[00:00:12.540] – Speaker 2
Well, hey, everyone. I’m Chris Tompkins, and welcome to the Shaping Our World podcast. My goal is to invite you into a conversation that will leave you more confident in understanding and inspiring the young people in your life. Each episode, we talk with leading experts and offer relevant resources to dive deeper into the world of our youth today. Today, we have acclaimed author, writer, and creative director, Sara Furlong on the show. Sara has been creating fun, engaging content for kids, tweens, and teens for nearly 20 years. A prolific author with a number of children’s fiction and non-fiction books under her belt, Sara has been recognized more recently for her award-winning best-selling children’s book, Every Brain is Beautiful, which introduces neurodiversity to children in a way that helps foster empathy, community and understanding. Her most recent project, set to launch earlier this year, is called Storyay, and the goal is to revolutionize the way children interact with literature, fostering literacy through entertainment. In her spare time, Sara also creates content for her Instagram account, Have More Fun, through which she shares family travel tips through the lens of accessibility. I think you’re going to love hearing what Sara has to say about engaging children through literature and to hear her valuable insights into broaching topics like neurodiversity with kids.
[00:01:37.020] – Speaker 2
Before we meet our guest, a quick word about an opportunity at Muskoka Woods. Starting as a staff member here, I found it to be more than just a job. I discovered a pathway to personal and professional growth. We are committed to intentional staff development, providing training, and building a network that can propel your career forward. Imagine working where you’re nurtured to grow with access to amazing facilities and staff care events. If you’re seeking a role that prepares you for what’s next, visit jobs.muskokawoods.com for more details. Now, let’s get into the heart of our show. Welcome, Sara. It’s great to have you.
[00:02:20.020] – Speaker 1
Thanks so much. It’s great to be here.
[00:02:21.650] – Speaker 2
Looking forward to this conversation and to get into some of the stuff that you work on and your perspective on young people today. But before we do that, we love to get to know you a little bit better beyond the bio. What shaped your world when you were growing up? When you’re a kid, when you’re a teenager, what were the biggest influences in your life?
[00:02:38.830] – Speaker 1
The biggest influences in my life when I was a child and a teenager was definitely my parents. I was identified as gifted at a young age, and a lot of kids in that position are pushed into areas that they don’t necessarily love, like maths and science and hardcore education like that. But my parents knew that the arts and writing was where my heart and they allowed that to continue. So they set me up for the success that I’ve experienced today.
[00:03:05.660] – Speaker 2
That’s amazing. It’s so encouraging. And we’ll talk a little bit about some of those things as we go through, I’m sure. So what’s shaping your world today? What are the important things to know about you, Sara?
[00:03:17.470] – Speaker 1
My world today is largely shaped by my son. He was born a teeny tiny, preemie, 30 weeks. He is autistic, ADHD, all those letters after him. And helping him navigate the world and making it easier for everybody similar to him to navigate the world has been a huge influence in the work I take on and has shaped my perspective on things.
[00:03:40.960] – Speaker 2
I’m sure there’s so many things we could dive into on that, and I’m sure it’ll weave its way through our conversation today, but definitely that would shape your world for sure. What are you doing that shapes the world of other kids beyond your son? Tell us a bit about your work and what you do.
[00:04:00.750] – Speaker 1
I have been writing for kids for 20 years. Before my son was born, I’ve always loved kids’ content and creating things that are entertaining and engaging for kids. Since he was diagnosed, I really realized that the lack of resources to explain to kids, both those with different disabilities and those around them, what those words mean. That’s what I’ve been working on creating, is how do we explain things to kids so that they can understand there’s nothing wrong with them. They are just different, not less. And also creating resources that kids can enjoy but are written in ways that they can read if they are dyslexic or are a bit delayed in their reading so that they can participate like every other kid.
[00:04:43.650] – Speaker 2
To dive right into that. I’d love to talk a little bit about your award-winning children’s book, Every Brain is Beautiful. You talked a little bit about, and maybe just even to connect some of the dots further, what was the impetus behind writing this book? What got you going to to put something together in this?
