My journey began as a high school camp counselor at the Ability Center of Greater Toledo in Ohio. As I worked with children who had neurodevelopmental differences and collaborated with a co-counselor who had cerebral palsy, I saw how people with differences were marginalized and devalued despite being insightful, empathetic, passionate, funny, and talented. My appreciation for their strengths and perspectives shaped my approach as a pediatric neurologist, BCBA, neuroscientist, researcher, and founder of Cortica, which is focused on a whole-child, neurodivergent-affirming approach to care for autism and other neurodevelopmental differences. Reading is an important way for me to stay connected to the strengths-based lens I began cultivating in my teens.
Parents’ and professionals’ judgments of neurodivergent children, which are often based on perceived deficits, can limit those children’s choices and opportunities. Dictating the course of neurodivergent children’s care without involving them as active participants can also have dire, long-lasting consequences.
This book by Martha Leary and Anne Donnellan illustrates the importance of understanding the sensory and movement experiences of autistic people, which is only possible if you take the time to actively listen to those experiences and use them to shape an approach to care. The book helped to inform the care model we use at Cortica and reinforced my commitment to providing a personalized level of support that integrates children’s engagement in the process and honors each child’s unique journey, needs, and strengths.
Where to begin...I loved everything about the Murderbot diaries, from the snarky, neurodivergent-coded main character, to the brilliant writing, to the fast-paced plot and thrilling action sequences, to the beautiful exploration of what it means to be human and what it means to care about people and find people who care about you. I loved the moral complexity of the world, where there were very few "good guys" and "bad guys" and a whole lot of people who are mostly just trying to do their best and get by in a world that isn't always kind. And maybe most of all I loved the relationships--the deep, real friendships between people who know all the weird, quirky, annoying parts of each other and love each other anyway. This is my new comfort read, and I'm so happy I found it.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells begins The Murderbot Diaries, a new science fiction action and adventure series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or lain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. In a corporate dominated s pa cef a ring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by…
This book has a good chronic-illness rep and a well-written neurodivergent character! It’s an exciting heist/escape story that I saw advertised as being similar to another book I love (and it was!).
Aside from diverse characters and plenty of action and suspense, this book also has excellent world-building. I really want to read more about the world of Teshovar, where magic-users are hunted and their powers “silenced” by a mysterious evil ruler. There’s a nice twist at the end, too!
The Great Akithar is the most famous stage magician in a realm where real magic is outlawed. Over the past decade, Akithar and his troupe have built a reputation–and a home–in the dense coastal city of Klubridge. Every night, he thrills audiences with his controversial performances. Backstage, Akithar hides a secret more dangerous than any of his engineered illusions.
Far inland, an ancient and mysterious tyrant dispatches an elite band of mage hunters to crush magical insurrection. When their hunt brings them to Klubridge, they suspect that Akithar’s magic might be more than mere stage…
I remember how it was to be an awkward teen, misunderstood, questioning, and having nowhere to turn. I remember living in a violent world where I had to grow up to survive. The world was a scary place for a neurodivergent who lived more in her head than in real life. I want to be able to bring stories to our young people where they might see themselves and not feel so alone because we all are a bit awkward, a bit misunderstood, and filled with stories that deserve to be told.
Louis lives his life always on. He dresses like a rockstar but doesn’t play an instrument. He’s trying to be someone to everyone, and he doesn’t really know who he is until he meets Michael—the new kid.
Louis has a girlfriend, so he’s confused about the feelings he starts to have for Michael. This coming out happens slowly at first, then all at once. Louis is a neurodivergent character, and I really enjoyed his journey of self-discovery.
Louis thought he had it all figured out. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
If you ask Louis, he’s a rock star.
Just the right amount of sarcastic, cute, and only slightly delusional. He attends the best high school — in Paris no less — has the coolest best friend and the fiercest girlfriend, and he’s absolutely, a hundred per cent straight.
