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Aurora's Guiding Light Foundation, Hazelhurst, WI (2026)

08/27/2026

AGLF officially turned ONE ☝️ TODAY! 🥹🥹🥹

While we’ve been hosting the Annual Autism events for FOUR YEARS 🤯 it’s our first full year as a non-profit & we are so grateful for each and every one of you!!!

Crazy beautiful to see how far this community of advocates has come 🥹

There has been no shortage of lessons, obstacles and hard times but the JOY, GRATITUDE & BEST TIMES are what shine the brightest 🥹🥹🥹

Thank you for loving and supporting us AND one another the way that you do. You guys are the foundation, the heart and soul of what we do and we cannot thank you enough for that.

What started as a small group of people who were lonely, confused but willing to do anything they could to make a difference - has evolved into a society of heart felt togetherness and acceptance with no intention of stopping now 🥹🥰🫶

Year one absolutely felt like awkward growing pains, year two already feels 💛GOLDEN💛

& on that note, I’ll leave you with some lyrics from one of Aurora’s favorite movies - Kpop Demon Hunters 🎶💛🤘

🎼We're goin' up, up, up, It's our moment
You know together we're glowing
Gonna be, gonna be goldеn
Oh, up, up, up
With our voices
Gonna be, gonna be golden

I'm done hidin' now I'm shinin'
Like I'm born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That's who we're born to be🎵

If you have a happy memory with us from the last year we would love to read it in the comments 🥹 & as always, sharing is caring - so please share this post and help us not only celebrate but spread the word about what AGLF is all about! 🫶

- Alexandra Kuckkahn, mom, president, & officially one year down with forever to go with this amazing thing we made 🥹🫶💛

08/03/2026

Kali Anne llc is offering sensory friendly hair cuts just in time for back to school!!!

Such an amazing opportunity!!!

07/31/2026

Family outings used to be full of anxiety for us - but if uncle is going to be there - Aurora and I both exhale a little bit 🥹

So grateful for our family and the people who make our girl feel safe and supported.

This little clip lives rent free in my head 🥹🥹🥹 and we hope you enjoy it too!

Tag your safe people in the comments and show them some love today 🫶

07/15/2026

On behalf of Aurora and myself… thank you. 🤍

Thank you for every kind comment, message, and word of encouragement yesterday. We read them all, and they meant more than you know.

And I’m sorry I disappeared after posting.

After days like yesterday… everyone just needs a little space. 🧘‍♀️

But if you’ve been wondering the rest of the day went / today is going …

We’re wonderful.

Not because yesterday was easy.

Because it wasn’t.

It started with one of those hard moments that every special needs parent knows all too well.

But it ended with something beautiful.

Understanding.

Communication.

Connection between a mother and daughter.

If you haven’t watched yesterday’s video yet, I hope you do. Not because it’s a polished highlight reel - but because it’s real. And sometimes the most meaningful progress happens in the moments we’d rather not post.

If ten years from now you happen to see Aurora and me carefree on any given beach on any day of the week…

Just know that life was built on days like yesterday.

The exhausting days.

The messy days.

The less than polished for social media days.

To every special needs mom surviving summer right now…

I see you.

The therapies.
The meltdowns.
The constant planning.
The victories that no one else notices.

Your hard work matters.

Even on the days it doesn’t feel like it.

- Alexandra Kuckkahn, mom, president & collector of really hard days that somehow become really beautiful ones. 🫶

07/14/2026

Long video but worth it if you’re having a hard time this summer 🫶

this message is for my girl Katie Pitlik - who always is there for me if I need a safe place to talk or the perfect beach recommendation 🥹

We still have another hour until it’s time to pick up Lou Bug from her lesson, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity for a car confessional while the kids watch their favorite shows and Roar stims happily 💕

07/08/2026

On this episode of “Aurora Humbles her Mother” 😹 we learn something new about her opinion of me…

She thinks I’m a bad cook. 😹

But the lesson runs deeper than that.

We were about to have a 9.5 on the Richter scale meltdown over Alfredo sauce.

