This book interested me from the moment I saw it. Working in early years childhood education and being a parent to two wonderful teenagers I have experienced and read quite a bit about the neurodivergent child. However this is very different to what I have come across before. Heidi is open and frank about her struggles with parenting a child with autism and ADHD, while discovering that she is also neurodiverse. It tells you that whilst you feel like you are battling and at war with local authorities and professionals you are right to be that parent. I also have to say you come across some amazing professionals too who only have your child's best interests at heart.

My Child is Not Broken, Our Education System Is - Medium My Child is Not Broken, Our Education System Is - Medium

As a parent of a neurodivergent child this has been a really good read it tells you that you aren't alone. We have to shift our mindset about these things. We need to see, really see, our children and appreciate who they are. They are wonderful and amazing in so many ways, ways that we forget to stop and take notice. They have much to offer us and the world, if we will just encourage, support, and believe in them. She is having meltdowns and crying, she is falling asleep and taking frequent breaks from her classroom. I’m getting constant phone calls and communication from the school and it is puzzling because my child has a disability and an Individualized Education Plan. She is supposed to have what she needs to be successful and she isn’t. Your child is a beautiful individual. They are unique. They hold so much potential. Yes, they learn and think about life differently than the majority. That is ok. That is normal. That is even a unique gift, this skill of seeing and experiencing the world differently.If you are at the start of your journey with a SEND child, trying to navigate the system to find out what support is available, not wanting to chase people too many times as you don’t want to be seen as pushy, then this is the book for you. If you are further along, have already grown weary with the endless meetings with professionals, are fed up of being fobbed off by people minimising your child’s needs, then this is also the book for you! Heidi’s retelling of her and her autistic son Theo’s story gives an introduction to the challenges that parents of SEND children are likely to face, along with practical suggestions of what to say to professionals who just don’t seem to ‘get it’. I’ve been ‘that’ parent for nearly ten years now and while I’ve made my peace with how I’m sure I’m perceived by professionals, it never stops being exhausting. You never stop questioning whether you are doing the right thing and when you are tired and frustrated after yet another meeting it’s easy to wonder if maybe the professionals are right, maybe your concerns aren’t valid and you should just give their way a try. In those moments this book is a well needed reminder that it’s not you, it’s not your child, it’s the system that’s broken. Follow Heidi's irreverent and brutally honest story of her fight to be seen, heard and supported, while swimming against a tide of parent blame, ableist stereotypes and the weight of other people’s opinions. Your Child Is Not Broken is a call to arms for parents and carers of autistic, ADHD, or otherwise neurodivergent children. It is the book that no one has dared to write but every parent needs to read. Heidi’s hilarious anecdotes and heartbreaking storytelling offer validation, comfort, reassurance and wisdom to parents who need it the most. This would have been so beneficial at the start of the journey likewise where we are now with diagnosis and out of school waiting for specialist school place to become available this has been helpful.

Your Child is Not Broken: Parent Your Neurodivergent Child Without Your Child is Not Broken: Parent Your Neurodivergent Child

An unapologetic, deeply moving manual for parents of neurodivergent children from Heidi Mavir, a late-identified, neurodivergent adult and parent to an autistic/ADHD teenager. This updated edition includes information on Pathological Demand Avoidance, Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, an interview with Heidi's son Theo and more. We know that a large portion of those in our U.S. prison system are there because they were deemed unworthy and broken because of their skin color. There is also a large group of individuals who are in this “school-to-prison-pipeline” because they were labeled as stupid or non-intelligent because of learning disabilities. Others are there because their extremely high intelligence was not seen or recognized as such. They didn’t fit the school’s pictures of a good student, so these highly intelligent students who were bored in school, were deemed defective. If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us I am currently that parent and do you know what. This book has validated and helped me see it's okay to be that parent. Even if I do question myself many times a day. The subtitle of the final chapter of Heidi Mavir’s book “Your Child is not Broken” is “Permission to Become ‘That’ Parent”, a phrase that to me actually sums up the whole book.

Your Child is Not Broken: Parent Your Neurodivergent Child Without Losing Your Marbles

It's okay to say actually that's not good enough and what should be at the heart of decisions made is the child. The best interests of the child and actually what the child wants. Consent. The child has a right to consent. We as parents have a right to be heard.

Your Child Is Not Broken by Heidi Mavir - Coles Books Your Child Is Not Broken by Heidi Mavir - Coles Books

This updated edition includes information on Pathological Demand Avoidance, Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, an interview with Heidi's son Theo and more.Your Child Is Not Broken is a call to arms for parents and carers of autistic, ADHD, or otherwise neurodivergent children. It is the book that no one has dared to write but every parent needs to read. Heidi's hilarious anecdotes and heartbreaking storytelling offer validation, comfort, reassurance and wisdom to parents who need it the most. Sometimes, it can feel like these things are true because your child doesn’t read or calculate or function like most children you know. It can feel like that when others are pointing out the ways your child is not fitting in or the ways your child is failing at school. An unapologetic, deeply moving manual for parents of neurodivergent children from Heidi Mavir, a late-identified, neurodivergent adult and parent to an autistic/ADHD teenager.

Your child is not broken : parent your neurodivergent child without Your child is not broken : parent your neurodivergent child

She is supposed to sit, listen, be quiet, be still, and wait her turn to talk in a room filled with twenty other kids where play and natural socialization are limited. And while most of the kids have conformed to this environment, kids with big personalities are supposed to turn themselves off like a light switch. If we view our children as broken and messed up, chances are high that they too will believe this lie about themselves. And it will crush them. It will crush their souls, and the world will miss out on knowing this individual who has so much potential and so many unique gifts.While she knows all of her letters and can sloppily write them and identify sight words, she can’t sit still, is constantly moving, she wants to play, wants to color, she wants to engage with everything and every one the point that she is disruptive because that isn’t what is expected of her. From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: Although this is a very serious and hard topic to write about and I’m sure every parent goes through those pull your hair out times in life to a certain degree, but Heidi puts the humour into those moments as well as being honest about her struggles. It’s an eye opener to see a different perspective on those well meaning lay persons and professionals that are doing their best to help, but it more often than not ends up being more detrimental. I know it sounds callous but I found these written encounters the funniest.