[00:05:01.740] – Speaker 1
So Every Brain is Beautiful really came out of searching for ways to explain neurodivergence to my son and others and not being able to find a resource. I was trying to find books that were kid friendly, that were fun, and that actually were neurodiversity affirming as opposed to full of deficits, red flags, that stuff, and I couldn’t find one. So I decided I’m going to create one. And that’s where Every Brain is Beautiful came from. I wanted to remove it from any look, any specific This is a boy or it’s a white child or this or that, and take it and put it on animals so that every child could understand that this could be anybody. I created that story, and it has been my best-selling book since the day it’s launched, and it continues to be because I think parents, educators, they really see that there’s a need for this, and it just didn’t exist.
[00:05:52.000] – Speaker 2
I once heard someone speak, Sara, that said, be careful about your complaints. They may just turn into a calling. And I was like, Oh, that’s interesting, right? When you sit about like, Why isn’t there something on this? And it’s like, Yeah, good question, Sara. Why don’t you do it? So yeah, I love that. So how do you see Every Brain is Beautiful, the books? Because it’s since become a bit of a series. How do you see that contributing to this larger conversation about inclusion and acceptance?
[00:06:21.840] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. After Every Brain is Beautiful came out, I was then requested by a lot of parents to write books on specific diagnosis. That’s where I took a step aside and I was like, Okay, let’s do one on autism, on ADHD, on giftedness. It just expanded from there. They’re starting to become resources in libraries and classrooms so that kids can have access to them to be able to understand themselves or appear and to also understand that there’s nothing wrong with them. It’s been fantastic because my son has helped me write them as well. Oh, that’s awesome. He goes through them with me and he adds things or he questions things, and It’s been amazing to have him as part of that. My latest one is your beautiful brain and big feelings, which my son experiences. He gets very emotional at different things. I asked him, what are some things that make you feel better so we can put them in the book to help other kids? That’s really where that series has just exploded for me. I get requests all the time from parents and educators for, Can you do one on this or on that?
[00:07:22.910] – Speaker 1
I have my list and I’m going through them to find a way to try and get as many of them down on paper so that the resources as existing.
[00:07:30.860] – Speaker 2
That’s awesome. And like, beyond, I know you said you’ve heard some feedback about writing others. What are some other types of feedback that you’ve heard from parents, educators, kids about the book? What’s surprised you as you dove into this?
[00:07:45.210] – Speaker 1
It’s been overwhelmingly positive feedback. I’ve had teachers come. I do a lot of vendor markets because I love to get out in the public and talk to people and be able to have them look through it in their hands as opposed to buying everything online. And I’ve had a number of teachers out of their own pockets by the whole series and just be like, I just need these in my classroom, which has been overwhelmingly positive for me. I’ve had adults who have a diagnosis of autism or ADHD buy it for themselves because even though they don’t need the resource, just having that in their hands as a reminder, there’s nothing wrong with them. To me, that’s incredibly heartwarming to think that even adults can look at these very simple children’s books and see the value in them.
[00:08:27.740] – Speaker 2
Now, I’m really curious to help our listeners because they’re probably going, Okay, this is incredible. Take us inside one or a few of the books to help us understand why this is really resonating with educators and kids and parents.
[00:08:42.220] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. Every book starts with, You are perfect just the way you are in big, bold letters on the front page. I think once everybody opens that up, they know what book they’re getting into. They know the perspective I’m giving, and they know the positive feel that we’re taking. I go through and I explain explain what does this word mean in kid friendly terms. I explain the differences that make up autism. A kid can understand these are the patterns of differences. Nothing wrong. These are just the types of differences that lead to a diagnosis of autism. I then go through a sometimes and other times. Sometimes the world might be too loud, other times you might want to talk a lot because you’re super excited about something so that kids can start to really reflect on how they can see themselves within this nature. And I always include things they can do to help themselves. Again, speaking on autism, noise canceling headphones, taking a break, taking deep breaths, asking somebody for help. So I go through some things. We start with, this is what it is. Here’s different traits you might experience. And then here’s some things you can do to make the world a little easier for yourself.
[00:09:52.220] – Speaker 2
Is there an age group? If parents pick up this book, when does this book start to make sense Can you use it at all different age groups? Is there a focus there?
