Jennifer Lynn Cook (formerly Cook O'Toole; born October 24, 1975) is an American author and speaker. She is known for her six ''Asperkids'' books, which have been translated into six languages and include the winner of the

Autism Society of America The Autism Society of America (ASA) was founded in 1965 by Bernard Rimland together with Ruth C. Sullivan and a small group of other parents of autistic children. Its original name was the National Society for Autistic Children; the name was chang ...

's ''Book of the Year'' Award. Her memoir, ''Autism in Heels'', is a ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' Bestseller, and a "Best Book" title winner by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''. She is the on-camera autism expert in

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's series '' Love on the Spectrum''. Cook was diagnosed with

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

in 2011; all three of her children have also been diagnosed with the condition. In 2019, she became the inaugural Senior Directorial Consultant for the

Jefferson Health Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc, branded as Jefferson Health, is a multi-state non-profit health system whose flagship hospital is Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City Philadelphia. The health system's hospitals serve ...

Center for Autism and Neurodiversity in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and was selected to address the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) is a United States federal advisory panel within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It coordinates all efforts within HHS concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The IACC was ...

regarding the unique issues surrounding women, girls, and autism. Cook advised the President's Council on Disabilities and

President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is a federal advisory committee that aims to promote "programs and initiatives that motivate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to lead active, healthy lives." It i ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

in 2015, and, as an Advisor to the

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and Television station, television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's ...

, has a voice in the development of

Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...

, the first autistic character on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' and their "See the Amazing in Every Child" initiative. She is a featured contributor in

Tony Attwood Anthony John Attwood (born 9 February 1952) is a British psychologist notable for his work on Asperger syndrome. He resides in Queensland, Australia, where he is an associate professor at Griffith University. Education He received an honours deg ...

's ''Top Aspie Mentors: Been There, Done That'' and ''Autism & Learning Differences'', and wrote the forewords to ''Dragonfly: A Daughter's Emergence from Autism: A Practical Guide for Parents'' and ''Easy to Love, Hard to Live With''. Cook sits on the Autism Society of America's Council of Autistic Advisors, is a columnist/expert panelist for

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Amy Poehler's Smart Girls is an organization and website aimed at helping young women with life's problems in a funny and informative way. It was founded by actress Amy Poehler, Executive Director Meredith Walker, who was the former senior producer ...

, Autism Asperger's Digest, ''Zoom Autism'' magazine, ''AuKids'' magazine, ''Special'' magazine and the Journal for the North American Montessori Teachers' Association NAMTA, and is a commentator on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's '' WHYY'' and ''

WFAE WFAE (90.7 MHz) is a non-commercial public radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the main NPR news and information member in the Charlotte region. The station's main studios and offices are at One University Place in the Universit ...

'', as well as

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

WTXF-TV WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned and operated by the Fox network through its Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Market Street in Center City an ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''Charlotte Today''.

Background

Cook was born in

Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,802, an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2010 United St ...

, and grew up in

West Caldwell West Caldwell is a township located in the West Essex area in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located approximately west of Manhattan and northwest of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the townsh ...

. She is the only child of Joseph (d. 2007) and Jane Cook. Her father was an international commercial

litigator A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. Th ...

. Her mother served as the only woman on their

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

for 12 years. Cook began dancing at age two, continuing through college. Cook attended

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, where she was a member of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international Fraternities and sororities, sorority founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established ...

. She majored in American Civilization, graduating with high honors in 1997. She was hired as a counselor in the Domestic Violence Unit of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. In this capacity, she trained officers, led student-focused presentations in colleges and high schools, and served as a victim advocate. In 1999, Cook began

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

work at the Graduate School of Social Work at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York City. After Columbia, she enrolled at the Graduate School of Education at

Queens University of Charlotte The Queens University of Charlotte is a private university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It has approximately 1,900 undergraduate and graduate students. Established in 1857, the university offers 50 undergraduate majors, 58 minors, ...

