Celebrating All Kinds of Minds!
#NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek — let’s change the narrative.
How many times does it happen that the mother of a dyspraxic child takes up the challenge of writing a picture book for kids instead of ending up sulking in the darkest corner of the room?
Jane Binnion made it happen.
On finding out her child’s condition and discovering dyspraxic symptoms within herself, Jane headed towards the library to find a book on such themes. She did find books on dyspraxia — the ones that dealt with how to ‘handle’ such individuals, the ones meant for parents and the ones made for caregivers.
But there wasn’t any that celebrated the difference — that spoke about what it means and how it feels to be dyspraxic. There wasn’t any book that truly represented and gave a voice to these unheard voices and often overlooked faces.
And that’s when You’re So Clumsy Charley was born!
A trainer and educator by profession, Jane is concerned about how people receive education and how knowledge gets transmitted in different formats. Her book is an attempt to bring down those superficial terms that define people, tear those labels that tag people and shatter those boxes that confine people’s abilities, curbing their talents.
The book has two very distinct purposes:
- It aims to educate and inform people that dyspraxia isn’t a curse — there’s nothing negative about it.
- It explains, especially to the dyspraxic children, that they are just awesome, perfectly fine and most importantly — lovable.
The book does a wonderful work of not mentioning the condition even once. Rather, it celebrates Charley and the way he discovers what he is good at and derives pleasure from it. The book gives hope to millions of kids who are different from the societal ‘norm’ but unique in their own special ways.
On this #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek, let us dive into You’re So Clumsy Charley and make more efforts to embrace differences, welcome people of all kinds and be more human in our thoughts, words and actions.