[00:10:04.870] – Speaker 1
I usually say 2-8 is the main focus with Every Brain is Beautiful starting the youngest, because my hope is that kids get the opportunity to read these before they get to school. I would love kids to be able to read with their parents Every brain is Beautiful. If they see a child doing something that’s a little different or that doesn’t seem to be paying them attention, that they can understand, Oh, maybe their brain’s just different. They’re not mean, they’re not ignoring me. I’d love It’s love for that to be the first intro in for kids. Then as they start to get into kindergarten, Grade 1, grade two, where they’re really starting to see they’re different to their peers, either themselves or others, to go into the more specific diagnosis ones. The nice thing, too, is if they’re read in a classroom, they’re not about anybody specific. The characters are all gender neutral on purpose, and they’re little blobs of color so that it’s not a feeling of being like, Hey, wait a second. This looks like that kid, or that’s a boy, I’m a girl that doesn’t with me. They’re kept incredibly neutral so that every child can find themselves in the characters.
[00:11:05.310] – Speaker 2
Any topics in this series that you haven’t written yet that you’re thinking about, that you’re working on, that you just haven’t tackled yet?
[00:11:13.360] – Speaker 1
There’s definitely a few, and the list seems to keep growing.
[00:11:17.560] – Speaker 2
The next one- I was going to say, I imagine it just keeps with the way our culture changes and how fast it is.
[00:11:23.350] – Speaker 1
I’m sure there’s a lot. A hundred %. I love to hear from people as to what they feel is missing. My most recent were big feelings, dyslexia, and something called aweDHD, which is autism and ADHD together, which is very, very common, and there’s absolutely no resources that explain to a child what it’s like when these two very different neurotypes converge on that one brain and how hard that can be. That one is getting right up there with my every brain is beautiful in terms of popularity because it just hasn’t existed and it’s so needed. One of the things I’m planning to do is something called PDA, which stands for pathological demand avoidance or persistent drive for autonomy, depending on who you ask, just to help to explain to both adults and children why sometimes it can be hard when someone tells you what to do. That is actually a neurotype where if someone tells you, Do this, you can’t. Your brain won’t let you lose that autonomy. The good thing, too, with these books is the educators and the adults are learning along with the kids because a lot of them aren’t as familiar with some of these terms and some of these neurotypes as they’d like to think that they are.
[00:12:32.400] – Speaker 1
This gives them an opportunity in a very safe way to learn a few new things and some new ways of working with kids that they might not have thought of.
[00:12:40.220] – Speaker 2
When you started writing, you told us just about with your son and helping explain these things. And clearly, you’ve chosen to write for children, specifically. So two-part question, what beyond your son’s own experience, what’s the real… Why did you connect with writing this for kids, not necessarily helping adults have these conversations? So that’s part one. And part two, as a parent is going through this with their children, what do you hope they pull away with this from? Because I’m sure even if you’re not intentionally writing it for them, we know adults are going to be reading it going through. So I would imagine there’s some learning and something that they walk away with as well.
[00:13:22.680] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. So in terms of why I started to write for kids is that has always been my passion. I I went to school for radio and television at Toronto Metropolitan University, and I went for TV content with this focus on kids. That was always the thing in the background of my mind is I wanted to create content for kids. That was why I’ve stuck in this stream over the years, because I really feel that children’s entertainment, getting kids engaged is so important. It’s where everything starts, whether they be reading or watching something. That was why I’ve spent the past 20 years of my career really focused in on kids. Then in terms of what adults are going to get out of my books, especially my Every Brain series, is I think for one, they’re going to help to better understand their child, as well as feel a little less alone because often you get a diagnosis and you really don’t know who else in the world is experiencing this. Being able to read through and recognizing things and be like, Oh, okay, this is just the way it is. There’s nothing wrong, nothing that I need to worry about, this is just a different way of being.
[00:14:33.030] – Speaker 1
It gives them comfort and allows them to better comfort their child because everybody can agree that this is just a difference in the way that their brain works versus a deficit. And I think for a lot of adults, that’s incredibly comforting.
[00:14:46.680] – Speaker 2
You’ve been writing now for 20 years or so for our kids. And how do you think… Because you clearly then, as you’re delivering content to kids, you’re for sure understanding how how to communicate to that generation of young people. And we talk often about how rapidly the world is changing for our young people. And how has your young audience changed over the course of these 20 years, if at all? And how does that shape the way you communicate conversations, the things you talk about? How have you had to change your approach to communicating to them?
