I was delighted to find that there are just as many (if not more) picture books about autism and neurodiversity as there are middle grade books. These picture books will help neurotypical readers (kids and adults) understand how neurodiverse minds work. You’ll find children’s books about dyslexia, sensory processing disorders, ADHD, and autism among others.
35 Middle-Grade Books with Neurodivergent Characters
I’ve recently been reminded how important OwnVoices stories are, especially where disability and neurodiversity are involved. I already have an older list of books with autistic characters (for kids and adults) on this blog, but I wanted to broaden the scope a bit to include other kinds of neurodiversity, including sensory processing disorder (SPD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), dyslexia, ADHD, learning difficulties, synesthesia, and autism spectrum disorder in general (ASD).
You’ll find books by OwnVoices and non OwnVoices authors, as well as books in which the neurodivergent person is the main character, and others with “neurodiversity rep.”