Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2023 Book Recommendations

‘Neurodiversity' is an umbrella term for many learning differences, neurological differences and alternative thinking styles. 15-20% of people have neurological differences. Neurodiversity Celebration Week encourages us to celebrate all the wonderful, creative, and unique minds in this world.

Many neurodiverse people face challenges because others might not understand them, and because the world is often designed for people who are neurotypical. It is easy for us to focus on the things we seem to find more challenging than other people, but it is so important to think about our unique set of skills and strengths.

I really encourage you all to keep learning about neurodiversity. I have put together some of my and other people's favourite neurodiverse book recommendations (including experts' personal favourites). They include fiction books written by neurodiverse authors, fiction with neurodiverse characters, memoirs, non-fiction, young adult books, and children's books.

This year the theme is 'celebrating different minds'

“For us, neurodiversity is more than labels like Dyslexia, Autism or ADHD. The campaign is more than ‘raising awareness’ or simply highlighting a challenge to be recognised by society... It is about having unique strengths, talents and perspectives that come from thinking differently...We want everyone to feel they can take part and that it captures the different voices we have in our community”.

- Aidan Healy, Campaign Director.

Here are some of my favourite books which have characters who have unique ways of thinking and do not always 'fit in', but do not have diagnosed or specified neurological differences. I love all of these main characters so much, and think that their differences are ultimately celebrated.

• Big Girl Small Town, by Michelle Gallen

• The Maid, by Nita Prose

• Convenience Store Women, by Sayaka Murata

• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

• I'll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson

• Sorrow and Bliss, by Meg Mason

• The Existence of Amy, by Lana Grace Riva

• Everyone in this Room will Someday be Dead, by Emily Austin

Dyslexia

• The Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and its Amazing People, by Kate Power & Kathy Forsyth. Non-fiction short & accessible book filled with pictures and illustrations. A very quick read but very informative.

• Xtraordinary People Made by Dyslexia, by Kate Griggs. Aimed at young children - very colourful and positive.

• Creative Successful Dyslexic, by Margaret Rooke. Inspiring non-fiction book for adults featuring 23 well-known people who talk about how dyslexia impacted their childhood and how they overcame their challenges.

• My Name is Brain Brian, by Jeanne Betancourt. Young adult / middle grade fiction book about a boy who is struggling to hide his dyslexia from his friends, and written by a dyslexic author.

• Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Young adult / middle grade fiction book about a girl who has developed lots of strategies to hide the fact that she cannot read in school. This book was nominated for Best Middle Grade & Children's book in 2015.

• The Adult Side of Dyslexia, by Kelli Sandman-Hurley. Moving accounts of the lived experiences of dyslexic adults as well as tips for adults on how to overcome challenges.

ADHD

• Show us Who You Are, by Elle McNicoll. Science fiction young adult / middle grade book, and one of the main characters has ADHD. This book is filled with wonderful & positive representations of neurodiverse children and I can't recommend it enough.

• Dirty Laundry, by Richard Pink & Roxanne Emery. Non-fiction self-help book for adults filled with tips and strategies on how to run a neurodivergent household.

• The Extraordinaries, by TJ Klune. Nominee for Goodreads Choice Awards Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction in 2020. About a fanboy with ADHD and his heroes.

• Better Late than Never, by Emma Mahony. A non-fiction book written by a woman who was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 52.

• Freaks Like Us, by Susan Yaught. This book has a secondary character with ADHD. This another book that has multiple representations of neurodivergence.

• Red, White, & Blue, by Casey McQuiston. Won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance and Best Debut Novel in 2019. One of the main characters has ADHD.

Autism

"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism"

- Dr Stephen Shore

• A Kind of Spark, by Elle McNicoll. A lovely uplifting and inspiring story about a young autistic girl who wants to create a memorial in her village to the women who were killed during witch trials. It's a fantastic book that can be enjoyed by children and adults, and has such fabulous depictions of neurodiversity.

• A Different Sort of Normal, by Abigail Balfe. An illustrated, funny, and accessible memoir for children and adults with beautiful drawings. I adore this book.

• How to be Autistic, by Charlotte Amelia Poe. A memoir that follows Charlotte's journey through school and their struggles with anxiety and not being understood or given the support they needed when they were younger. It's beautifully written and is a moving and hopeful book.

• The Reason I Jump, by Naoki Higashida. Written by a non-verbal autistic 13-year-old boy, this book is a fascinating memoir and insight into the mind of one individual.