[00:15:25.480] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. Kids have changed a ton since when I first started. One of the biggest things that’s really changed is the age in which they experience different things. My background is in toys. Toy commercials has been my main thing all along, with my books being my lovely side gig that’s growing over the years. But the kids and the age in which they’re playing with toys has changed so much. Kids age out of toys much younger than they did and are straight into an iPad. That’s been one of the biggest things I’ve seen is that different things when we used to be talking to a or a 10-year-old, now we’re talking to a six-year-old. Because that’s in the reality the child that is going to be using something that would have been much older one generation back. Another thing is really how they speak. Slang is always changing, as we know, but it’s even just the short forms of things and all that stuff that’s gotten more and more prevalent, especially with social media and the internet. We’ve really changed how we communicate with each other, and that needs to be reflected to be relevant. It’s There’s always a balance between really using terms and ways that kids are speaking and want to be spoken to, while still using classical ways of speaking so that we don’t go too far down into something that is in that moment.
[00:16:43.720] – Speaker 1
We want to make sure that stuff can be a little bit more timeless than the word of the week. But it’s been really interesting to see how kids shift their focus. One of the things I know we’re going to talk to in a little bit is something new that’s launching called Story A, which I’m very excited about, because what we with that is we really looked at how kids consume content and how that’s changed over the years and why handing a kid a 400-page book and saying, Read this, just isn’t relevant to today’s kids who are used to quick hits of information stuff at their fingertips, very interactive. That passive reading is really tough for them, especially after COVID and literacy rates really falling behind. We needed to look at a new way to get kids into that idea of words on paper being entertaining because what we were doing before for generations back where that was all you had, it just isn’t cutting it anymore.
[00:17:39.220] – Speaker 2
I think one of the things that’s changed is how kids get access to things that are going on through social media. But I’m even thinking within our own families. Someone I know who’s of my vintage was not allowed to go to their grandfather’s funeral because their grandma didn’t want to expose them as a child to something sad like that. And then contrast that to someone I also know today who’s had their young child sit down with the parents and the social worker who are going through a diagnosis for the father, and the kid has brought questions to ask the social worker, a contrast. Absolutely. Yes, those might be isolated things, but I think that is a bit more of a general thing. We are more open with kids about what’s going on in our own lives, in our family’s lives. We talk to them. They are bombarded not just by media, but also by us with a bit more of adult things. And that’s one of the things I love about your books is because as kids are working through some of these things and getting privy to what used to be a bit more of adult conversations.
[00:18:53.940] – Speaker 2
We don’t need to talk to you about that. The parents get the diagnosis and they figure it all for the kids, right? Where now that’s different. That’s what I love about the Every Brain is Beautiful books, too, because it’s coming alongside of that change and saying, okay, if kids are going to have access to more of this information. Obviously, parents can pick and choose how they do that in their own homes and whatever. But this gives them a tool to actually have those conversations and help them navigate these really big and weighty things at a young age. Does that make sense? Would you agree with that, James?
[00:19:35.760] – Speaker 1
A hundred %, I agree with that. And to further that comment, I’m a huge advocate for explaining a diagnosis to a child as soon as they receive it as opposed to keeping it as some hidden thing we don’t talk about. Because one of the examples I like to give people when they say to me, Oh, I don’t know if I want my kid to know, get this label on them. If they’re not labeled ADHD, for example, and understand what that means, then the label they get is lazy, disruptive, bad behavior.
[00:20:05.610] – Speaker 2
Troublemaker.
[00:20:06.250] – Speaker 1
Exactly. They’re going to be labeled one way or another. Why don’t we give them the correct one so that they can understand themselves and be able to be like, Hey, I’m having a hard time. I need to take a break, as opposed to being like, I don’t know what’s wrong with me and why I get so angry in class. It’s huge. If we explain to kids in a way that they can understand, then we’re doing them a huge service in their life as opposed to trying to shield them from everything to the that they don’t even know who they are.
[00:20:32.140] – Speaker 2
Let’s talk a little bit about this project, Story A. I know it’s about to launch, and I really love the idea. What struck me is that a child receives a letter to their front door every few weeks. It’d be so easy to do something digital, like emails or whatever, but you aren’t. First of all, tell us about it, where it came from, what it’s all about. Then can you talk about the importance of that physical tangibility of a book or a document? Why did you choose to do that over, say, an email or a direct message through some social media platform?
