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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Maren Wiederhold
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OUT OF THE BOX

Madonna King Rebecca Sparrow

The only book that brings together expert advice, lived experience, interviews and up-to-date resources to help neurodivergent children thrive.
An increasing number of Australian children are being diagnosed with variations in their brain development. These can include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and dyslexia. Authors Madonna King and Rebecca Sparrow have surveyed and interviewed almost 2000 Australians including medical experts, educators, neurodivergent children and their parents to gather together the best and most useful tips to ensure neurodivergent children take their rightful place in classrooms and beyond. Out of the Box offers best-practice advice on navigating diagnosis and ongoing challenges, such as finding friends and learning at school. It also provides vital advice for teens, including driving, living independently and applying for jobs. This essential guide provides hope, insight and practical help for the neurodivergent child's journey and the parents, teachers, friends and family who share it. Madonna King is an award-winning journalist and author, whose understanding of teenage lives is valued through speaking and writing engagements across the nation. As a journalist and commentator, she continues to work across TV, radio and online, and all her books are based on hundreds of expert interviews. Her best-selling parenting books give a voice to tweens and teens aged 818 and include Ten-Ager, Being 14, Fathers and Daughters, L Platers and Saving our Kids. Madonna travels Australia, talking to school communities and students about the challenges that mark their teen years. Rebecca Sparrow is a teen educator, the author of six books and the host of ABC's Parental As Anything, Teens podcast. Each year, Bec speaks to thousands of tweens and teens (and their parents) about how to recognise and nurture strong friendships, navigate conflict and set healthy boundaries. Her online friendship webinars are watched in lounge rooms across the world. Bec is also an ambassador for The Lady Musgrave Trust, which provides support and services to young women facing homelessness. Learn more at rebeccasparrow.com.
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Published by UQP

Comments

In this engaging book, we hear directly from the true experts autistic people and their families and how we, as a community, can best support their lives. A treat to read.

Understanding neurodiversity, including autism and ADHD, has become essential for our community's progress. Out of the Box conveys what is currently happening in the Australian context and what will be helpful moving forward. The authors have interviewed hundreds of people, including autistic people, their parents, leading autism experts and influencers. The book will be hugely helpful to parents and family members, teachers, health professionals, politicians, and policy-makers. I highly recommend it for its breadth and depth.

This is a gem of a book. King and Sparrow deftly combine research, interviews, storytelling and practical tools to provide a template for supporting neurodivergent children and teens. Importantly, they shine a light on the gender bias in society's understanding of autism. Out of the Box is a work of deep empathy and a call to action, reframing autism as a difference instead of a disorder. I could not recommend this book more highly!