Nimz revealed

My then eight year old Neice Mayasa is the one who introduced me to Cooper and his mom two years back. Among the people who got devastated with Daniyal’s autism diagnosis, my two nieces were the ones who got most heartbroken. They have dreamt of having play dates and hide & seek with Daniyal. They thought their only brother will stay on their tail calling their names. So when he got diagnosed, they may have desperately searched for answers. That is when one day Mayasa declared, ‘Cooper uses a device to talk. May be Daniyal can also.’ That’s when my sister told me about the page finding coopers voice in Instagram. My curiosity and dedication to find something to help Daniyal ended up on that night crying and doing through finding coopers voice. 

Cooper is a twelve year old boy with non-verbal autism. He is one of the most beautiful souls. I knew Kate Swenson, Cooper’s mom have written a book. It was hard to find it in India, so when I reached back Toronto and settled down, the first thing I did was order ‘Forever boy’ by Kate Swenson from Amazon.

I never had the courage to start reading it until last week when I had a very hard day. I took the book and I got immersed in it. The first 100 pages of the book got drenched in my tears. There is a beauty and calmness in reading a replica of our own life. Reading the feelings we have felt. Words that describes the kind of life we have been through. 

The fear of diagnosis, diagnosis, the denial, the acceptance, the long run through processes, the doctors appointments, therapies, disappointing comments from doctor visits, the fear. I think I have been through most of the instances Kate have explained in the book. The struggle of being an autism parent. The days of future as forever parent to my forever boy. I think every parent who have child with significant needs have gone through that. 

So when I finished reading the book yesterday, I thought I should write about it somewhere. Forever boy is a memoir of mother’s journey through autism and finding joy. Kate’s book is a hope to everyone. It gives strength and courage to every parent to push forward and move towards future. It shows there is light in the end of the tunnel. I am in a journey of acceptance for a while now. I think I am nearly reaching there. I have a lot in my mind about this book, but it is stuck in my fingertips. 

So with that bloc of words, I recommend this book with raw experiences and expectations to every parent like me who is in constant battle for their child with significant needs. This is what we all need to push ourselves.

And to everyone else, if you have time, this is it. To take your time to read about the journey of this challenging yet wonderful forever parenting! 

And toast is to Mayasa and Natasha, for accepting autism, for learning the drill, for having patience on their brother and loving him as their own and of course introducing me to Cooper!