• My Mess is a Bit of a Life, by Georgia Pritchett. Although this memoir is initially about the author's own childhood, they have a child who is on the spectrum. It's such a funny and beautiful celebration of parenting a child who has autism and all the joys and challenges that they experience.

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon. Written from the perspective of a boy called Christopher who is on the autism spectrum, and relates well to animals, but finds it harder to relate to other humans.

Dyspraxia

• Caged in Chaos, by Victoria Biggs. This nonfiction book was written by Victoria when she was a teenager, and describes the psychological 'chaos' of living with dyspraxia. This book won the NASEN & TES Special Educational Needs Children's Book Award in 2005.

• Like a Charm, by Elle McNicoll. Like all of Elle McNicoll's books that I have read, this is a middle-grade book that should also be read by adults because their books are so wonderful. The author was diagnosed with dyspraxia as a child, and wanted to create a character who could represent children like her.

OCD

• Every Last Word, by Tamara Ireland Stone. This book was a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award Best Young Adult Fiction in 2015. It's about a girl who is consumed by dark thoughts and worries that she can't seem to control.

• History is All You Left Me, by Adam Silvera. This book was a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award Best Young Adult Fiction in 2017. This book is about a grief-stricken teenager called Griffin who has OCD and is struggling with his compulsions and thoughts.

• Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green. This book was also a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award Best Young Adult Fiction in 2017. Many people like this book because it depicts the difficulties that some people can experience after getting a diagnosis.

• The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, by Teresa Toten. A young adult romance about teenagers who meet at a support group for coping with OCD.

• Obsessive Intrusive Magical Thinking, by Marianne Eloise. An essay collection / memoir written by a woman who has OCD. She writes about the way obsession has always been a part of her life, but also how it has also defined and powered her, and is not an intrinsically bad thing.

• Obsessed, by Allison Britz. A memoir written by a teenager with OCD which is ultimately very hopeful.

Sensory-processing differences

• Sensory Seeking Sloth, by Jennifer Jones. A beautifully illustrated book for children and adults about sensory disorders.

• Monty Needs Help, by R.J Anstee. A children's book about Monty who has sensory processing issues that cause him a lot of distress and frustration.

• Not if I Can Help it, by Carol Mackler. A middle-grade book about Willa who has a sensory processing disorder, and finds many sensations incredibly distressing. Willa is very self-aware of her sensory differences

• The Out-of-Sync Child, by Carol Stock Kranowitz. Nonfiction book about recognising sensory-processing disorder and how to cope with it. The Third edition released in 2022 covers topics such as nutrition and picky eaters, motor skills, vision and hearing.

Developmental language differences

• DLD Why Can't You See Me? By Shelbi Annison. The author was diagnosed with DLD (developmental language disorder) as an adult, and wrote a poem that was adapted into this illustrated children's book.

• Harry's Story, by Kate Kempton. This is a beautifully illustrated book that can be read by children and adults, and used as a resource for parents and teachers to understand how to spot and support children with DLD.

Schizophrenia

• Henry's Demons, by Patrick & Henry Cockburn. A non-fiction book written by a young man who has schizophrenia and his father. The parallel stories provide a unique narrative that gives insight into the first and second-hand lived experience of schizophrenia.

• The Edge of Every Day, by Marin Sardy. A non-fiction book written by a woman who grew up with a mother who had schizophrenia, and later her brother was diagnosed with the condition. It is a moving and beautiful book of her memories that is filled with compassion, but it is very sad.

Dyscalculia

• Dyscalculia: A love story of epic miscalculation, by Camonghne Felix. A memoir about a woman who was diagnosed with dyscalculia as a child, and uses this as a metaphor for her relationships. I haven't read this yet, but I have heard that dyscalculia as a topic doesn't actually feature a huge amount during the book.

Synesthesia

• A Mango-Shaped Space, by Wendy Mass. A young adult fiction book about a girl who has synesthesia, but wants to keep it a secret from everybody else.

Tics and Tourette's

• My Non-identical Twin, by Evie Meg. Written by a TikToker who has shared her experience of living with Tourette's Syndrome with the world. It tells the story of her diagnosis and the way having Tourette's has changed her life.

• Forget me Not, by Ellie Terry. A young adult / middle grade fiction & poetry book about a girl with Tourette's Syndrome who moves to a new school and tries to hide her tics.

This is not an exhaustive list of all books, and I'm sure there are so many incredible stories and memoirs that I haven't discovered or read yet. If you have any that you think are amazing, please feel free to recommend them :)

Thanks so much for reading!