We look to children’s literature to illuminate how to be kind, how to share and how to learn important life lessons through stories and fables. Kids’ books reflect their experiences in school, at home and in the world through the eyes of cute animal characters and colorful life lessons. We look to books to teach our children “how to be” and fortunately, there are many stories of the many ways we learn “how to be,” including the voices and experience of neurodivergent children. When we explore the stories of characters with ADHD, autism spectrum, dyslexia and other forms of neurodivergence, we enrich our reading landscape and increase our understanding of empathy.
These inclusive stories also give neurodivergent kids an opportunity to see their lives reflected in books that everyone can read. Feeling “different” or “special” can feel isolating but having a book available that explains how you process the world, how you experience touch and sound, and the ways in which you express yourself, can make the world a little less lonely. And maybe a child has yet to figure out how to express the way they are feeling or explain the way they see the world; reading about it can bring about self-acceptance and help them identify their worldview.
You will find these stories and perspectives in our catalog. There are easy fiction picture books to share with preschoolers such as Today My Brain is a Dinosaur by Kyla Mora, about a neurodivergent little boy who uses coping strategies to deal with his unique moods. Flap Your Hands: a Celebration of Stimming by Steve Asbell explores the way neurodivergent kids use body movements called stims to self-regulate their emotions. A Day With No Words by Tiffany Hammond shows others what life can be like for a nonverbal autistic child.
Kid and teen fiction are where these characters really take off on fantastic journeys. In Like a Charm by Elle McNicoll, Rayma Knox uses her neurovergence as an enchantment to see trolls, vampires and other fantastical beings hiding in the shadows. In Good Different, a novel in verse by Meg Eden Kuyatt, seventh grader Selah knows that to be “normal” she has to keep her feelings under control, but learns that being different is also “okay.”
For teens, the Young Adult section has much to offer. In the novel, The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla, neurodivergent Maudie navigates a dramatic summer of lies in California. For graphic novel fans, there is My Brain is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders by Monzūsū, a manga essay anthology following the lives of real people as they navigate their daily lives. For more real-life stories, check out Wired Differently: 30 Neurodiverse People You Should Know by Joe Wells, featuring the biographies of famous neurodivergent people.
And that’s just the beginning! Start your exploration of neurodivergent stories and characters with these librarian-curated book lists. Discovering the many ways there are “how to be” shows us that we may have different perspectives on the world, but we’re all in this together.
There are so many stories that help explain how neurodivergent characters process the world - and reading them can make the world feel a little less lonely.
When we explore the stories of neurodivergent characters, we enrich our reading landscape and increase our understanding of empathy.
Reading about neurodiversity can foster self-acceptance and help young people express their feelings and improve their worldview.
These inclusive stories give neurodivergent kids an opportunity to see their lives reflected in books that everyone can read.
