Joanna Grace (Part 2): My Mummy is Autistic

The Neurodivergent Leader Podcast

“I didn't used to say that I was autistic. Not because I'm ashamed of being autistic, but just for very practical reasons that I'm aware of the prejudice,” explains Joanna Grace, Founder of The Sensory Projects, Author and TEDx speaker. On this second installment of two-part conversation with Joanna Grace, co-hosts Heather and Donna ask Joanna about her experience with being an autistic mother, and how that led her son to become the youngest published author in the UK.

Joanna dives into the story of how her four-year-old son became a published author. Because Joanna is a primary school teacher, she tried everything to get her young son to continue writing over summer break. To fully comprehend how their minds process information differently, Joanna encouraged her son to draw pictures and write a book about having an autistic mother. This book showcases a five-year-old’s understanding of divergent minds from a simplified neurotypical perspective. This book is not only helpful for younger audiences, but also for neurotypical individuals who are having a difficult time understanding how the mind of an autistic person works.

Tune into the second installment of this two-part conversation with Joanna Grace to learn more about how autistic minds process information and how to understand neurodiversity through the lens of a four year old. Then, check out Joanna’s and her four-year-old son’s books using the links below!

Quotes

• “I didn't used to say that I was autistic. Not because I'm ashamed of being autistic, but just for very practical reasons that I'm aware of the prejudice.” (02:50-2:55 | Joanna Grace)

• “I was thinking, goodness, does he suffer from having an autistic mummy?” (4:30-04:33 | Joanna Grace)

• “Like many neurodivergent people I experienced delayed processing with language. So it's like it buffers as it goes into my brain.” (7:49-07:53 | Joanna Grace)

• Somebody, when they were talking about his authority to write this book said, you know, this little boy has lived 24/7 with an autistic person. So he's an expert, even though he's very young. (10:16-10:22)

• And so, yeah, he is the UK's youngest published author and his book My Mummy is Autistic talks about the language processing differences that I experienced. And it does so in a very pragmatic, mommy's brain is different. Words go in like this in her brain. This is what mommy's listening face looks like. This is what my listening face looks like. It's very matter of fact, it's very accepting and it's very celebratory. (12:14-13:00 | Joanna Grace)

• “Neurodiversity is natural. A lot of the deficit based narratives are possible to flip. You know, it's not that this is a particular strength or a particular weakness. It's just capacity in context.” (14:31-14:46 | Joanna Grace)

Connect with Joanna Grace:

7 Min SENCO: Autism

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi1RQR58BHnW5LtJfD0Ph-RIH7EhnrP3t

TedTalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/joanna_grace_chloe_salfield_inclusion_for_pity_s_sake?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannagracethesensoryprojects/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jo3grace

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JoannaGraceTSP

www.thesensoryprojects.co.uk

Stories: http://www.thesensoryprojects.co.uk/sensory-stories

Books: http://www.thesensoryprojects.co.uk/books

College: http://www.thesensoryprojects.co.uk/online-college

Learn more about the Neurodivergent Leader Podcast:

www.neurodivergentleader.com

https://www.instagram.com/neurodivergentleader/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm