She shares often overlooked signs of autism and ADHD; the basics of stimming, meltdowns and sensory overload; tips for finding nurturing communities and overcoming common challenges in relationships and workplaces; and more. I’ve been looking for books about neurodivergence written by neurodivergent authors and this has been a great place to start. She's very sincere, positive, and enthusiastic about empowering the reader and "finding your happily ever after. Everyone should pick up this book and give it a read, broaden your horizons and learn about neurodivergence and disability and how we can better accomodate for our neurodivergent/disabled friends in society! i wish i had this book growing up instead of wanting to off myself for how my brain works and thinking i was just broken and wired wrong.

This book is written by a Disney person and for me, the constant references to Disney characters as a tool for illustrating points about neurodivergent experience - was beyond jarring. That's not me shaming anyone for what they love - I just *don't* relate to the genie from Aladdin in a very significant way, nor do I necessarily agree that Rafiki in The Lion King is coded as having ADHD. I've even had friends of mine watch her videos and TikToks of her openly stimming while seeing sharks and say things like "I'm not saying that you two are the same person, I'm just saying we haven't ever seen the two of you in the same room. This doesn’t have to be a contradiction but in “Different Not Less” these two genres feel so isolated and don’t play well together.

This is a moving, at times funny story of how it feels to be neurodivergent as well as a practical guide, with advice for living with meltdowns and shutdowns, tips for finding supportive communities and much more. Even though she mentions that she also has ADHD there is rarely any mention of other neurodivergencies and I feel like we’re washing away the meaning of the word Neurodivergence by over-using it instead of stating the exact condition we’re talking about (here: autism).

Vil spesielt anbefala an fordi an tar utgangspunkt i ein enkeltpersons opplevelser, i stedet for typiske kalde fakta som bøker om disse temaene ofta tar for seg. Biography: Chlo Hayden is an award-winning actor and disability advocate, motivational speaker and social media influencer whose story of being 'different, not less' has attracted a worldwide following. I personally believe that anyone - be it teachers, partners, parents, friends - who shares their life with an autistic person should at least read Chapter 3: Sensory Issues, Stimming, Meltdowns, Shutdown and Burnout. When a life-changing group of allies showed her that different did not mean less, she learned to celebrate her true voice and find her happily ever after.The areas of life in which I have the highest support needs - parenting and "running a home" (whatever that means) - aren't mentioned. Autistic and other neurodiverse people regardless are age are taught that we don't deserve to be our most authentic selves or feel comfortable. While the continuous Disney references don’t resonate with me personally I definitely see how that would also be a huge win for a lot of people.