Editing Texts About, or For, Neurodivergent Kids and their Families
Two girls playing in a tent, by Ron Lach on Pexels.com.
More writers than ever identify as neurodivergent (ND), and more writing than ever is about or for neurodivergent children and their families. The recent prominence of these texts is helping to build awareness of neurological differences in mainstream culture that is long overdue. Being ND means having a neurological difference like autism, ADHD, anxiety, dyslexia, or a combination of these diagnoses, as well as others. If you are asked to edit a book or piece about neurodivergence, you will be responsible for helping writers represent ND experiences as faithfully as possible to an audience with varying levels of knowledge and understanding. As an editor, you might wonder how you should approach this work, especially if you or your family are not neurodivergent (that you are aware of). Should you edit this work at all?
For Editors
Neurodivergence affects everyday life on many levels at the same time, and if you do not identify with this way of being in and experiencing the world, you will encounter new thoughts, feelings, and experiences in the text that you are editing. Fortunately, you will find a multitude of resources—from fiction and informational writing to websites and social media groups—to guide you in understanding the key questions, challenges, and insights that neurodivergent writers might explore. Familiarize yourself in particular with current terminology and conventions such as the use of “autistic” versus “person with autism.” Research questions and conversations within the neurodiversity movement, which views autism for example, as another way of being, and not a “disorder.” Ask the author if they have enlisted the help of an ND beta reader. Beware, as well, that experiences are individual and varied within neurodivergent communities. As advocates often say, for example, if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. Discuss the author’s editorial needs with them in relation to the content. Do they mostly need proofreading or a more substantive edit? If the author is looking for feedback about structure and organization or more content-centered issues, and you’re not comfortable with providing that support, you might feel it best to pass on the project. Be open and specific about the limits of your knowledge about neurodivergence and how that will impact your work in your contract with the author.
Luckily for us, as editors, there are now many helpful book-length works on the market, fiction as well as nonfiction, that editors can turn to while learning about the concerns and needs of neurodivergent children and adults and their communities.
Nonfiction
Many common stereotypes are debunked in journalist Steven Silberman’s thorough cultural history of autism, NeuroTribes. Starting in the eighteenth century and continuing into the present, he reframes accounts of select autistic experiences through the lens afforded by neurodiversity. One key point that the text illuminates is how autism can be, and has been, often unacknowledged, misdiagnosed, and most importantly, frequently misunderstood even when diagnosed. Silberman helps readers better understand the perspectives of autists and their families; the real, meaningful challenges they face in a world still dominated by neurotypical norms and values; and how they both participate in, and contribute to, neurodiverse cultures including neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.
Being highly capable or “gifted” in a subject or area(s)—whether math or music—is often believed to be a type of neurodivergence, as well. In his book, Ungifted, Scott Barry Kaufman draws from his own childhood experience and research as a psychologist to deconstruct this category. Kaufman questions how we identify highly capable children (especially the ubiquitous use of testing and cut-off scores) and explores which services we should provide for them. Many issues central to educators, in particular, are raised, including the frequent exclusion of “twice exceptional” children—or those showing both unusual strengths and learning differences often stemming from neurodivergence—from services.
Parents of dyslexic children might be familiar with Overcoming Dyslexia by physician and renowned expert on reading and learning, Sally Shaywitz. Often considered the gold standard in guides to understanding and remediating dyslexia, this very readable book introduces the neurobiological causes of dyslexia, challenges dyslexics commonly face at school and in daily life, and how obstacles to fluent reading and accurate spelling can be best addressed throughout life.
Child playing with bubbles, by Alexander Dummer on Pexels.com.
Fiction
Recent fictional writing about neurodivergence normalizes the needs of ND kids while also validating their unique perspectives and experiences. A Boy Called Bat, by Elana K. Arnold, is the first of three “Bat books.” These books portray the adventures of an autistic third grader with depth and understanding, including his difficulties with what the author calls the “unspoken rules” of the social world. Bat’s experiences negotiating a world of hidden obstacles and dangers map the complexity of his challenges and strengths, in equal measure.
In Alyson Gerber’s middle grade novel, Focused, readers see her protagonist Clea’s struggles—being on time, staying on task, and mostly not pleasing the adults around her—as well as her strengths—empathy, enthusiasm, and the special superpowers of kids with ADHD: hyperfocus and tenacity. This book is unique for its inclusion of life both before and after diagnosis, including a detailed scene with a psychologist depicting the diagnosis itself and the difficulty of deciding treatment. As Clea integrates ADHD into her self-image, she sees her past problems in school and at home in a different light and understands herself—what she wants and needs in her future—more completely.
For a story with hilarity as well as seriousness, try the Hank Zipzer series by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver. Hank, a fun-loving boy who seems to have an answer for everything, grapples with unnamed challenges that make him chronically late, hate writing and spelling, and just plain feel like he’s “stupid.” Kids sympathize with Hank and will rejoice when he persists through life at school (starting in the fourth grade in book one) with his sense of humor intact. And yes, the co-author is that Henry Winkler, of Happy Days fame, who only identified his own dyslexia because his stepson was diagnosed with it.
Young readers find affirmation in their unique experiences in these narratives, as well as potential ways to talk about and navigate both what is easy and difficult for them. Parents appreciate the understanding and acceptance that these books offer their children. And finally, these fictional texts show us, as editors, how to write about, and for, neurodivergent children and their families, and how to do it well.
Many resources can be found online; here are a few of my favorites.
Websites & Groups
www.additudemag.com
www.dyslexiaida.org
www.neuroclastic.com
Autism Inclusivity on Facebook
