COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. – For Kate and Jamie Swenson, raising 6-year-old Cooper can mean guessing games at snack time, perpetual train videos on the tablet, and bedtimes that sometimes seem to never come. “He screams one to two hours a night. When you hear me say one-two hours, you probably think I’m exaggerating. I’m not exaggerating,” Kate said. Cooper is severely autistic and is non-verbal. And his parents seem to take it in stride. “People are so afraid of the word Autism. And it really shouldn’t be so scary,” Kate…
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This morning my autistic son crawled into bed with me at 1 AM. This is very, very rare for Cooper. One year ago, yes, he was a terrible sleeper. He would wake up a dozen times a night and start his days at 3 AM. But, not anymore. My kid is a sleeper now. My first thought…he is in pain. As Cooper’s mom, I’ve learned that when behaviors change in a child on the spectrum, finding the reasons why can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack.…
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Dear friends and family outside of autism world, I want to thank you for loving my son. And no, this isn’t another letter about my little superhero Cooper. It’s a letter about my other son. My son Sawyer. He is my wild, adventurous, exhausting, never-stop-talking, little angel. The one who doesn’t understand autism and all of its constraints. The one who doesn’t understand why it feels like our world revolves around his brother. I Want To Thank You I simply want to thank you for loving him and for stepping…
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One of the main reasons I started blogging about my life with an autistic child was to help other parents learn to talk about the emotions that go into raising a child with a lifelong disability. I knew what I was feeling and I knew I couldn’t be alone. Yet, it felt that way. The Roller Coaster If you are anything like me the whole thing feels like a rollercoaster. In the beginning you would’ve done anything for your child to not be on the spectrum. Maybe you were in denial.…
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There are moments I know I am going to remember forever. And one of them is reading this text message from Cooper’s school. He did it. He pooped at school. I want to be honest when I say I never fully believed that my autistic son would be potty trained. That’s how high the mountain was for him. At age six it felt like he was nowhere close. He loved his diapers. He refused to sit on the toilet for longer than 15 seconds and he’d scream and kick and…
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I am the mom to an amazing kiddo. He is almost seven. He also happens to be autistic. We have a bond that is indescribable. I am his voice. He is my purpose. I can read his mind. I can understand every scream, grunt, flap and hum. I know what he needs when he points to his Kindle. I know when he’s hungry and thirsty just by the look on his face. I just know. It’s my job to know. It’s my life. Parenting in general is not easy. We…
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I had a long discussion with Cooper’s therapy team this week about potty training. They know him well obviously. He is almost seven. He is pee trained and has been since he was four. If he is not wearing a diaper he will use the toilet completely on his own. He recognizes he has to pee, drops his pants wherever he is in the house, penguin walks to the toilet, and pees. He does not have accidents even if we are away from our home. And a week or so…
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I’ve been writing about our autism journey for nearly four years now. Which blows my mind. Cooper was diagnosed at age three. Some days I can’t believe we’ve been on the autism path for that long. And then some days it feels like an actual life time. Writing has always been my escape. When no one in my real life understood what I was going through I would write it out. And immediately feel better. Writing was a way to connect with other parents that were on my same path.…
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When my son was first diagnosed on the spectrum I immediately dove into research. That’s the kind of mom I was. I wanted to be educated. I wanted to help my son in every way possible. Of course I took a few days to be really sad. I’m not scared to admit that. The diagnosis, although not unexpected, hit me like a ton of bricks. I remember I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. I didn’t know what to do, how to act, or where…
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I have two amazing little boys. Cooper is six and Sawyer is four. I always dreamt of having a huge family. I thought for sure I’d have at least four kids. A bunch of dogs too. A full life as they say. In a way I think I thrive on chaos. I love being busy and having fun. If you know me then you know I am rarely sitting down. As a newlywed when I thought of the future I pictured baseball games and school dances. I truly believed that…
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