Welcome! This is the journey of me, my son CK, and his dog Happy.
So what makes us different?
Sure. There are thousands of blogs out there that deal with travel. There are also blogs related to travel with a disability (albeit not many). So why this blog? Why our story? Let me share some of our story with you.
I’m a single mother to a very lively, ambitious, curious 5 year old named Cooper. In 2019 when Cooper (he likes to go by CK (Superman fan)) first came to live with me he was on the brink of death. After several surgeries and hospitalizations he was on the road to recovery and to a normal childhood. Then in mid-2020, during the height of the pandemic, he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). I had no clue what I was getting into and here we are two years later and I still don’t understand a lot about ASD or SPD so most of our days are spent winging it. In 2021, I finally got to call Cooper my son and we have been dancing to our own beat ever since.
With all of his “alphabets”, come a lot of doctors, specialists, meetings, etc. You can imagine the amount of time I was having to request off from work and when you work in the legal field, that wasn’t exactly optimal. So after a lot of thinking and planning, I decided it was time to work for myself and give myself the freedom and ability to be there for Cooper as he needs now, and as his needs grow as he gets older.
One of the things I love about Cooper is that he has developed a curiosity about the world, other countries, even other cultures here locally in the United States. Every day is an adventure and he loves adventure. So, after doing research I realized there aren’t many resources for traveling when you have a disability that is invisible to human eye. You cannot see Autism. You cannot “spot” Sensory Processing Disorder. My favorite part is when bystanders assume he is just an out of control child and ask me to contain him or say he needs a “spanking” (that’s the PG version of some comments that we typically get). I get asked, “why don’t you just keep him home?” or “why don’t you teach him control himself?”. Those questions and people are the reason I want to get Cooper out into the world more.
Our goal is to shine a light on the world of Autism and that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Just because you cannot see a disability doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist. Sure, Cooper may “look” like your average 5 year old kid. What someone doesn’t see is that with one wrong tone, facial expression, noise or any sensation that doesn’t sit well with him, he starts spiraling and he copes with the anxiety that starts setting in, any way that he can. Sometimes he spins, sometimes he screams, or sometimes he needs his dog and will just lay down with him. His dog’s name is Happy and is Cooper’s best buddy. Happy is a German Shepherd who is still young but has begun his journey as training to become an AKC Certified Service Dog for Cooper.
My hope as a mother, is to put an end to the stigma of Autism, illuminate those who are curious and also show Cooper that no matter what obstacle(s) life may throw at you, if you persevere and never give up, you can in fact conquer (and see) the world. As long as you believe in yourself.
So this is our journey. A boy, his mom and his dog, breaking down barriers and showing the world that Autism does not define a person and that you can’t put ASD/SPD in a nice little box. We hope you enjoy!