Morgan-James Publications (2007)
ISBN 9781600372650
One of the things that we mothers have is an incredible feeling that things are going wrong with our children. Barbara Coppo was no different. She and her husband Ken already had a beautiful and healthy baby girl when she found out that she was pregnant again. She wasn’t sure how she would feel about being pregnant again now that she had a great career and her daughter was a teenager, but as time went on she was very excited and hoped that this pregnancy would bring her husband closer. and to her On February 1, 1978, she gave birth to a healthy boy named Kenny. Kenny was the center of attention during the first year of his life, adored by all. When it was time for Kenny to receive his eighteen month shots, Barbara had a “feeling” and wasn’t sure what was causing the apprehension. After several long discussions with her pediatrician, her husband, and members of her family, she finally decided to purchase her booster.
On September 6, 1979, Kenny received his last set of the dpt booster: his life would change forever. After a few days, Kenny couldn’t talk, walk or respond with his normal happiness. Even the doctors were puzzled by what had happened; they went on to explain that vaccines for children were very safe. And again, the next day, Kenny started having seizures, still for no reason.
This was Kenny’s life to this day: seizures, mobility issues, no friends, and has features of autism. The doctor even had the nerve to tell his mother that he was mentally retarded. With numerous evaluations, behavior schools, special classes, and countless hours of care and research from his mother, he realized that Kenny would never be a normal boy again.
Even through the years, pediatricians told Kenny’s parents that vaccines were safe. However, a doctor eventually told Barbara that through research it was indicated, after dpt vaccinations, that some children became autistic, mentally challenged, and some even died. This is the worst nightmare of parents: all of us today think about the effect of vaccines on our children. Yet not once did Kenny’s parents, friends, and therapists give up on him. They continued to pressure him to the point that he was finally able to speak through the use of facilitative communication. No one imagined that he had all those thoughts and intelligence in him. He was well aware of his challenges and knew he was different. He was also very mathematically inclined.
To this day, Kenny is a loner, but he has many friends and supporters. He loves to watch people through the upstairs window. He has a set routine that no one can alter or his violent behavior will come to light. But he has made great strides despite facing many obstacles with little support from school systems.
How does a mother do this? You do what you have to do to save your child, never take no for an answer. Many parents of children with special needs have been down this high and low road.
Having worked with family members who have children or adult children with special challenges for over 25 years, Barbara Coppo’s story is the same for many of them. The frustration, the anger, and trying to figure out what they did to cause this. My personal and professional opinion is that everyone involved with children; teachers, coaches, school boards, and therapists should read “The Boy in the Window” to gain a first-hand understanding of what families go through.