Posts by Kate Swenson

I received a lot of questions when I shared that I was getting my nonverbal 13-year-old son a cell phone. To be honest, I questioned myself. But I had a dream laced with hope and determination. Verbally speaking is not possible for my son right now. He shows no desire. We’ve modeled pretty much every other type of communication you can imagine too. Sign language. Gestures. A speech device. Spelling. And so on. Sometimes his autism feels like a closed door. Or something just out of reach. I can see…

Today is my son Sawyer’s eleventh birthday. Which is a really big deal. Because according to him he’s basically 16. I am a storyteller. At least I consider myself one. I think our stories are what complete us. And telling stories about Sawyer are my favorite. And I write them down so one day, when I am old and grey, we will have them to look at. This is my favorite Sawyer story… We had arrived at Cooper’s school to pick him up for the day. It was Jamie, Sawyer,…

My son, Your birthday is in 8 days. You have been counting down since mid December. You love your birthday. And you love being older. So much so that you are already telling people you are 11 years old. I lovingly correct you every time, reminding you that you are still my 10 year old. For a few more days at least. I also threaten you with a potion that will keep you little forever. When you were younger you belived me that it would work. You aren’t scared anymore.…

Every morning I wake up to messages from people on social media. Most are well-meaning. Many are kind. A few are awful. Some are bizarre. And some, tell me how to raise my son. And how I’m doing it wrong. They tell me what I should be doing, how I can do it better, and what I can and cannot say about him. I’ve gathered a list of what I cannot say. I cannot say he has autism. Or is autistic. I can’t say he is nonverbal or nonspeaking. I…

We have a unique family. At least I think we do. We have a teen and a tween and a little and a toddler and a super social dad and a tired mom. We have four that like to go and do and one that needs a little more encouragement. We have four that are extremely social and two that prefer the comforts of home. And we have autism too. Which means some things just aren’t possible right now. Like flying in an airplane. Or long car rides. And sitting…

Did you know there are some women out their who never whine? Or complain? Or even say it’s hard. I never knew that. I really didn’t. So when I stumbled across a post on Facebook bashing women for talking, or as they said whining, about the hard parts of life, I was shocked. Apparently, these so called whiners hate their kids and husbands. It was a lot to take in I a tell ya. I realized, they are probably talking about me. I talk, whine, complain, vent all the time.…

This morning, when I came out of my bedroom, far earlier than I would have liked, I knew my son Cooper was waiting on the stairs for me. For one I could hear train whistles and happy music coming from his ipad. We often hear him before we see him. And secondly, lately, he’s been waiting for me more. Near, but far. Not close enough to touch, but easily heard and seen if I peek around a corner or under a table. He gasped as he usually does when it’s…

A few nights ago, my husband and I found ourselves driving around a picturesque town for 20 minutes or so…alone. We had no kids with us. There was no loud noise or fighting, endless questions, or voices from an iPad. It was just us, driving around looking at holiday lights, Christmas music playing softly. Eventually we found ourselves in the parking lot of what looked like a brand new apartment complex located right on the river. It was breathtaking. After looking at the sign, we saw it was for folks…

When you have a child who communicates differently than most, you learn to listen with more than your ears. You learn to communicate with a look, a touch, a gesture. Words became less important. You read your child’s needs just by looking at their eyes. A simple look is all you need. You know what a sounds means. One grunt or squeal can tell you everything you need to know. A flap of a hand or a stomp means happy or stressed. Some days you swear you can even feel…

Tonight was one of those really special nights. Our family, along with 25 or so other families, spent an evening with Santa Pj and Sparkles the Elf. Some kids lined up chairs. Another watched an old 1950’s train docu-series on YouTube called Hobart and Cosmo. A few played tag. Some did crafts. One young man had a stack of paper with printed photos of the vintage treasures he wanted. Another young man wore noise canceling headphones the entire time. A few used speech devices to say…’hi Santa.’ One beautiful girl…