So no, Michael, the new British student, with his dark curls and sweet smiles, doesn’t interest him whatsoever. And when a teacher pairs the two to write an essay together and Louis gets all worked up about it,…
Mental illness has been such a huge part of my life for so long now that it has become second nature for me to incorporate it into my work. After suffering postnatal depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, I’ve been on anti-depressants for 11 years and regularly see a wonderful psychologist. Recently, I added a psychiatrist into the mix who diagnosed me with ADHD, so now I’m learning to juggle ADHD meds alongside the antidepressants. I’ve always been passionate about talking and writing openly and honestly about my own personal experiences because if there is any chance that I can help someone else with my words, then I’m going to take it.
I adore every single word written by Marian Keyes, but the reason I’m including this book in this particular list is because the story centers around Helen Walsh, a private investigator who is severely depressed – and yet the book is not at all depressing to read. It’s clever, funny, and warm. So many of Helen’s thoughts and experiences rang true for me, which made it such a satisfying and validating read.
A compelling tale of mystery, romance, and the irrepressible Walsh family from the internationally bestselling author Marian Keyes
Helen Walsh doesn't believe in fear-it's just something men invented to get all the money-and yet she's sinking. Her private investigator business has dried up, her flat has been repossessed, and now some old demons are resurfacing. Chief among them is her charming but dodgy ex-boyfriend Jay Parker, who offers Helen a lucrative missing-persons case. Wayne Diffney from boyband Laddz vanished from his house in Mercy Close-and the Laddz have a sellout comeback gig in five days. Helen has a new boyfriend,…
I was thrown into the deep end to learn about autism when our first son was diagnosed as autistic. As first-time parents, how were we to know that the struggles we faced went beyond the norm? We also have twins, one of whom is ADHD and the other dyslexic. Thus, not only have I spent a lot of time learning about autism, but I also enjoy turning to fiction to learn how others both struggle and find solutions. I started writing because the bedtime routine with my kiddos was very difficult. Nearly twelve years later, I am still using my writing to overcome the obstacles in my life.
Anna was diagnosed with autism later in life which offers an interesting exploration of learning to navigate life in a different way from an adult perspective.
What I really liked about this book is how Zoe challenged Anna to confront her own discomfort with autism. It was difficult to be in Anna’s head to hear how she considered herself unsuited for relationships and equally heartwarming to discover with her that she could sustain a relationship post-diagnosis.
I am a clinical psychologist who was surprised to realize that I am both Autistic and an ADHDer in my late 40s. I have always been fascinated by psychology, and now Autism and ADHD have become my areas of “special interest” (“spin”). I have been reading widely to learn more about myself, find practical ways to alleviate the chronic sense of overwhelm I experience and recover from burnout. Most of my clients are also late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults who have complex mental and physical health problems, so the reading I’ve been doing has given me fresh insights to share and helpful strategies we can test out together.
I find Chloé Hayden inspirational, and when I read this book, it felt like she was talking to me. Chloé was diagnosed Autistic in her childhood and an ADHDer in adulthood. At the time, there wasn’t anything available for neurodivergent women that helped us discover and embrace who we are.
Chloé jumped online and started a YouTube channel, and she still creates videos that are just so incredibly authentic and joyful to watch. In her book I enjoy her practical, no-nonsense writing style, and how she wove good quality information with personal stories in a way that made this book a pleasure to read.
Growing up, Chlo Hayden felt like she'd crash-landed on an alien planet where nothing made sense. Eye contact? Small talk? And why are you people so touch-oriented? She moved between 10 schools in 8 years, struggling to become a person she believed society would accept, and was eventually diagnosed with autism and ADHD. When a life-changing group of allies showed her that different did not mean less, she learned to celebrate her true voice and find her happily ever after.
This is a moving, at times funny story of how it feels to be neurodivergent as well as a practical…
“Everyone’s got something,” my mom used to say about my cerebral palsy. I knew kids who wore glasses or had mouthfuls of metal, but those somethings seemed normal compared to my leg brace, my limp, and my inability to run. When Judy Blume’s Deenie came out on my eleventh birthday, it was the very gift I needed: the story of a girl, a diagnosis, a brace. Reading it, I felt seen and understood, which led me to believe I might have a story to tell. Now, I’m thrilled to share these books by disabled authors about disabled kids leading authentic, relatable lives. I had Deenie. Today’s lucky young readers have these.
