Imagine walking into a crowded room where the noise feels like it's amplified, the lights are too bright or dark, and every touch feels overwhelming or even not enough! This is just a glimpse of what it might feel like for someone with a sensory disorder. Simple everyday experiences that may seem ordinary to some can be incredibly intense and distressing for others.
Imagine again that your reactions and coping methods in dealing with your sensory processing alienated you from family members, friends, and even casual strangers in public.
This book was born from those experiences. My child went to childcare and school with many (truly, many!) children who had been diagnosed with ASD. She couldn't understand why someone wouldn't play with her in the ways she was used to, wouldn't share, or would snatch away toys. Why sometimes other children became possessive over a certain chair, couldn't stand to be touched, moved in strange ways, or had meltdowns seemingly for no reason. I could see that, through no fault of their own, these children had fewer opportunities to connect with others because their behavior didn't make sense.
However, once we had conversations about what it might be like to experience your senses differently, my child understood that these behaviours were not about her, nor were they a reflection on the friendship connection. She understood there were other ways of experiencing the world and that she could appreciate all the wonderful things about her friends experiencing ASD and be empathetic when they felt challenged.
So, how can we teach our children to relate to and support our friends who are experiencing these challenges?
First, we relate to them about how it might feel to experience senses differently. We can talk about labels, stigmas, and what it might be like to be seen as different. Lastly, we can talk about all the strengths that come from having a unique perspective on the world and what talents might arise from this different way of being.
This book for Australian children focuses on strengths rather than limitations. Connection over conformity. There's room for all kinds of perspectives in this world, and learning to embrace what makes us unique is the key for all of us to live unlimited in our potential. Â
As a highly neurodivergent family business, our mission is to provide parents and educators with books that are truly of service and can make a positive and far-reaching change in a child's sense of self-concept. If this resonates with you, visit the links below to explore our collection.
A high percentage of children diagnosed with ASD are also diagnosed with ADHD or Dyslexia. You can see books that might be helpful for this below.
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