, etc… It wasn’t just the apraxia of speech. Now our goal became two fold; 1) to provide her with all the support she needs and 2) to help her love and embrace her differences and to be proud of them.

At first, every time we would talk to her about her having autism, she would say “I have apraxia. Greyson has autism.” Greyson is her 5 yr old brother who was diagnosed at 2 ½ yrs old with autism. She liked that they each had something to call their own. It was kind of cute! I didn’t want to push it, so gently every now and then we’d talk about it.

Plus, I also think that because her brother has more significant challenges that she automatically thought it didn’t make sense because she’s different than him.  Over time, she’s really started to see that autism “looks” different on everyone. 

I think this video is AMAZING for so many reasons. Not only has she conquered apraxia, but she is embracing her differences. She understands why she struggles with some things. But she knows that she’s not less than others who do not have autism. She is also spreading awareness! Who better to do it than her?!

I’m SO beyond proud to be her Mommy and want to shout it from the mountain because she has come so far!

She is so strong and so amazing! 

https://www.facebook.com/tara.surowiec/videos/10157385321399691/

This video was shared by Alexa and her mother Tara. Enjoy!

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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.