I Will Tell You About Our World…

Maybe you follow my page. Or maybe we went to high school together.

Maybe you heard about me. Or you are a friend of a friend.

Either way, you know I have a son with autism. You know his name is Cooper. And that I talk about all the parts.

You’ve heard that I don’t hold back. I am raw. I am honest.

I talk about the beautiful parts. And the hard parts. Even the sad parts.

I do this because it is my life. And I am not the only one lives it.

I will tell you about autism if you are willing to listen.

The ups. The downs. The wins. The struggles.

I’ll try and show you the unique beauty that we live every day. The hope that weaves into the brutally hard times. So finely that sometimes as a mom I feel both. And I don’t know which emotion is right.

But I’ve also learned by talking that some of you don’t want to know.

You’ll judge. You’ll shame. You’ll close yourself off to the realities of having a child with autism.

That word. That diagnosis that happens to other people’s kids.

You’ll forget about us. You’ll think we’re exaggerating.

You’ll call us bad parents. Say our child is spoiled. Say autism isn’t real.

You’ll say we are doing it wrong. Raising him wrong. Feeling the wrong emotions.

You’ll say we should stay home. That we shouldn’t talk about it.

And yet, here we are.

Right outside your window. In your stores. At your parks. In your schools. Even in your newsfeed.

We are walking down paths. And despite my son laying down every few minutes, we are actually doing it successfully.

This is huge for us.

We aren’t hiding.

Instead we are motivating. Encouraging. Laughing. Dancing. Running. Rolling. Stopping to rest.

Picking up sand, only to drop it over and over again.

We are lying down to look at the clouds. And of course protest a little bit.

Never rushed and yet running at the same time.

We are so loud.

You can’t tell if we are walking forward or backwards. Funny, we feel the same way too.

We are hitting a sign to hear the metal ring. Rubbing our hands on a tree. Waiting. Moving.

But most importantly, never giving up.

You’ll never know the strength and time it took for us to leave the house. Just to simply join the world.

We are here. We may move slow. We may go backwards. We may stop more than we go.

But we aren’t giving up. And we aren’t doing it wrong.

Please be nice to us.

Watch us from your windows. Wave to us as we pass by. Or scroll past our photos. If you don’t like us…just keep scrolling.

This is autism to us. It’s loud. It’s busy. It’s the path less traveled.

And unless you live it you’ll never understand. But I’ll try and tell you if you’ll take the time to listen.

And if you open up your mind to it, you’ll see unbelievable beauty and strength.

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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, subscribe for exclusive videos, and subscribe to our newsletter.