by BabyCenter Guest Blogger posted in Parenting

By Kate, Finding Cooper's Voice
I thought for sure I was going to be the perfect mama. Well, not perfect because let?s be honest here. But, I guess I thought life was going to be relatively easy. That was before I had a son with severe, nonverbal autism.

That label. Labels that I used to run from. Labels that still make people angry when I type them or say them.
I say them because they are true. I say them because they get us help. I say them because they accurately describe my son.
My beautiful, wonderful, amazing 7-year-old who loves trains and being tickled and has nonverbal, severe autism.
Those words aren?t negative to me.
They make up my son. And they are every bit as much a part of him as his blonde hair and perfect smile. They are also woven into our family. When my son was diagnosed everything changed. Not immediately. But slowly. Like a snowball gathering momentum.
I immediately noticed that my parenting life was different from everyone I knew. I was facing big decisions while others were watching their children meet milestones. They were attending play dates and I was calling early intervention, visiting doctors, starting therapy, etc.
But it was fine. It was still fine. Looking back I was either naive or an excellent actress. Or both.

I thought we could keep living our ?normal? lives. I could be super mom and keep working, raise my other son, be a wonderful wife, be healthy, have hobbies and friends, all while ...