Author and influencer talks about autism at library event

With a new book on the New York Times Best Sellers list, Kate Swenson spoke at the Montgomery Public Library on April 15 about the subject matter near and dear to her heart.

Swenson’s new book, “Autism Out Loud,” was released April 1. For the week of April 20, it sits at number 10 on the New York Times Best Seller list under Nonfiction (print and e-book combined). In addition to her, it was co-authored by Carrie Cariello and Adrian Wood.

The small crowd who came to listen to Swenson talk consisted mainly of parents of autistic children.

Swenson, who lives in Woodbury, has four children. Her oldest son, Cooper, is autistic. Cooper’s challenges inspired her to start a blog and Facebook page called “Finding Cooper’s Voice.” The Facebook page has more than a million followers.

The blog inspired Swenson’s first book, “Forever Boy,” which was released in 2022.

Swenson started writing the book during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was locked inside our house with three kids, was pregnant, had six months to write 60,000 words, and had never written a book before.”

Despite the hurdles in writing a first book, Swenson said the book turned out beautifully. “It’s touched more people than I thought it would. I thought it would just be parents of kids with autism, but it’s been grandparents, teachers, therapists and adult siblings.”

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After the book’s release, Swenson didn’t believe she would write another book. She said she wanted to write a book about caregiving, though her publisher told her it wouldn’t sell.

“Autism Out Loud” came together when Swenson joined with Cariello and Wood, who have their own children with autism.

“All three of them have their different challenges,” Swenson told the group. “There is no easy autism.”

Chapters in “Autism Out Loud” include topics on anxiety, special-needs siblings, community, caregiving, grief and what the future looks like. Each author wrote a third of the book.

Swenson noted there were no books like this available when Copper was first diagnosed.

“Our dream was, when a mom or dad hears autism for the first time, and they go to the bookstore or library, and they look for a book, they see this one,” Swenson said. “(Wood) tells a story that she went to her Barnes & Noble and there was one book, and it was on Down syndrome, and it was written by a dad. And she bought it because she was like, “It’s something.” So now we hope parents grab this.”

Swenson looks ahead to the future, something she had not thought about until recently. “No one ever talks about autistic children growing up,” Swenson said. “They’re going to be little forever and you’re in the hard moment that’s you’re in. Take it day by day.” She described a moment recently where a form was sent home from school asking parents what their future plans were for their autistic children. “There reaches a point where you have to start talking about the future, and I feel like I’m there.”