“The most important person in my life is my oldest son, Cooper. He is 15 now, but when he was 2, he was diagnosed with Autism. Having a child with special needs has helped me grow in ways I never imagined. Before I became a mother, my values and interests were more shallow and simple-minded. Cooper showed me the beauty of diversity and resilience. He fights battles every day that I never could have imagined when I was his age. He overcomes challenges and teaches the world around him to make space for people with differences. He makes me a bolder and braver advocate for the rights of others, especially individuals who are marginalized by society’s expectations. He has had an incredible impact on my values, perspectives and priorities. I am incredibly fortunate to have a Cooper in my life.”
“Cooper has always been super literal. He often says exactly what he’s thinking and although there are times when this is really difficult to handle, I wouldn’t trade his honesty for anything in the world. He’s the most trustworthy and honorable person I know! I have so many awesome memories of Cooper, but my favorite memory is probably when he was asked to say four lines in his 2nd grade music performance. It was a huge stretch to think someone who doesn’t even like one person to look at him, would be able to get on stage in front of hundreds of people and speak into a microphone. Even more stressful was the fact that he was largely non-verbal. He rarely talked to anyone, but his music teacher asked if we could push him outside of his comfort zone and I agreed to give it a try! The day of the performance was the most anxious I’ve felt in a long time, but when it was his turn to say his lines, he did an amazing job and smiled and jumped and flapped his arms with excitement. I cried so many happy tears, learning that I should never limit his abilities with my own fears of other people’s opinions of him. We’ve been pushing him out of his comfort zone ever since! He’s continued to rise to the occasion ever since too!”
“He’s a sophomore in high school at Grand Haven now. His toughest moments have been when he is really sad because he doesn’t have friends and doesn’t know how to make any. He gets frustrated and screams, “I just wish I was normal! I wish I was dead!” and that’s really hard to hear your child say,” Instructor Kelly Lyro said.