We're All Neurodiverse by Sonny Jane Wise

We're All Neurodiverse by Sonny Jane Wise sounds very much like a book for neurodiverse people celebrating how they are not alone and how they can cope with their lives while being neurodiverse. Sadly, the majority of this book is not like that at all. This book is somewhat an opinion piece which covers a range of topics, including the history of neurodiversity, pathology's way of looking at neurodiversity, intersections with neurodiversity, a different way of looking at neurodiversity and some solutions to the problems presented.

First of all, I liked the start of this book, which included a list of key definitions, which was really helpful and good to see. It was also good to see footnotes at the bottom of the page rather than at the end of the chapter or the book, which makes things easier for the reader. This is also a holistic book, potentially looking at more areas than was necessary, which does not add value to such a book. In addition, the book sounds like it was written for neurodiverse people, but Wise seems to have confused herself throughout the book on whether she is writing for a neurodivergent or neurotypical reader. Wise does also make some really good suggestions in terms of solutions to the problems presented, which, although good, are presented in a single chapter at the end of the book. One of the points which Wise makes is:

If we continue to frame writing essays and passing written tests as the only way of knowing something, we are missing out on all the other ways of knowing from oral storytelling, singing, dancing, art and movement. At the end of the day, there are visual learners, auditory learners, verbal learners, physical learners, social learners and solitary learners. It isn't the individual who learns differently that's the problem, it's the fact that our education system and classrooms are set up in such a rigid way that they only support individuals who learn in a particular way.

 This is a good point that Wise makes, and I would say I agree, but like many of the suggestions made, they are made with no regard to the practicalities of these accommodations. Schools are under tight budgets as they are, and surely, if we were to accommodate each different style of learning, that would most likely require much more time and money. More often than not, it is just not practical to accommodate each and every individual. I absolutely do not deny that more needs to be done, but we must be realistic about what can be done.

I really didn't like this book, as although there were some good points, there were also some really bad points. What's more is that this book did not seem very unique, and whilst reading, I couldn't help but think that it was almost an exact copy of another book I recently read, Unmasking Autism by Devon Price. This was particularly frustrating as a book should present different ideas and reflect the author's opinions and/or knowledge, which should be backed up with evidence. Wise's opinions are presented throughout but are extremely poor and lack evidence. Wise further makes the point that "As a white person, I obviously cannot speak on this particular intersection" regarding race and neurodiversity. Maybe this was a sign that it just wasn't relevant for this book!

I could continue to make a number of points about this book, but I will limit myself to just two more. Firstly, very early on in the book, Wise writes:

Autistic individuals are against curing Autism because we believe that if you remove the Autism, you would get a completely different person because Autism is such a fundamental part of us and who we are.

I am actually outraged that Wise thought it was acceptable to voice one of her own opinions and make it sound like it is an opinion shared by the entire Autistic community without any evidence whatsoever to suggest that the Autism community do, in fact, feel this way. This presumption is exactly the kind of thing which Wise goes on to criticise neurotypical people for and, in a way, feels completely disrespectful to those members of the autistic community who fundamentally disagree with her. 

Finally, Wise further suggests that "I do believe a needs-based system where we don't require a diagnosis or a disorder in order to qualify for support or accommodations is where it's at". This was a point Wise referred to throughout the book, and I couldn't disagree more. We have accommodations to enable a level playing field where we can perform and finish at a similar point to a neurotypical person, essentially having our needs met so we are not disadvantaged by things other people do not experience. By not requiring a diagnosis, we are allowing more people to access these accommodations where there may not actually be a legitimate need, meaning that those who are diagnosed with disorders are no better off and are actually further disadvantaged. The suggestion of having accommodations available, particularly for formal public examinations, without formal evidence is absolutely absurd and the suggestion is a complete insult to the neurodiverse community.

Altogether I can only rate this book 1 star as it is full of one-sided opinions with minimal evidence to back up claims; it is almost a plagiarised copy of other books on the market and makes some shocking suggestions and claims. There is little value to this book, and other than the solutions presented at the back, which should have made up the majority of this book as there is a gap on the market for solutions to the problems presented, I am unable to recommend this book. Regardless, I extend the warmest thank you to both NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest book review.