Autism and Anxiety

By Kate Swenson | June 17, 2020

I have the most amazing son. He is 9-years-old. Almost double digits. He loves dancing and holding hands and Steve Harvey. He loves climbing in my bed at 1 am and carrying around 17 sheets of paper, all different colors of course. He smells like the wind. And he can find mud anywhere. He has autism. He is autistic. It is part of him like his blonde hair and ruddy eyes. He was nonverbal until he was 8-years-old. Today, he has 15 or so words. They come and go. He…

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Special Needs Parenting Under a Microscope

By Kate Swenson | October 7, 2018 |

You know what I find to be the hardest part of taking my severely autistic son out in public…And it’s not what you think. It’s not the screaming. Or the meltdowns. Or the running or chasing. Or his anxiety. Or managing my stress on top of his. It’s doing it all under a microscope. The curious stares. The people. The knowing how loud my son is. Knowing what a scene we are indeed making. The praying that nothing really bad happens. The hyper awareness that is needed. The worry. It’s…

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