[00:21:10.240] – Speaker 1
Yeah, absolutely. So Storyay is what I like to call from I’ve experienced in the toy industry, a category Buster. It doesn’t exactly fit in with anything, and that’s what I love about it. It has elements of a book, it has elements of being an interactive activity, and it’s a subscription box. So we We’ll put that all together to create something new, which is a story A. How it works is a child chooses which story they want. We’ll be launching with three different stories. One is about a time travel mystery, one is about kids who get lost in space, and one is about kids who end up in the enchanted forest. Once they choose their story, they get to choose their narrator. Every story has the option of a girl or a boy, and it doesn’t matter who chooses what. We’re just giving that option to kids because we know that some kids have a preference of who they hear from, whether it be a male or a female. So we’re giving that option. From there, you start to get letters every few weeks from these characters while they’re out on the adventure, and they’re all personalized and customized.
[00:22:12.920] – Speaker 1
We have a little survey we send out. We We have the child’s name. We have questions like your favorite color, your favorite food, your favorite subject in school, and all of those get woven into the letters. As they’re reading it, it’s actually written to them from the main character. There’s also activities woven into it. While they’re going through and reading it, it’ll stop in the middle of the page and be like, We went into this spooky place and we saw all of these creepy dolls. Can you find all 12 of them? The child then gets to stop and do an activity before they continue on with the story. What we’re doing is we’re giving them bite-sized content that is incredibly interactive. It’s completely personalized for them, so we’re bringing them right into the story. We’re doing it in small intervals to keep them excited. We’re not waiting too long between them that they get bored or forget what they’re doing, but we’re doing it in intervals so that they can have this experience last over the course of a few months and really get into the story and have something that’s just for them. It’s a physical thing that comes in the mail, addressed to them, which is not something kids get anymore.
[00:23:12.800] – Speaker 1
It’s always exciting when a child gets a piece of mail with like, Hey, this is for you. They get to open it and they get to go through and be on this adventure.
[00:23:20.780] – Speaker 2
That’s amazing. We at Muskoka Woods do our best to send kids postcards that they get throughout the year. That’s amazing. From their camp counselor because the same idea, it’s a memory of camp, but it’s like something tangible in the mail.
[00:23:37.600] – Speaker 1
There’s still something special about getting something physical. Everybody can print out something off the internet, do a piece of paper, whatever. But when you actually open it and it’s these beautifully illustrated letters addressed to you and you’re part of this adventure, there’s just something different. We’re hoping it to reignite kids into literacy. Literacy through entertainment is our thing. We’re We’re not being educational. We’re not going to be anything that’s going to be hard work or anything like that. This is pure entertainment to help just getting kids away from their screen for short bursts of time to do something in the literacy space.
[00:24:13.380] – Speaker 2
I still love getting a good addressed piece of mail, as long as it’s not a bill or we’ve up to your credit limit if you try this card.
[00:24:23.800] – Speaker 1
There’s something special about it.
[00:24:24.980] – Speaker 2
There is. When it’s handwritten, addressed to you, it’s a card or sometimes a or randomly, if someone wants to do that. There is a little thing that goes off in you. They’re like, Oh, what is this? It’s exciting. We have to walk down the street to our mailbox. There is a physical nature to it as well that I think is just good as we get kids to be more active as well.
[00:24:49.470] – Speaker 1
100%, and it gets kids off of their screen. We’re not competing with screens. We know that kids are still going to be on their screens, but if we can get little breaks from it to just get them into something. These are 10 pages with activities woven between. We’re not talking hours and hours of reading, but that’s how kids like to consume content. Kids would rather watch two hours worth of short videos than a movie. Let’s give them short content that we know that they can engage with.
[00:25:17.210] – Speaker 2
How would a parent get involved in Story A? What’s the tangible mechanism for that?
[00:25:22.650] – Speaker 1
So mystorya. Com is our website, and that’s where everything’s going to be launching. We’re going to be doing actually a kickstarter in February. February, for the month of February, to just help get the funds to take this broad. We’ve got these beautifully illustrated letters. We’re ready to go. We just need to be able to market it and really get it out into the world. But mystoryay.com, and It’s story-ay as S-T-O-R-Y-A-Y. I know it’s hard to understand from how I’m saying it, but if you go there, it’s got all the information about who we are, why we’re doing what we’re doing, as well as it’s going to have little hints up to the letters. Right now, starting with kids 7-12, that middle grade age. But in our next launch in the fall, we’re going to be doing younger kids. For those kids that aren’t quite at that reading level, we’re going to have a whole series for them as well. It’s going to keep growing.
