Season 05, episode 04
“Valuing Difference”
with Rebecca Sparrow and Madonna King
Madonna King (Award Winning Journalist and Author) and Rebecca Sparrow (Author & Teen Educator)
Neurodiversity is an umbrella term which refers to understanding the diversity of all human brains, and the way in which we interact with the world. Often the variation is within behavioural traits that diversifies us from each other, and thankfully society is coming to a place of realising that it’s not a deficit to be neurodivergent, simply difference between one person to another. That being said, it’s taken too long for us to get to this understanding, and we still have a way to go. Thankfully for women like Madonna King, an Award Winning Journalist who has previously covered many areas including education around teen girls and their emotional and physical development, and Rebecca Sparrow - acclaimed Writer, Columnist and Public Speaker who raises awareness and advocates for teen friendship education and teen emotional development, both came together and combined powers to bring information, resources and spotlight the widely prevalent yet still misunderstood conditions that fall within the umbrella term of Neurodiversity.
Both leaders in this area who are driven with personal passion and have dedicated their careers in covering children and teens development, have collated and created the book titled “Out of the Box”, as a call to action but also a one stop guide, for those like Rebecca, who wished back when her own child was diagnosed with Autism, that this type of information was available to navigate the unknown and overwhelm of a new diagnosis. As we learn in this book, and through listening to Rebecca and Madonna, knowledge is power when it comes to truly understanding who you are and how you are built to function. Knowing and understanding, can make those that feel different to the neurotypical, feel less alone and in fact, help the neurodivergent use it as their superpower.
“It’s like, some people have an android phone and some people have a iPhone. It’s a different wiring and a different system of operating and it’s being accepting of that.”
RESOURCES
Rebecca and Madonna’s Co-Authored Book: ‘Out of the Box’
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
Madonna King’s Website:
www.madonnaking.com.au
Some of Madonna King’s Books:
‘Ten-Ager’
What your daughter needs you to know about the transition from child to teen
‘Being 14’
Helping Fierce Teens Become Awesome Women
Madonna King
Rebecca Sparrow’s Website:
https://rebeccasparrow.com/
Some of Rebecca Sparrow’s Books:
‘Ask me Anything’
Heartfelt Answers to 65 Anonymous Questions from Teenage Girls
‘Find Your Feet’
The 8 Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Left High School
Big small changes we can make to support neurodivergent children in the classroom:
Movement breaks during class that can be a game or activity to release built up tension or energy and allow the student to re-focus.
Allowing the student the option to email the teacher a question or have an onsite diary that a neurodivergent child can write a question into, so they don’t need to put up their hand and publicly speak if they don’t feel comfortable.
Providing the students a map of the school and classroom at the start of the school year to highlight their new routine and class locations which provides information to ease anxiety and create excitement.
Try to avoid surprising a student that the teacher is already aware to be neurodivergent, by calling them out unexpectedly as this can trigger nerves and embarrassment that will steal those focus from the lesson.
If there is a student known to be anxious about the upcoming change of year level, classroom and teacher, the teacher could ask them to ‘run errands’ or deliver notes in Term 4 in advance of new year, to their next year teacher and class room so they get familiar with the teacher, the location and grow confidence before the new year starts.