11 years ago my twin babies were born 3 months premature
Now. just passed their 11th birthday while they are both in fine physical health
They both have difficulties that others do not see
William has undiagnosed autism
He has an incredible memory and a huge capacity for ordering, sorting and analysing data
He has some sensory issues and finds physical things that others take for granted really tricky
He thinks he may also have ADHD, after reading about it in books!
Esther has diagnosed dyslexia and undiagnosed ASD and ADD
Teaching Esther is heartbreaking as she is so intelligent
So keen to learn but she finds things incredibly difficult
Her working memory is not good and she finds spelling so hard
She is a voracious reader but she struggles and gets the general meaning of a text
Without really reading all the words on a page
Esther sees the big picture and is a creative problem solver
She is very arty, can make a spectacular something from nothing and loves to sing
This brilliant book from EK Books for Kids has really resonated with me
As a mummy to two neurodivergent children
This story shows why Esther and William are home educated
Because they would find fitting into a classroom a real challenge
They would be misunderstood and their difficulties would not be seen
First impressions of Esther are that she is intelligent and has a wonderful vocabulary
But she struggles to work independently and the support she needs
Would not be available to her in the classroom
The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bartholomew Crisp
Tells the story of a young boy who struggles to fit in
Because of his unique way of seeing and experiencing the world
His teacher asks him a question at school
They are expecting a quick and straight forward answer but Bowen cannot give one
His answer is eloquent, detailed, accurate, multi levelled and backed with evidence
But by the time he is ready to give it
The teacher has moved on
This would be Esther and William for very different reasons
Another teacher asks Bowen his thoughts
Bowen’s thoughts are complicated and varied and race off on different tangents
He cannot give his teacher a simple concise answer and so he gives none as the teacher moves on
Throughout his life at school and within his extended family
Bowen is misunderstood, passed over and under estimated
As a mother of two children for whom I know this is true this was a hard read for me
I know with William in particular people, me included sometimes
Do not wait to hear what he is thinking, do not listen to all he is saying
I know that Esther feels real pain when she is asked a direct question
She just shuts down even when she has lots to say that is valid and interesting
In this story Bowen’s mother recognises his strengths and his struggles
She is his safe place, his rock, his support, his champion
She is everything I want to be and sometimes struggle to be for my gorgeously neurodivergent duo
This story has made me want to do better for my preemie twins
They are wonderfully brave and a huge inspiration to me
I want to help them both to make the most of their strengths
And overcome any obstacles that stand in the way of them achieving their dreams
This story shows how amazing Bowen is
How articulate, how creative, how funny, how curious and clever
He is splendid in his difference
Being different, being able to see things differently is his super power
Bowen finds a way to use his unique talents to help others
He discovers that thinking different means he can find solutions to problems
That no one else had thought of
As Bowen grows he finds his place in the world that he finds so hard to understand
Bowen’s happy ending made my heart soar and lifted all my children
And helped them to see that they can do anything, be anything
They might just get there a different way to others, to each other
This is a brilliant book for embracing diversity and encouraging us all
To explore our full potential
And to always, always have hope