Autism acceptance Month
John is the 5 year old son of Cody and Heather Copeland. John, like all of us at BKO, loves anything to do with the outdoors. If there’s a body of water to fish or boat on, he’s down for it! If there’s a trail to be hiked, he wants to go. John is an expert on all things outer-space; this boy could identify all of the planets before he uttered his first 2-word sentence. John is like any typical 5-year-old boy– rough and tough mixed with equal parts silly and loving. John is also autistic.
John was diagnosed with autism at 2.5 years old. For his parents, this came as no shock. They knew from about 8 weeks old that their little guy wasn’t like his siblings had been at this age. As time went on, they also noticed that John was not reaching milestones like they were used to seeing with his older siblings before. John wasn’t babbling, smiling, making eye contact, or answering to his name either. It was really hard for them, watching their youngest son struggle to do things that other kids his age seemed to breeze through. Lots of doctors appointments, medical testing, early intervention services, evaluations, and genetic screenings came and went. Finally, in March 2021 they had answers. John was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Even though most people may assume this diagnosis was the hardest part for them, they agree that it was almost a relief to know what was going on with their son. Now that they knew, they could start getting him the support he needed so they could tackle these struggles as a family. The hard part is what followed the initial diagnosis. There were lots of opinions of what “he won’t be able to do” or what they “should prepare to miss out on.” His mother said, “That was the hard part. Trying to cope and grieve over the life that we dreamed he would have; and now we were being told not to get our hopes up about that. We were being told that autistic kids don’t generally get to do the typical things we were imagining; football, prom, first dates, drivers licenses. That was hard. It would be for any parent.”
Fast forward almost 3 years and John has already exceeded so many limits placed on him. He can speak, he is the happiest little dude– always smiling, he is social/ loving/ empathetic/ and amazing! Does he have some delays with speech and other milestones? Sure. Are there things he has to work harder at than other kids his age? Definitely. But that is what makes each mastered goal that much sweeter, because we all waited on his timing to reach it. And THAT is what makes this month so important to us. We want everyone we know or anyone who may be going through something similar to know that nobody has the final say on what your child can do or what their potential is, nobody! God knew who John was destined to be long before he was on this Earth and we wouldn’t change a thing about our buddy. His sweet little flapping hands when he’s excited, his happy squeals, and everything else that he does that is considered a “trait of autism” is what makes John who he is; and they also happen to be some of our most favorite things about him!
That is why we want to use this month to not only bring awareness and acceptance to the struggles that autistic children and adults may face but also because we want to give back to a cause that strives to help with some of these struggles. For the remainder of the month of April, BKO wants to donate a portion of all profits to the Organization for Autism Research (OAR.)
OAR funds the studies on topics that can be challenging for those in the autism community such as, “education, parent and teacher training, communication, self-care, social skills, employment, behavior, & adult and community issues.” OAR’s main focus is “quality of life.” OAR is responsible for awarding more than $1.5 million in scholarships for autistic students pursuing higher education at colleges/ trade schools/ and life skills programs. OAR contributes to the research and betterment for parents and educators of autistic children to better support them in the transition to adulthood, special education, and safety. OAR created “Operation Autism”, a website that provides 24/7 information and resources to military families with autistic children. In addition, OAR: has created peer education programs to teach adolescents about supporting their autistic peers, launced a national adult employment initiative for adults with autism, published literature for young autistic adults to guide them through self-advocacy in college, and provided many other networks of support for families of autistic people. You can read more about OAR’s mission, history, and impact on their website, www.researchautism.org.
Thank you for your continued support of our BKO dream. We are who we are because of your support; we couldn’t think of a better way to say “thank you” than by giving back to our communities. Thanks for helping us!
With a whole lot of love from the BKO family,
Cody and Heather Copeland
DJ and Courtney Sutfin