My Child is Bright
Now, lets rewind to the time my son Danny was born.
In the back of my mind I always knew there was something not right.
I used my mothering instinct and knew something was wrong when Danny screamed and screamed without being soothed with anything possible in this world as a baby.
By the time he was three years old, he had no language, no words, or even nonverbal communication was void.
After much advocating, Danny was finally diagnosed at age three.
ABA therapy was the best therapy at the time, but waitlists were endless. So he went a year without.
Meanwhile I had searched and searched to fix Danny, to cure Danny, to find answers behind autism.
That word “autism” was something to be solved, and I became obsessed to find a cure in a vitamin or diet.
Fast forward today and Danny is talking and interacting and loving life.
However, we all know as your child grows older there are NEW challenges that arise: anxiety, frustrations, fixated preferences.
Even at the age of 7 he is fixated on objects that he can’t let go of and won’t share even at seven!
He has played one board game and one card game with his siblings.
Intricate interactions that require more than two steps are still very difficult and usually end in retreat behaviors.
Now I know that autism is incurable, and I finally embraced it for what it is: a neurological disorder.
My son was also born with other medical problems that unfortunately doctors didn’t want to address for years.
Throwing up was Danny’s norm until the doctors finally figured it out. Now Danny gets a lot of nutritional supports to help him thrive and grow and not agitate his digestive system.
He is now healthy, but don’t get me wrong somedays I want to run away down the street screaming.
Sometimes he blows up and gets frustrated, but I can say in one sentence now he is “bright” and beautiful.
I love his smiles, which brightens my day, every day.
My goal now with my son is to help him as much as possible with communicating and moving through academic and social road blocks, which is appearing to be very challenging at the moment in his life.
My child continues to be bright!
Life is difficult, but staying positive, as corny as that sounds, is important otherwise we forget why we as mothers are in this beautiful and challenging job called “motherhood.”
Written by, Ellen Brady
I am a mom who doesn’t claim to know everything because I am just a mom. I am a proud mom however of a beautiful and bright child, whose name is Daniel. The word “bright” isn’t usually framed around the word autism in one sentence. Even though my son has autism, he will be bright to me always.
I didn’t know I would have a son with autism in my life, and I have often said to myself “I didn’t sign up for this.” After high school I journeyed on to become a teacher, which is a profession I loved. I met my husband from Ireland, he joined the army, and here I am at 43 with three kids later and an army wife, which carries its own burdens. Now, I work remotely as a writer, copy editor, and blogger. You can follow my blog for following my son’s journey in the autism universe or Mom’s Advice in Navigating the Autism Universe: https://autismadvicemoms.home.blog/ & Mom’s Advice to Navigating the Autistic Universe
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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.
