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

by Heidi Mavir

Overview

An updated edition of the Sunday Times bestseller.

Your Child Is Not Broken is THE book for parents who need permission to do things differently.

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.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781035030576
Publisher:	Pan Macmillan
Publication date:	04/09/2024
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	638,912
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 5.10(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Heidi Mavir is a late-identified, neurodivergent adult. She is a public speaker, advocate, author of Your Child Is Not Broken, podcaster, and parent to an autistic/ADHD teenager. A trained Mental Health First Aider and CPD Accredited Trauma-Informed Professional, Heidi uses her knowledge, learning, and experience to help other parents and carers to become powerful advocates for their neurodivergent kids. She has built an online community of over 6000 families, supported by parent professionals and SEN advocates, who want to improve opportunities for autistic learners. Heidi has been featured in The Sunday Times, The Guardian , and BBC National News. In 2019 she founded EOTAS MATTERS to support families like hers whose children and young people need education outside a school setting.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2024

As an adult, trauma-informed care professional Mavir learned that she is neurodivergent when her son experienced mental distress as he attempted to navigate a mainstream educational system. At the time, they didn't realize he was an autistic person. Mavir knows firsthand that parents of autistic children may feel isolated, furthered by society's false narrative that labels their child as "broken." She advocates for pushing back and notes that BIPOC children often face the challenge of late (and sometimes never-received) diagnoses. In this updated edition, suicidal ideation, substance disorders, child abuse, an intense sense of uneasiness after being rejected, extreme behavior when children purposely ignore or avoid what they perceive to be a demand, and the distinctive challenges faced by single parents are covered; trigger warnings for potentially upsetting topics appear at the beginning of each chapter. But lighter points are made too. Appendix resources have titles such as a "Bullshit Bingo Board," which is comprised of offensive sayings that neurodivergent parents and children often hear. VERDICT This book will help many parents of neurodivergent children. Readers will appreciate Mavir's honest, no-holds-barred approach.

Library Journal