And I’m not just talking about Aurora, folks - Mommy was also on the brink of melting too.

Important info to have: I went to bed at midnight and didn’t fall asleep until 6 a.m.

It was one of those nights where my thoughts ate me alive, no matter what I tried to do to stop them from consuming me.

I had just hit that HARD nod right before you finally crash into sleep when I heard a knock.

The “I need to go to the bathroom” knock from Roar.

I let her into our bathroom, and luckily she went back to her room afterward.

The rest of my world left for work around 6:30 for work or slept in until 9:30, and Aurora slept until almost 11:30.

She must have had a restless night too… she just didn’t let me know this time, which she usually does.

Regardless of being exhausted, our yearly trip to our favorite campground is tomorrow, and camping with four kids with absolutely no preparation is, in fact, a death sentence. 😹

So into the kitchen I went to begin my mission…

…when a fiery little girl dressed head to toe in pink came barreling toward me to rip the Alfredo jars right out of my hands. 😅😅😅

If there was ever a moment I wasn’t going to have the patience to talk something through…

This would’ve been it.

But yesterday, when I got home from my Mommy Mental Health solo pedicure date, Jason told me Aurora had spent the entire time I was gone rereading our communication journal.

That one little victory was enough to help me keep my cool.

Even if it was all being held together by one singular bobby pin.

Today’s mother-daughter journal journey wasn’t nearly as peaceful as yesterday’s.

Homegirl was BIG MAD.

After informing me that I’m apparently a terrible cook… she was still upset.

Then I realized…

The music was playing.

The TV was on.

Her siblings were playing LOUDLY.

And I was being…

…well…

Me.

A previous version of me would’ve said,

“Sit down. We’re talking this out. This isn’t how we treat each other.”

Demanding.

Bossy.

Kind…

…but aggressively kind.

Sound familiar?

Apple, meet tree.

Instead, I asked her one question.

“Am I being a lot?”

She looked at me and answered…

YES. 😹😹😹😹😹

Consider my ego completely demolished at that point.

But honestly?

That was the least of my concerns.

Because…

WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS, BABY!!!

Did this conversation take hours?

Yes.

Did I end it with a headache from the sheer amount of brainpower it takes to ask the right questions?

One thousand percent.

Aurora and I have tried versions of this method for the last ten years.

But it hasn’t been until just this last month that something has finally slipped into rhythm.

Between her incredibly hard work…

The teachers…

The paraprofessionals…

The specialists…

And whatever crash course we’ve been putting ourselves through at home…

We’ve finally arrived at this incredibly important part of our walk.

The part that sometimes feels more like crawling…

Through fire.

Nobody handed us the missing piece.

We just kept rearranging the ones we already had until they finally started fitting together.

Aurora has been able to read since she was five. (You can’t convince me otherwise)

That’s why I’ve always written to her…

About her…

For her…

But now…

We’re finally writing together.

While I still feel like her personal Sherlock Holmes some days, I feel less like I’m making my best guess about who my daughter is.

Aurora likes cheddar cheese over Muenster.

Grape jelly instead of strawberry.

And she thinks putting Alfredo sauce in mac and cheese is absolutely criminal.

I know…

Because she told me.

I sobbed when I wrote that last sentence.

Twelve years into motherhood, and I’m still discovering who my daughter is.

That doesn’t make me late.

It makes me incredibly lucky.

And makes for one beautiful life.

And just in case anyone is wondering…

The last two pictures are of Lorelei happily curled up on the couch eating MY mac and cheese.

So while Aurora may have officially revoked my chef status…

I’m pleased to report I still have at least one loyal customer. 😉

Alexandra Kuckkahn, Mommy, President & Apparently not the best cook… according to Aurora. 😹

07/07/2026

For as long as I can remember, Aurora has asked for the bathroom…

A lot.

Sometimes she genuinely needs the bathroom.

But sometimes…

she doesn’t.

I’ve had a feeling for a long time that what she was really asking for wasn’t a bathroom.

It was an escape.

A break.

A moment where the world could quiet down.

I actually know this feeling really well.

I was an avid bathroom camper growing up.