Being a poet, I love verse novels, and this one grows richer every time I read it. Seventh-grader Selah works hard to follow rigid, self-imposed rules so she’ll be seen as a “normal” girl in school, someone who doesn’t get overwhelmed by crowds or noise or jump from unexpected touch as though she’s been shocked.
What’s amazing about Selah is that, when keeping to those rules proves impossible and she gets in trouble, she trusts herself. With a few clues, she comes to understand she’s on the autism spectrum and finds simple tools that make a big difference.
She also starts expressing herself by writing poems. It moves me so much that poetry is represented here as a source of strength and that being unique is recognized as an asset.
A debut novel-in-verse about understanding and celebrating your own difference. Selah knows her rules for being normal.
This means keeping her feelings locked tightly inside, despite the way they build up inside her as each school day goes on, so that she has to run to the bathroom and hide in the stall until she can calm down. Selah feels like a dragon stuck in a world of humans, but she knows how to hide it.
Until the day she explodes and hits a fellow student.
As her comfortable, familiar world crumbles around her, Selah starts to figure out more…
In my work and my writing, I love to explore what helps friendships thrive and what trips us up. My book BFF or NRF (Not Really Friends)? A Girls Guide to Happy Friendships grew out of a friendship program I ran for preteens. My second book, Middle School - Safety Goggles Advised grew out of the stories I heard after spending time in 7th-grade classrooms. As a child, I loved interactive books so I include activities like quizzes, choose-your-own-ending stories, and other ways to engage readers in my books. I have a master’s degree in social sciences and my latest books explore social-emotional topics in ways that connect with kids.
This fun, heartfelt story is about a middle school girl, Aven, that was born without arms. When her family moves to Arizona, she has to start over and make new friends. Moving is challenging for any kid, but especially difficult if you are in middle school and look very different from your peers.
Aven is funny, authentic, and self-aware. Watching her navigate the challenges in her life is inspiring and encourages readers to question their assumptions and judgments about themselves and others. This story includes a mystery, some adventure, as well as a beautiful reflection on acceptance and friendship.
The paperback edition of the bestselling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges of middle school, disability, and friendship - all while solving a mystery in a western theme park. Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she'll have…
We all have important stories to tell. So my mission in life is to tell stories from many different perspectives. To date, I’ve written novels narrated by a 13th-century woman, a gruff North Idaho detective, a 14-year-old boy, a sorcerer, and even a tree! To write all my characters, I start with my own experiences of course –March Wong in The Eagle Tree draws on my own experiences growing up in China and from my experience working with neurodivergent children. But I don’t stay locked in my own perspective. Instead, I use my stories to continuously stretch our understanding of what it means to be human.
The Reason I Jumpis a fascinating look inside the mind of a neurodivergent young man who shares his hopes, his dreams, and his unique perspective on the culture we all live in. I learned so much about Naoki’s unique point of view and grew to have great empathy for his inability to easily communicate his needs to others. This is a fully embodied look at our world from someone who sees from a different point of view, a non-verbal Japanese young man who has lived a rich and full life but doesn’t see the world the same as neurotypical people.
I love the way that Naoki’s full humanity comes through in this nonfiction book, ably translated and written down in English by the bestselling literary superstar David Mitchell. Read it, and you’ll love Naoki as well!
The No. 1 Sunday Times and internationally bestselling account of life as a child with autism, now an award-winning documentary film.
'It will stretch your vision of what it is to be human' Andrew Solomon, The Times What is it like to have autism? How can we know what a person - especially a child - with autism is thinking and feeling?
This groundbreaking book, written by Naoki Higashida when he was only thirteen, provides some answers. Severely autistic and non-verbal, Naoki learnt to communicate by using a 'cardboard keyboard' - and what he has to say gives a rare…
