I have a story to share with you. A little long possibly, but worth the read.
My son Cooper is 14 years old. He has a diagnosis of nonverbal/nonspeaking autism. He loves trains and swimming and asks me every single day to go to outer space with his friends, the Little Einsteins.
He is in 8th grade. He communicates in a variety of ways. Some words and sounds. Gestures. A speech device. Sign language. Typing. And most recently a cell phone.
He’s never quiet. He loves to take photographs. When he’s feeling silly he will sneak up on a person and say BOO!
His hair is blonde. We wear the same size shoes now. And he has the best laugh. It comes deep from his belly.
These are all things I know about him. And there is a lot that I don’t know.
I don’t know his favorite color. Or what he wants to be when he grows up. I don’t know if he has any real friends. Or if he’s ever been bullied. Or even hurt. See, his autism complicates those sorts of things. It muddies his ability to communicate with us.
But something beautiful recently happened. A glimpse inside this secret world of his.
He texts me now. At first it was simple, one word things. Now it’s long messages often hard to decipher. But if I look I can see a picture developing.
His hopes and dreams.
‘Pirate treasure hunt Dora boots pirates map piggy pig cooper 18 tn birthday work make mommy ruw shopping magazine’s DVDs bwk cooper chores 1 feed the day 2 make bed 3 put grocery store away 500.’
He wants to go on a pirate ship for his 18th birthday. With Dora and Boots and pirates.
He wants to do chores and earn money to go shopping and buy magazines and DVDs.
And he even picked his 3 chores. Feed the dog. Make the bed. And put the groceries away.
And he wants $500.
There are parts of this life that often feel so different from the rest of the world. Some are sad, confusing, and harder.
But goodness, some are amazing. The joy that comes from my son. It’s enough to carry us through the hard times.
These texts are the absolute best.
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