Books for introducing neurodivergence to child

[Herbisaurous]

Hello, would welcome any recommendations please.

I have a 7 year old son who is autistic, diagnosed at a very young age and although we're very open about it, it's not something we've ever had to have a sit down conversation about. He's also waiting for an ADHD assessment.

He's socially and emotionally younger than his chronological age, and doesn't show any awareness that he is different, but as he gets older the gap between him and his peers is getting larger.

I'm looking for recommendations for a book that might help to start opening up conversations around neurodiversity. He is a very proficient reader, but does struggle with inference, so probably leaning towards non-fiction rather than a story type book with an underlying meaning.

Thank you 😊

I've got a couple of books one called 'all dogs have ADHD' and one called 'all cats have autism' or something like that. They were a bit young for my son (he was 13 when diagnosed) but I think they'd be good for younger children.

Slightly off topic but who else in the family is neurodivergent and can you use them as an example too? My sister says to my nephew "You're autistic, like Auntie SummerSun" and it's lovely to have that connection and understanding.

I've been recommended life on the spectrum by Bex Ollerton.

I mean, if you know what to look for, the family tree is bountiful. None diagnosed though!

Its hard to say really. He has always seemed to have age-appropriate understanding, but he is a slow auditory processor and didn't speak until he was 4, so struggled to communicate his understanding, if that makes sense?

What I will say is you're absolutely right - they are all totally different. What mine has taught me is that anything is possible. He went from non verbal to talking in full sentences between 4 and 4 and a half years old and now has perfect speech and an amazing vocabulary - although he was non verbal, he was clearly taking everything in! Social communication is still a challenge, you can't have a back and forth conversation like you would a child of his age but he's getting better with this. He is thriving academically in a mainstream school which we never in a million years imagined when he stared, we went to tribunal for an independent specialist school and everything 🙄
He does struggle socially, he has little interest in other children unless in a structured situation, but he goes to Beavers independently, takes part in all activities including overnight camps, and we're starting so see some really lovely, kind interactions with other children initiated by him.

As for sitting still and listening? I still struggle with that and I'm nearly 40! He does sit and do table work in school, although he has 1:1 support (and a very thorough and well written EHCP) and the school as a whole is very good, so there are lots of physical components and movement breaks naturally built in, as it benefits all the kids.

Not sure if this is any good but the author usually has helpful content on social media.