I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a while now but wasn’t sure where to begin. Sharing the recent release of my picture book on autism and neurodiversity seemed like as good a place as any. It reflects a lot of my personal and professional journey.

This book, All Kinds of Brains, has been a long time in the making. Back in the early 2000s, when our family was learning about our son’s neurodivergence* and his eventual autism diagnosis, there were very few helpful children’s books on the topic. Most were shelved in the “Diseases” section, alongside books on diabetes and asthma. These books on autism were mostly written from a nonautistic perspective and showcased sad or isolated children. That wasn’t our story.

At that time, autism was primarily framed as a “problem to be fixed.” This medicalized view of autism dominated my professional literature too–a topic I wrote about here and talked about here. Fortunately, around that same time, I began learning from Autistic adults and scholars in Disability Studies, a few of whom generously gave feedback on early versions of this book. My key influences at that time included Ibby Grace, Dawn Prince, and Scott Robertson, among others. Their insights shaped how I understood autism and helped me see how the world needed to learn from them too. I was also inspired by other parents at the time, like blogger MOM-NOS, who wrote A Hair-Dryer Kid in a Toaster-Brained World.

One moment, in particular, pushed me to start writing All Kinds of Brains. My family was hanging out at the local pool, as we often did when the boys were little, when one of my son’s classmates recognized him. After confirming I was his mom, the classmate asked, “What’s wrong with him anyway? Does he have brain damage?” His question hit hard. But I realized the classmate was just trying to understand my son the best he could with the information he had. That’s when I realized that children needed help understanding neurodiversity. And we needed to take charge of our own story.

Accordingly, All Kinds of Brains started out as a short circle time lesson at my son’s elementary school. I teamed up with his teachers to share the story, followed by a discussion and journaling activity. Students reflected on one thing that was easy for their brain to do and one thing that was difficult. When kids started opening up about their own forms of neurodivergence, like dyslexia and adhd, I knew we had created something meaningful. Publishing this children’s “lesson” as a book became one of the goals for my 2015 sabbatical. However, garnering support from traditional publishers proved challenging, especially since I was committed to working with an Autistic illustrator.

In 2021, I met K. Kehrer, an Autistic artist who believed in the book’s message and was committed to representing diverse bodies in their work. They created colorful illustrations full of thoughtful details. In All Kinds of Brains, you’ll find examples of nail art, Native American fashion, assistive technologies, and varied skin tones (including vitiligo, a condition causing light colored patches of skin). Inclusion Press, a Canadian Publisher, made the original version of the book freely available on-line in 2023, but there was no option to order a bound copy. In 2025, Sherri Lasko, of Lasko Marketing and Consulting, helped us make the book available on Amazon, and added some splashes of color.

Fortunately, the selection of children’s books on autism and neurodiversity has expanded significantly since I first drafted All Kinds of Brains over 10 years ago. Holding the paperback in my hands feels significant, like the closing of a chapter. My son, Zach, recently asked to reread the book. “It makes me feel better,” he shared.  That’s exactly the book review I needed.

*Note: Neurodivergence refers to having a brain that functions differently from societal and cultural expectations and often makes you eligible for a diagnosis like autism, adhd, or anxiety.