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Kate: OK, so I'm really bad at that. I have none. I mean, fully honest is I literally have the fourth baby changed everything. I would say if I was to have one, I would want to get out to dinner with my husband once a week, except I would need to find help and I don't have that. So I could spend more time with my husband alone without kids. And then I would love to go for a walk every day. Oh my gosh, I would love that. But I'll be honest, I don't have any right now, and it's starting to show and it's wearing on me. What did you know? Kate: And you just said it's been two years since we last talked. I can't believe that that's crazy. So much has happened. I realized in that moment it takes a strong person to have a child in special education. There are no bells and no whistles. This was his first year in kindergarten and I wanted to celebrate it, but it felt like the public education system was telling me it wasn’t going to be special. It was going to be sad and dark. But the special education families, our stuff is always during the workday. Every meeting for an individualized education program or IEP, every conference, they are always during the week at a time that is difficult for any working parent. A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” —William Shakespeare Kate: And here's what's so funny is I feel like I'm kind of a new parent in a way because, you know, Cooper was so different than the baby books predicted. And then Sawyer just kind of skated through because he was so in a sense, you can just say easy to parent. There were no struggles with him in the beginning. So now I'm like, Oh my gosh, terrible threes are a real thing. This is hard, it's like I'm starting over.
Forever Boy, A New Autism Memoir with Kate Swenson Forever Boy, A New Autism Memoir with Kate Swenson
Kevin found out about that one game through one of his friends. It was called "Da Rats" and was about a mad scientist creating an army of mutated rats to take over the world. His mother made him go to the mall if he wanted it, since they were going dress shopping for his sister Susie's prom. Kevin hated the idea, since he would be forced to sit through what could be hours of dress shopping, but he felt the game would be worth it. That’s when I realized what a true friend was. Someone who would always love you—the imperfect you, the confused you, the wrong you—because that is what people are supposed to do.” —R.J.L. An insider’s account of the rampant misconduct within the Trump administration, including the tumult surrounding the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. Here is my favorite thing about long-distance besties; it can be years since you have seen each other and, the minute you start talking, it is like you were never apart.” — Becca AndersonIf you have a best friend that you can talk to about anything and they won’t judge you, never let them go.” —Unknown
Forever Boy Audiobook by Kate Swenson | hoopla
Welcome to the Turn Autism Around podcast for both parents and professionals in the autism world who want to turn things around, be less stressed and lead happier lives. And now your host. Autism Mom, Behavior Analyst, and bestselling author Dr. Mary Barbera. Mary: I'm sure it's going to help many, many thousands, millions of people over time. So what are your hopes for your future, for Cooper's future, for your book, for yourself or your family? What are your hopes?
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Kate: We do. And we have two PCAs that we love, but they're at college right now. So finding help here is one of the problems that we have. We've never really figured out the mystery of finding help and good help.
Forever Boy: Original – HarperCollins
Friendship must be built on a solid foundation of alcohol, sarcasm, inappropriateness, and shenanigans.” —Unknown Mary: It's kind of like having a second. Like, for me two books, it was kind of like having a second baby. It's like, people are like, Oh, are you ready to think about another? It's like, I need some more time. I know you’re my best friend because you can make me laugh simply by laughing. And I don’t even need to know the reason. I’ll just start laughing with you and try to figure it out later.” —Unknown Thank you for still being my friend, despite the fact that you are completely aware of every terrifying, raunchy, explicit detail of my life.” —UnknownGiven how closely relatable I am to Kate’s story, I found this to be very difficult to rate and review. Kate’s blog ‘Finding Coopers Voice’, and now her memoir Forever Boy is in response to her being a mother to an autistic son. When my now ten year old was two I discovered her blog and found it helpful to know that I wasn’t alone. I was a smart, strong, devoted, capable person and I could make this better. I had the power to make this better. And now that we had a diagnosis, it should be easy. Someone, I wasn’t sure who exactly, will tell me what to do. Like a prescription of sorts. Cooper wasn’t the first autistic kid diagnosed, nor would he be the last. I would just help him. Simple as that. By my calculations, he could be fine by kindergarten. That was the goal I set for myself. Kate: I'm already getting that, and I'm like, Oh, yeah, like, my agent was like, What do you think of this idea? And I'm like, I'm not thinking about that idea. Like, I was thinking about this idea.
Bad Boys for Life (2020) - IMDb Bad Boys for Life (2020) - IMDb
If I were to describe Cooper’s toddler years with one word, it would be lonely, a word that I didn’t know before having a baby could be associated with motherhood. Life isn’t about having a thousand friends; it’s about finding the very few right ones you need.” —A.R. Asher I thought about autism. His autism. No one told me it would all be so challenging, that every day would feel like climbing a mountain. They also didn’t tell me it would be so emotional. That seeing other children his age speaking and playing would almost drop me to my knees. It felt as if the world had long passed us by and forgotten about my beautiful boy. Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life—and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next.” —Dean KoontzKate: And that's something you'll hear a lot about now is that it is the spectrum, and there's a lot of anger around the spectrum and what it is, and that's how it was described to me in the beginning. It was this line, the stark line, and it's like, you know, yeah, where you want to be and this is where you are. And I don't think it's like that. I think it's different. My six-year-old son had severe, nonverbal autism. It’s the kind of autism that no one talks about. The kind that isolates families. The kind that doesn’t sleep. The kind that forces a person to fight for every possible service and basic right. The kind that is completely and utterly depleting. The kind that feels hopeless at times.. Mary: Yeah, right. And that comes with a double edged sword because the more followers you have, the more people with, you know, that aren't going to like you, the more hate you can get, the more famous you can get. And I think you did outline that a little bit in your book how you did have a viral video. Mm-Hmm. I think we talked about it last time and it went viral, right? And that's... But in time I learned not to let these people limit my child’s future. Professionals are here to help us and often they do. But they don’t have a crystal ball or the ability to predict a child’s future. Regardless of whether they end up being right or wrong, the one thing we can’t let them do is destroy our hope. It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
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