Do you know what it means to be neurodivergent? Neurodiversity is the idea that there are many different ways to think and learn and that we should embrace the differences of others, instead of expecting everyone to be the same. It means treating people as individuals and not labeling them based on their symptoms or diagnoses. By supporting neurodiversity, we’re making our schools, workplaces, communities and lives more welcoming to people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions.
Defining Neurodivergent
Neurodivergent refers to people who's brains (or minds) work differently than neuroscientists says it is supposed to work. There are many types of neurodiverse people. Honestly, most of us fall on a spectrum somewhere.
As leaders in education continue to push new teaching methods that attempt to reach the neurodiverse learner, many students are stuck with traditional teaching strategies that only benefit the neurotypical Lerner. However, studies show that neurodiverse learning strategies also benefit neurotypical students as much as they help neurodiverse learners. At Tabletop Publishing we feel that our materials should be focused on the neurodiverse readers first, but everyone can enjoy our materials!
Why Neurodiversity Matters
The term neurodiversity was coined by Judy Singer in her 1998 book, Neurodiversity: A New Way of Thinking About Individuals Who Think Differently. The word is a combination of the words neurological and diversity. Singer's intention with the term was to move society away from seeing neurological differences as inherently negative. And boy did she succeed! Today, almost everyone can relate to the term neurodiverse, from ADHD, dyslexia, Sensory Processing disorder, autism, or even other learning disabilities.
Neurodiversity describes the fact that people are born with different brains and those differences can be associated with the way they think, act, learn, speak, see or hear. These differences are called neurotypes. The neurotypes we're most familiar with in society are autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But many more groups of people fall into the neurodiverse definition. As education becomes more progressive teachers are learning to pinpoint lessons and assignments to the individual s
How We Can Support Neurodiversity in Our Books
Our books are designed to engage neurodivergent readers. We use specialized fonts to make reading easier. We add interactive questions and activities throughout our books to keep kids focused even when they are prone to distraction. We include graphics and illustrations to inspire creative minds and print QR codes inside the book to give you a little extra digital support!
All of those elements can be found in our regular printed storybooks, however, we also have interactive storybooks that allow kids to write, draw, and be part of the story process as they read our book!