Posts by Kate Swenson

‘Brother doesn’t talk mama……’ That’s what he said to me a few months after he turned three. He was downstairs with his older brother. Eight years between them. The conversation one sided when I peeked in. The older brother dancing to the songs on his iPad. The younger brother playing dinosaurs. The moved around the room together. Clumsily. Interacting at times. But more often not. ‘Why doesn’t he talk mama?’ I did my best to explain autism to the tiny human who I know without a doubt will grow up…

I want to tell you about a boy. His name is Cooper. He is 12 years old. And he was diagnosed with severe nonverbal autism at age 3. When I heard those three words for the first time, severe-nonverbal-autism, associated with my son, it felt like everything shifted. Some things slightly. Some drastically. Everything that once was…was suddenly no more. I spent a lot of time googling, reading, researching, until I realized my best teacher was my own son. I say that because there is no text book on autism.…

‘What kind of autism does he have?’ I get that question a lot lately. It typically comes from someone new to my life. A fellow sports parent. A stranger at a party. A grandparent at the park. See when I tell people I have four kids, ages 1-12, people ask questions. What schools do they go too? What sports do they play? Do you know so and so? My son is 12 too! I tell them about each of my kids, with pride and love and humor. I share stories…

I have four kids. My older two are 12 and 10. Brothers. The oldest is 12. He loves trains and DVD cases and bright colored paper. He is part fish and would live in the water if I let him. He does not like sports. Not one bit. But he adores sitting in the sun with a queen sized comforter and a pillow. My 10 year old lives for a party. He plays hockey and baseball and anything competitive. He adores babies and puppies and asking me for Roblox. Talks…

Something happened yesterday. Something huge. But I missed it because life was happening. I had a baby crying and on my hip. The stove timer was yelling at me reminding me that the asparagus was done. We needed to get to Miracle League Sports. My middle son had baseball practice. And that’s when it happened. During all of that. My son Cooper said the word car. Which I guess doesn’t sound all that great. Everyone can say car right? Well, my boy is unique. He is 12 years old. He…

One minute and 3 seconds. That’s how long the voicemail was from the school today. About my son. Cooper. He is 12 years old. He has severe nonverbal autism. It wasn’t the first. It won’t be the last. It was kind. And came from a place of love and concern. We live in the special education world. I call it a secret world. And it truly is. I’m not sure anyone would deny it. Because I am raising three other small humans and have never experienced anything with them like…

I stumbled across an old blog post of mine the other day titled, ‘What if my son never speaks to me?’ The words that followed were filled with fear and longing. My son was 5. And my hope had ran out. Why? Well, someone, a professional, had told me that if my son, a little boy with severe, nonverbal autism, didn’t speak by age four, then game over. I was crushed. Devastated. Heartbroken. As I read my fears displayed on my computer screen, I had this urge to hug the…