Posts by Kate Swenson

Yesterday, I went on a field trip to the Minnesota Zoo with my oldest son Cooper and his class. It was pretty amazing really. He is 13 and autistic and it’s a really big deal that his class goes on field trips because not all special education programs do. But it’s so good. It’s so good for the kids and the community and the businesses and the parents. Cooper and I walked together every second of the way. We held hands or he held onto my arm. He was never…

My son, I wonder if you will always reach for my hand when we are walking. I wonder if you will always be precious and innocent. I wonder if you will always gasp at birds and at squirrels. I wonder if you will always point to airplanes. And wave to strangers. And bark when puppies walk by. I wonder if you will always run up to a mud puddle with such joy and excitement and then look back to get my attention before you jump in. I wonder if we…

I never thought I would have four kids. I’m not sure if I’ve ever shared that before. I thought two, maybe three. But four? It still surprises me sometimes. Four is loud. Four is chaotic. Four is wonderful. Four is fulfilling. A few days ago on Easter I woke up first. Which most definitely surprised me because as my two middles went to sleep last night I heard them plotting to wake up early to catch the Easter bunny. As I got the coffee going my third son came downstairs.…

I took two of my kids on a walk this morning. It’s our first real spring like day in Minnesota. Sawyer rode his bike and I pushed the little one in the stroller. Five minutes in, Sawyer’s bike tire popped. Like dramatically. Like in a cartoon. WHOOOSH the air blew out. His face fell. A popped tire was not in his plans. I told him that we would park his bike in the neighbor’s yard so we could get our walk in. As his mom, I knew his wiggles needed…

When you have a child diagnosed with autism, it’s not about you as the parent. At least that’s what we are told. Your sole focus becomes helping your child. Getting them the help they need. Services. Supports. Therapies. Education. And so on. That’s the role of a parent. And that’s how it should be. But one part that is overlooked, I think, is the evolution of the parent. Their journey. And the patience that should be given to them when everything changes suddenly. It’s not easy ya know. Stepping off…

I could tell you a hundred things this kid has taught me in his thirteen years. More than most adults I know honestly. I had no idea when I was pregnant with my first born that he would end up being the teacher that I needed. Or that a child would turn me into the person I was meant to be. Funny to think about how I actually fought it at first. See, that’s the fear of the unknown. It’s a natural human reaction I suppose. I was scared. It’s…

At the park last night, one of these boys played with boys his own age. He went up the slide and scaled the jungle gym like an acrobat. One of these boys chased after the older boys. They tickled him and he loved the attention. He went down the slide a hundred times and said…’mommy watch this!’ The other boy felt the mulch with his fingers, went down the slide twice because his mom asked him too, and spent the majority of his time tapping the metal garbage can and…

The thing with growing tiny humans is they are always changing. Learning. Absorbing. Getting bigger. My son Cooper is 13 years old. He wants to ride an Amtrak train more than anything. He wants to have a party with his three friends, Dexter, Peyton, and Landon. He loves going to school. He also is autistic and technically nonspeaking on paper. But if you know him you know he has loads of words and sounds and signs and he can spell and read and even use movie scenes to tell us…