[00:26:13.240] – Speaker 2
That’s just around the time when kids start coming to camp. It’s six and seven years old, so that’s perfect. As we move forward with today’s episode, I want to highlight an experience that reshapes the way students and teachers see each other. Muskoka Woods overnight trips offer more than just outdoor fun. They’re a catalyst for personal growth and classroom unity. Teachers become mentors, students become leaders, and together, they discover potential they never knew they had. With comprehensive safety measures and engaging curriculum connections, it’s an overnight trip that makes a difference. Explore more at schools.muskokawoods.com. I want to talk about your Instagram account, Have More Fun. In that, you chronicle travel through the lens of accessibility. That’s so fascinating to me. I love it. Why is it important for you to share accessible tips? Maybe, Ontario listeners, what are the great places to go and do where this is a really good thing?
[00:27:30.070] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. It came from the fact, again, traveling with my son. Some people were like, Oh, I couldn’t travel with my child with this disability or that disability. I’m like, There are ways to do it, and a lot of people don’t understand. I like to find ways to show fun We’re having straight up fun that anybody else would enjoy. Here’s how to do it from an accessible point of view. That’s been some of my most popular content. When I explained the Disney’s disability access service, how it works, what it is, how you get it, how you use it, That was a piece that was shared with so many people because anyone that was thinking, How am I going to take my child to this overwhelming theme park? What am I going to do? Needed to understand that there were ways that you can get accommodations to assist you through. Speaking specifically in being in Ontario, there’s something called the Access to Card, which if your child qualifies for it, it gets you in free as your child’s caregiver if you are supporting them due to a disability. These are places you can use that at the movie theatre, You can use it for discounted passes to go to the Toronto Zoo, all those kinds of things, things that people just don’t know about.
[00:28:37.310] – Speaker 1
I felt like I was doing a disservice to my followers by not sharing some of those things intermixed with my content of just enjoying life and having fun and getting out into the world is this is how you can do it from an accessible point of view.
[00:28:49.560] – Speaker 2
Just for people listening, access to the number card. Correct. Yeah. Ca, you can check that out. See, I wouldn’t even have that that exists. That’s fascinating. I know we’re going to ask this at the end, but just because you’ve talked all about it, tell me about your hands-down favourite theme park.
[00:29:09.760] – Speaker 1
You know what? Out of all the questions that you sent me, that was the one that has been racking my brain the most. I love it. That’s a tough question.
[00:29:17.830] – Speaker 2
That’s why you can’t finish on it. We’re going to throw it in the middle here.
[00:29:23.920] – Speaker 1
Man, there are so many reasons. I love so many of them, but I would say Magic Kingdom is probably my favourite just because it is the iconic one. It’s the one that most people picture when we think of a theme park, and it’s one that I can navigate with my eyes closed. It’s probably the one that I recommend. If you can go to one, and that’s the only one you can go to, you pick Magic Kingdom to get the true Disney experience, the true immersive experience.
[00:29:51.230] – Speaker 2
What would your son’s favorite theme park be?
[00:29:55.520] – Speaker 1
He would probably pick Universal Studios in Florida.
[00:30:01.370] – Speaker 2
Funny. I was going to say, if I had to guess, I was thinking, I wonder if she’ll say Universal because I’m thinking, is it because of the big ride, the more roller coaster-esque than Disney?
[00:30:14.000] – Speaker 1
Yeah. As he’s gotten older. He’s become quite the thrill seeker, which has been fun for me because I’ve had to join him in that, which was never really my thing. I was more of the experience rides, and now we’re going on Velocicoaster. I think back when was younger, he would have said Magic Kingdom, but now Universal, I think, is more his speed of things. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll never turn down a trip to Disney. But if you have older kids, Universal Studios gives you more of those thrills that Disney has handfuls of, but not entirely.