, while teaching

language arts English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries. This is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is a distin ...

at both the middle school and high school levels. In her first term, she garnered a student-initiated nomination for Disney's American Teacher of the Year Award.

Personal life

Cook was married to John O'Toole from 2001 to 2018, with whom she has three children. She married her second husband, Brett Banks, in 2019. Cook and her family live near

. In addition to

, she has

synesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with sy ...

Bibliography

Asperkids series

* ''Asperkids: An Insider's Guide to Loving, Understanding and Teaching Children with Asperger Syndrome''
(2012,

Jessica Kingsley Publishers Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP) is a multinational publishing house headquartered in London. It was founded as an independent publisher in 1987 by Jessica Kingsley. Since 2017, JKP operates as an imprint of John Murray Press. History Early ...

) * ''The Asperkids' (Secret) Book of Social Rules: The Handbook of Not-So- Obvious Guidelines for Teens and Tweens''
(2012, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) * ''The Asperkid's Launch Pad: Home Design That Empowers Everyday Superheroes''
(2013, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) * ''The Asperkid's Not-Your-Average-Coloring Book''
(2013, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) * ''The Asperkid's Game Plan: Purposeful Play, Extraordinary Minds.... Ordinary Stuff''
(2014, Jessica Kingsley Publishers)

Other books

* ''Sisterhood of the Spectrum: An Asperger Chick's Guide to Life''
(2015, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) * ''Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum''
(2018, Skyhorse Publishers) * ''My Friend Julia: A Sesame Street Book about Autism''
(2023, Lerner Publishers)

Contributions

* Foreword for ''Dragonfly: A Daughter's Emergence from Autism: A Practical Guide for Parents'' by Lori Ashley Taylor
(2018, Skyhorse Publishers) * Foreword for ''Easy to Love but Hard to Live With: Real People, Invisible Disabilities, True Stories'' edited by Lisa Davis
(2014, DRT Press) * Featured 'World's Top Aspie Mentors' contributor for ''Been There. Done That. Try This!: An Aspie's Guide to Life on Earth'' edited by Tony Attwood
(2014, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) * Featured contributor for ''Autism and Learning Differences: An Active Learning, Teaching Toolkit'' by Michael P. MacMannon, with a foreword by Stephen Shore
(2015, Jessica Kingsley Publishers)

Podcast

* ''Speaking Geek: Translating Typical for the Human Spectrum''

Awards and honors

: Best Books List *

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

Book of Distinction Starred Review by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

*24 Amazing Feminist Books of 2018,

Book Riot ''Book Riot'' is an independent literary website founded in 2011. The site publishes a range of book-related articles, book reviews, newsletters, and podcasts. The site is operated by Riot New Media Company, which was co-founded by Jeff O'Neal ...

, 2018 * Outstanding Literary Work of the Year, Autism Society of America, 2014 * 50 Most Influential Women in North Carolina, 2014 * 25 Most Amazing Autistic Women, ''Autistic Spectrum Digest'', August 2014 *

Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic, inventor, and ethologist. She is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. ...

Award for Outstanding Global Contributions, Future Horizons * Women Inspiring Strength & Hope Award, Make-A-Wish * GRASP Excellence in Parenting/Distinguished Spectrumite * AuKids Speaker of the Year * Leading Woman, The Kappa Alpha Theta Leading Women Award (2013) * Disney's Babble: Top 30 Autism Spectrum Blogs 2013 * Disney's Babble: Top 30 Autism Facebook Fan Pages 2013 * Disney's Babble: Top 30 Autism Websites * Godiva's Woman of the Year, Nominee

References

External links

Author website
*
Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Jennifer 1975 births Writers from Essex County, New Jersey Living people Brown University alumni Mensans People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey People from West Caldwell, New Jersey People with Asperger syndrome Autistic writers American writers with disabilities 21st-century American non-fiction writers American non-fiction children's writers