When life felt too loud, too overwhelming, or too much, I’d disappear into a bathroom because it was one of the only places where no one expected anything from me. For some people, especially those who’ve experienced stress or trauma, the bathroom can become a place of refuge.

So I recognized it in Aurora.

The hard part wasn’t figuring out why she was doing it.

The hard part was figuring out how to let her know that I knew.

Because I think so much of Aurora’s frustration comes from feeling like no one understands what she’s trying to say.

I’ve never been angry about her behaviors.

I’ve been trying to understand them.

Not because I wanted them to stop…

but because I wanted Aurora to know she didn’t have to carry all of that frustration by herself anymore.

So today, we started something new.

A communication journal.

I asked her,

“When you say ‘bathroom,’ do you sometimes mean ‘break’?”

She didn’t write break.

She quietly circled yes.

That circle may not look like much to anyone else.

Maybe she was simply answering my question.

Maybe she was just drawing a circle.

But sitting next to my daughter…

it felt like understanding.

Like she was saying,

“Yes, Mom. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

So we practiced.

Writing break.

Saying break.

Learning that this feeling she’s carried for so long has a word.

Then, together, we built something new.

🤍 Sad Break - when your feelings are hurt.

❤️ Mad Break - when you’re so frustrated you feel like hitting.

💛 Scared Break - when something makes you nervous or afraid.

💚 “A Lot” Break - when everything is just… too loud, too bright, too confusing… just too much.

Each one has its own little drawing because, for Aurora, pictures often make more sense than words.

Then I asked her one more question.

“When you’re upset… could you ask for a break instead of hitting?”

She quietly circled yes again.

Will this change everything overnight?

Of course not.

Communication isn’t built in a day.

Trust isn’t either.

But this isn’t really about replacing behaviors overnight.

It’s about putting language to feelings.

It’s about making language make sense.

Aurora has always had incredible intelligence.

She’s always had thoughts worth sharing.

She’s always had feelings bigger than most people realize.

Language is simply the bridge she’s had the hardest time crossing.

For Aurora, her first language has never really been spoken words.

It’s been feelings.

Behavior.

Reading a room.

Knowing when something feels safe…

and when it doesn’t.

I’ve always believed her behaviors meant something.

I just wanted to find a way for both of us to understand the message before her body had to speak it.

Every new word isn’t just vocabulary.

It’s another bridge between Aurora’s inner world and the people who love her.

Maybe this journal won’t just teach Aurora new words.

Maybe it’ll remind her of something even more important.

That she is understood.

That she is safe.

And that she never has to cross that bridge alone. ❤️

- Alexandra Kuckkahn, mom, president & the original bathroom camper 🏕️

07/05/2026

Some days are challenging, some days are the best days of your life 🥹

Today was one of the best ones 🥹😭❤️

So grateful for Hannah Mae Wallis of Hope Beyond 21 for inviting us to be apart of her float today in Tomahawk, WI!

Aurora (and all of us) felt that kind of joy that can only be born from consideration, kindness and caring 🥹

Tonight, Aurora walked out in my Hope Beyond 21 hat which may seem like small gesture to some - but for families like ours - we know it’s a lot more.

Symbolism is a huge thing in autism. It’s one of the reasons familiar phrases, visual schedules, and meaningful objects can carry so much significance.

She found that hat and chose to wear it because she associates that logo with the happiness she felt today - with joy, belonging, and fun.

What a beautiful and perfect representation of all that Hannah’s team does 🥹

We are so happy to know these guys and to be doing the dang thing along side them.

Thank you for asking us to join you and for being such a special part of our journey. Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it 🥹

07/02/2026

What these pictures don’t show… ❤️

They don’t just show the broken TV.

Or the cracked AAC device.

Or the hole in the camper.

They don’t show two parents quietly changing plans in real time because the child they love needed something different than the weekend we had imagined.

And they don’t show my thought process or the weird survival tactics I’ve developed to cope.

I have a habit that probably seems strange to most people.

Whenever something gets broken during one of Aurora’s moments of dysregulation, I take a picture.

Not because I’m angry.

