Jennifer Cook O'Toole

She was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2011, just after all three of her children were diagnosed with the same condition. In 2019, she became the inaugural Senior Directorial Consultant for Jefferson University Hospitals Jefferson Health Center for Autism and Neurodiversity in Philadelphia, and was selected to address the United States' National Institutes of Health Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee regarding the unique issues surrounding women, girls, and autism. O'Toole advised the President's Council on Disabilities and President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition at the White House in 2015, and had a voice in the creation of Julia, the first autistic character on Sesame Street.

O'Toole was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and grew up in West Caldwell. She is the only child of Joseph (d. 2007) and Jane Cook. Her father was an international commercial litigator. Her mother served as the only woman on their town council for 12 years.

O'Toole began dancing at age two, continuing through college. At seven, she became a member of Mensa. O'Toole attended Brown University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. 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, NC. In this capacity, she trained officers, led student-focused presentations in colleges and high schools, and served as a victim advocate. In 1999, O'Toole began Master's work at the Graduate School of Social Work at Columbia University in New York City. After Columbia, she enrolled at the Graduate School of Education at Queens University of Charlotte, while teaching language arts 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.

Jennifer 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's Book of the Year Award. Her memoir Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller, a "Best Book" title winner by Publishers Weekly, and named one of both the "Best Autism Books of All Time" and "Best-Selling Autism Books of All Time" by BookAuthority .