BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE

MAY 5, 2023

We all see the world differently, and although most children’s brains develop typically for their age and stage, the Raising Children Network estimates that around one in every five or six Australian children have a brain that works differently. 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (aka ADHD) is a common form of neurodivergence, with around one in 20 Australians having ADHD.  

It’s estimated that around 10% of our population have dyslexia.  

And Australia also has one of the highest rates of Autism in the world, with around 1.7% of our population being Autistic. 

These stats make it very likely that your young family has met one neurodivergent child (or many), and although you might think that neurodiversity will be difficult for your under-five to understand, it’s actually pretty easy to explain things to them and embrace neurodiversity at home, childcare and everywhere!  

To help you do this, we’ve spoken with Dr Mel Heyworth, founder and CEO of Reframing Autism.  

Mel says one of the best ways to introduce neurodiversity to your under-five is to normalise the idea that everybody is different.  

We all have our own backgrounds, beliefs and abilities, and Mel suggests that you start by showing your child that physical differences are normal (including physical disabilities).  

From there, you can explain that everyone’s brains work differently. 

Our little grey cells control what we like to do, how we communicate, how we make friends, how we play, how we move, what food we like, and how our senses work, and talking about your own likes, or dislikes, will help your child to grasp the idea that different people think in different ways. 

For example, you might say: 

• “I like the beach and doing puzzles, you like trains and soccer” or
• “I like the flavour of lemon, you like sweet things” or 
• “I like swinging high and the slippery slide, you don’t like going up too far.” 

 

The last two phrases – about taste and proprioception – highlight sensory differences between people’s brains, and Mel tells us that sensory exploration is a really good way to explore neurodiversity with your little one. 

This is because, “Most neurodivergent people have sensory processing differences, but everybody has a sensory profile of sensory things that we like and seek out, and sensory things that we don’t like and avoid.” 

Sensory play is interesting and fun for your under-five, and Mel says you can: 

• Explore different smells together, like the smell of the beach, blossoms, freshly cut grass, perfumed lotions, fresh washing and coffee 
• Explore different textures, like the feel of a soft toy, a smooth rock, the pages of a book, shaving foam, dry rice and squishy slime 
• Explore different tastes, by tasting different flavours slowly, and with your eyes closed, to focus on the texture and taste, and  
• Explore different sounds, such as different types of music, pitches and even accents you and your child hear.  

 

You can also explore different vestibular experiences with your under-five, like swinging, sliding, jumping, rocking and hanging upside down, to feel your individual senses of balance, coordination and movement.  

As well as giving you a good excuse to smell the roses and use all the playground equipment, Mel says these explorations will help your under-five to understand that everyone has different sensory experiences. 

She says, “This normalises one of the most obvious neurodivergent differences that your little person might encounter in their neurodivergent peers – or experience themselves.”   

There are also lots of great books you can read, written by neurodivergent authors for young people. 

Mel’s own picture book, Remarkable Remy, is a really lovely story about Autistic friendship, and it helps to explain the Autistic brain to ages three and up.  

The Brain Forest by Sandhya Menon is another heart-warming book (for ages five and up) that helps children to understand different brains. 

And Neurodivergent Narwhals is a fun (and free!) set of resources that explores neurodiversity with the help of some colourful narwhals (aka ‘unicorns of the sea’).  

There’s also a lot that early childhood educators can do to embrace neurodiversity.  

Talking and reading about diversity helps little learners to understand people’s natural differences, while building on the conversations you’ve had with your child at home.  

Educators can also make childcare more comfortable for neurodivergent children by having distinct sensory areas and looking after their sensory needs.  

Mel says, “For example, educators might set up a quiet space that has very low sensory stimuli (nothing on the walls, lots of soft furnishing and low lighting), or they might provide lots of fidget tools, or noise-managing headphones, for children to use throughout the day.” 

Educators can also help by modelling certain behaviours, and changing others. 

For example, they might use the fidget tools themselves, turn down the music (so they’re not having to talk over it), or avoid wearing heavy perfume which might overwhelm a smell-sensitive child.  

Mel says all of this makes the early learning environment more respectful for neurodivergent children, and your under-five will soon learn that difference is something to be celebrated – which is great for them, great for their neurodivergent peers, and great for society as a whole!  

If you’d like to learn more about neurodiversity, or are raising a neurodivergent child, then Reframing Autism has a lot of parent-friendly resources. 

Autism Spectrum Australia is also worth a look.  

They are Australia’s largest Autism-focused service provider, and help lots of Autistic early learners to learn, grow and thrive.