Celebrating Neurodiversity

This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Although I am not Neurodivergent myself, I have family and friends who are. 

In this blog I share ways that I celebrate and include Neurodiversity in my debut book, Slow Down Amaya. 

My Experience 

I have worked with in the youth and community work sector for over 10 years. I have been working in the wellness field for four years.

Which means I've met and worked with people from many different backgrounds.

Over the last 7 years, I have worked with primary school and S1 pupils, where a large number of them were Neurodiverse. 

They all of course all had different personalities, interests, and backgrounds.

Often the children displayed different behaviours in various situations. Which we all do to varying degrees in our lives.

By working with them individually and in groups I created positive relationships with them. This provided the opportunity to explore their social and emotional world and the chance to support them in developing their emotional literacy. 

Treating each child as an individual helped them feel listened to, understood and accepted. The individual sessions with children, in particular, offered space for children to have personalised activities and discussions. 

During my time working with children I realised that I hadn't come across any children's books that had neurodiverse characters in them. 

Which is surprising considering it is estimated that 15-20% of children and young people in the UK are Neurodivergent. This likely doesn't include those who are undiagnosed. 

When I was writing Slow Down Amaya, I felt it was important for children to see themselves and others they know in the book. 

ADHD

The main character, Amaya, has ADHD.

In my experience, I have mainly worked with boys who have been diagnosed with ADHD. The girls weren't usually diagnosed but they displayed signs of potentially having ADHD.

Girls with ADHD or undiagnosed ADHD tend to present differently to boys. Girls are additionally less likely to be diagnosed due to not showing as many hyperactive tendencies.

Since predominantly boys are diagnosed and society may be more likely to acknowledge and offer them support.

I thought it was important for girls with ADHD to feel represented in books. Which is why I decided to make the main character female.

Autism

There is a mystery second character in my book, who has Autism.

You'll meet him soon when the book is ready! I wanted to keep more details about him a surprise.

Autism is a spectrum and everyone has a different experience.

In Slow Down Amaya, Amaya meets an unexpected friend in nature. He speaks but not a lot. From personal and professional experience I am aware that people with Autism have differing communication levels and some individuals are non-verbal.

I was conscious when writing that the characters were representative for some children who are Neurodiverse.

By bringing together the two characters it helps reflect and celebrate diversity and kindness.

Dyslexia 

Did you know that 1 in 10 people in the UK are Dyslexic?

Until very recently I knew very little about text fonts, only the basics!

I was aware that certain fonts can be challenging for people with Dyslexia to read. But I didn't know which ones.

When choosing the font in Slow Down Amaya I felt it was important to make it as accessible as possible.

I learned from my editor and publisher,  Eleanor, that there is a font called ‘Open Dyslexic’. 

Knowing this, I decided to use this font for the text inside and blurb for the book.

I wouldn't want any children or adults with Dyslexia to find it difficult to read my book because of the font.

Neurodiversity and Mindfulness

Children who are Neurodiverse might not receive support and be provided with tools to help them navigate their inner world. Some children might also find it challenging to develop meaningful relationships with others or express their emotions. 

Therefore, they might be more likely to experience mental health problems.

I believe that sharing mindfulness with children is a wonderful way to introduce them to a useful tool that can support their mental health.

Mindfulness has many benefits including compassion, increased focus and supporting overall wellbeing. I have noticed first hand the difference mindfulness can make to children's lives. 

Slow Down Amaya includes activity pages with ways to promote creative thinking and emotional literacy and of course mindfulness!

Closing Comments 

I recognise that I haven't discussed the other types of Neurodiversity. Mainly because I don't have as much knowledge or experience knowing or working with people with other types.

This week, I plan to increase my awareness of dysgraphia and dyscalculia by doing some reading.

I hope that by sharing Slow Down Amaya it helps celebrate and raise awareness of Neurodiversity. The characters are accepting and inclusive of each other's differences.

I hope the story helps young readers appreciate the power of kindness and celebrate everyone's uniqueness!

Do you have a child in your life who would love to see themselves represented in a book?

You can now pre-order your signed copy of Slow Down Amaya to share with them.