I hope this video speaks a million words. I tried to convey the wide range of emotions we experience daily: from the sadness of Charlie’s communication difficulties to the joy of the little successes we get too.

I tried to give Charlie the voice he doesn’t have in this video, knowing it’s frowned upon. But let me tell you, if one day Charlie tells me that I got all his feelings wrong and that I suck for speaking for him, I’ll be the happiest mom in the world because it’ll mean he did it—he beat the odds and found a way to communicate. Besides, all I did was put into words some of the things he communicates to us nonverbally.

Anyway, enjoy a glimpse into our and Charlie’s world.