Blog #530: Why I Created "The Neurodivergent Owl" Series?

For those of you who have known me either for a long time now or throughout my entire life, you have heard me time and time again talk about the importance of supporting neurodivergent individuals whether it would be in an educational setting, an employment setting, a medical setting, etc. I do it till people are deaf in the ear because it needs to be addressed in today's society.

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Yesterday, I announced that volume 1 of my new book series, "The Neurodivergent Owl" was available for pre-order on Amazon.com which is about supporting neurodivergent individuals in an educational setting during stressful points of the school day such as school safety drills, school lunch periods, school assemblies, field trips, dances, etc.

The purpose of "The Neurodivergent Owl" is more than just creating a book series or gaining recognition as a neurodivergent individual who has lived experiences throughout the journey that is neurodiversity. The fact is that more and more each day, we are accepting new members of the neurodivergent community whether they be children or adult. More and more families and even professionals have a hard time accepting the neurodivergent lifestyle or behavior or don't know how to process the emotions that comes with a diagnosis of autism.

Sometimes there are individuals or organizations that will try to force someone to be who they are not. In public schools, for example, they expect neurodivergent students to be able to handle a school safety drill, sit through a noisy lunch period or school assembly. By doing so, the neurodivergent student is being failed at by the school district. They want to follow what the state tells them without taking in the consideration of neurodivergent individuals and even school staff.

Then there is the matter of social expectations at events like weddings and funerals. Individuals are expected to be happy at weddings and are expected to be sad at funerals. A neurodivergent mind does not follow the social guidelines that is to be expected at marriages and burials. Again, it's hard for the family or for those in attendance to take in, but it's something that needs to be taken into consideration. Individuals should be allowed to be accommodated for weddings and funerals such as being given the chance to have a space to go to if they are overstimulated. I mean, who can advocate for neurodivergent individuals who have a hard time sitting through a wedding or a funeral?

The same can also be said about going the doctor's office as well for individuals will have a hard time with anxieties over something like having a needle stuck into them or just be taken aback by the surroundings of the doctor's office.

And it isn't just primary care offices, but also dermatologists, dentists, gastroenterologists, even haircuts. Anything that has an appointment attached to it can often provoke anxiety in a neurodivergent individual. Sometimes the things we do to prevent ourselves from disease and illness has anxiety and there are ways to help the individual cope with it.

Finally, there is also the matter of going to a place of worship. The individuals have a hard time sitting still or standing up or even have a hard time accepting something like communion. Clergy and elders such as priests and rabbis can learn about making their places of worship more neurodivergent friendly.

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The truth is, all of the books in the Neurodivergent Owl series is based on my own lived experiences and not by someone who gloats that he or she got their child to behave like a neurotypical individual. The more community members that are welcomed, the more people gain an understanding of neurodiversity in their society.

I made the Neurodivergent Owl my mission, not just because I am a "wise old owl" as the late Jessica Leichtweisz would often call me, but because there needs to be more that needs to be taught for the neurodiversity community. "Alarms, Assemblies and Accommodations" is only the first book, but there will be more to come from because there just needs to be that.

More teaching.

More understanding.

From a neurodivergent perspective.

Click Here to Pre-Order Volume 1 of "The Neurodivergent Owl" Series