Car Rides and Autism

What are car rides like for your family?

For ours, I would say it’s the area where we have made the most improvement over the years.

Back when Cooper was just diagnosis and the word autism felt foreign on our tongues my husband and I referred to car rides H – E – Double Hockey Sticks.

We didn’t shine in the car.

Cooper was a screamer. And a thrower.

He would get upset if we turned the wrong way. Or stopped at a stop light.

We couldn’t get gas or go through drive thrus.

Sometimes Coops would get so upset he would rock the whole car back and forth. And we learned what self injuring was too.

My husband and I would often fight. And there would be yelling. And me climbing in the back seat to protect my misunderstood boy from hurting himself or others.

I used to wonder why seemingly simple things would be so hard for our family.

Autism and car rides didn’t work. They just were not safe. Or fun.

But we practiced. We rode around with a therapist. We took deep breaths and used timers and did everything we could to help our son, and family to be successful.

It took a lot of years.

I can say now that car rides are really no problem.

I mean besides the requests for snacks and pee breaks and ‘are we there yets?’

I talk a lot about the hard years. Because they weren’t just a little bit hard. They were ‘we can’t even ride in the car as a family’ hard.

And that’s hard.

Hang in there moms and dads. Keep practicing. It can get better.

Does your family struggle in the car?

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.