Not because I want to remember the broken things.

But because they’re placeholders.

Proof that it was real.

On the hard days, they remind me that I’m not imagining it. That the challenges are real. That the exhaustion is real. That the grief that comes with watching your child’s needs change is real.

And when I scroll past those pictures later, I almost always find something else…

A photo of Aurora laughing.

A sunset.

A hug.

A quiet moment.

A memory that reminds me the joy was just as real.

The love I share with my daughter is real.

The challenges we face are real.

And happiness still exists right alongside both of them.

That’s why every photo in this post belongs here.

They tell the whole story - not just the parts that are easy to look at.

When we bought these tickets months ago, Aurora’s needs looked different than they do today. Puberty has changed things. Transitions have changed things. Her regulation has changed. None of that is anyone’s fault - it just means we have to keep learning who she is becoming.

The moment that changed our weekend wasn’t because she wasn’t allowed to do something.

It was because she wanted to ride the Slingshot ride more than anything… but when it came time, she couldn’t make herself do it.

That disappointment was simply bigger than her nervous system could hold.

Sometimes that’s what dysregulation looks like.

So instead of trying to force our original plans, we changed them.

One parent stayed at the campground while the other took the kids to the Hoofbeat.

There was an emergency McDonald’s run because sometimes familiar feels safe.

There was homemade slime.

An at-home movie theater in the pop up tent outside the camper.

Headliners we had been looking forward to became easy decisions to miss.

I missed Kane Brown pit night and another evening of concerts.

Her dad stayed back another night and built the outdoor cinema so I could catch Jason Aldean.

Not because either of us “deserved a break.”

Because that’s what teamwork looks like.

Could we have pushed harder?

Maybe.

Would we have gotten the weekend we planned?

Probably not.

But we did get the weekend Aurora (and all of us) needed.

And that’s the thing about parenting children with significant support needs…

Sometimes success isn’t measured by how many memories you pack into a weekend.

Sometimes it’s measured by how quickly you’re willing to let go of the plan.

By choosing regulation over expectation.

Connection over perfection.

The concerts will come again.

The pit passes, the headliners, the weekends we’ve dreamed about… they’ll all be there another time.

The memories my daughter has of feeling safe with us during one of the hardest moments of her weekend? Those are worth infinitely more.

Because every child deserves to experience the world - but sometimes the world has to be experienced differently. And that’s okay. ❤️

- Alexandra Kuckkahn,
mom, president & learning as we go. ❤️

06/24/2026

Someone asked me recently what it’s like raising a child with significant support needs.

I don’t know if I have the perfect answer.

But tonight, this is what came to mind:

The journey is long days, short years, and slow, slow progress.

Most parents get milestones close enough together that they can feel themselves moving forward.

With kids like Aurora, the victories are often years apart.

In between are the meetings.
The paperwork.
The waiting.
The uncertainty.
The setbacks.
The trying again.

Sometimes progress looks like a new AAC phrase.

A successful transition.

A week with fewer incidents.

A skill that took months or years - to appear.

It’s not that progress isn’t happening.

It’s that it often happens in geological time.

And when you’re living it day by day, you don’t always experience the growth.

You experience the waiting.

The hardest part isn’t always the work.

It’s watching the clock move faster than the system.

You see adulthood coming.

You see the future.

You see everything your child will need.

And the world keeps moving at bureaucratic speed.

I think that’s where so much of the grief lives.

Not because we’ve lost hope.

Not because we don’t believe in our children.

But because we know exactly what the cost of waiting looks like.

We’ve lived it.

Still, when I look back, I realize something important.

Slow doesn’t mean stuck.

Aurora is not where she was.

Neither am I.

The progress may be painfully slow, but it is progress all the same.

So tonight, if you’re a parent standing in the waiting, wondering if anything is changing:

It is.

You just might not be able to see it yet from where you’re standing.

❤️

- Alexandra Kuckkahn
Mom, President & building the world I wish we’d found ❤️

Aurora's Guiding Light Foundation

08/27/2026

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07/31/2026

07/15/2026

07/14/2026

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06/24/2026

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