[00:30:46.870] – Speaker 2
So I want to… We’re just landing the plane a little bit on this conversation, which has been so insightful and love what you’re doing. I know there’s parents listening to this who are frantically looking online to find your books. And you’ve got a ton of children’s books if people go to Amazon. But I want to have a broader question, and then also for you to be able to share where to find all of the resources you have and any other ones that are helpful So let’s start as parents. If we’re resonating with this and said, Yeah, I haven’t had these conversations yet. I want to, whether our child is neurodivergent or something else or not even, how do I talk to my child about kids that are around them that maybe look and feel and act a bit different than they are. If we want to help our kids recognize and talk about this in a positive and supportive way, what do we need to do as parents? Where do we start How do we dive into this? Then, can you give us other resources, your own and others that may help us do that?
[00:31:53.060] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. I think it’s as important for kids who are neurotypical to understand as those that are neurodivergent because, let’s be honest, we’re all going to meet people of different neurotypes during our lives, and being able to respect and understand that without having to probe them about, tell me why you do this is important, right? Because above all else, you don’t have to share those things about yourself if you don’t want to. I would say if your child is younger, a book is a good place to start, something with a visual, something that allows them to see an image and hear some words because that’s going to be more impactful. Just talking to a child can sometimes go in one ear and out the other, whereas if they’re looking at something that’s really helpful to get that message into their brains. I think what’s really important as well is to remain neutral in how we speak about things. The amount of people that when I say my son’s autistic and they’re like, Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m like, Oh, no, no, no, no, Talking to parents about how they treat these words is important so that the immediate when they hear these things, it’s not a, Oh, no.
[00:33:07.030] – Speaker 1
Are you serious? That’s too bad. No, it’s like, Oh, okay, that’s great to know. Now I know how to interact with them in order to make the world a little easier. Or it’s important to keep in mind that if they’re not looking at you, it doesn’t mean they’re not listening to you. Having a few of those things that you can use in order to answer questions because kids have questions and that’s okay. As a parent, you’re the safe person that they We can ask these questions, too. So making sure that your responses are positive and affirming versus, Oh, I don’t know. If they’re like that, maybe just don’t talk to them. That’s what we’re trying to really change the narrative around.
[00:33:44.620] – Speaker 2
And so your books, how do people find them? How did they find out more about your resources? Then are there other things that I know you said you wrote these because you couldn’t find some stuff, but what are some other resources that might help parents who realize that their kids do want to talk about this in a different way?
[00:34:04.700] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. There’s a lot of content creators online. Some of them are teens and stuff like that who are ADHD, autistic, who create content to better explain that. Just exposing your kids to see different people, people that are wheelchair users, people that might be visual or hearing impaired, and pointing it out to them, being like, Oh, look, they’re using sign language. That’s amazing. Pointing out these things as you see them is a huge way to just normalize it. If someone comes by in a wheelchair that you’re just like… And if they make a comment, be like, Oh, they’re out and about enjoying their life. So it’s not like, Oh, don’t go near them, anything like that, which for a lot of people is the initial reaction. So I think if kids are going to be online anyways, exposing them to creators that have different types of disabilities is a huge way to just make it normal. You just make it an everyday thing. We’re not going out of our way to be like, You need to watch this person because because they have ADHD and you need to understand it, but more just like, Oh, here’s a fun creator.
[00:35:03.890] – Speaker 1
I think that they have ADHD. That’s cool. Just bringing it into things as opposed to making it the centerpiece. That’s a great way to start by introducing things to kids. Then from there, if they want to delve deeper, then you can go online and find resources like books or classes and stuff like that. Speech language pathologist, occupational therapist, they’re great resources to learn as an adult if you have a child with a to learn how to support them. Never underestimate the value of those professionals to be able to give you tips, tricks, and hints to make life easier for everybody.
[00:35:40.530] – Speaker 2
Then where do we find your stuff?
[00:35:42.970] – Speaker 1
The best place I always tell people to find my stuff is on Amazon because it’s accessible. People with Prime can just get it shipped directly to them for free. That’s probably your best bet. It’s all under… If you search Sara Furlough or search Every Brain is Beautiful, it comes up immediately and everything links that. I do have a website which is Wurlal Gig Creative Publishing, which is my business, but I strongly recommend everybody to go to Amazon just because accessibility is my thing, and that’s the most accessible place to get my resources.
[00:36:16.450] – Speaker 2
And your Instagram account is Have More Fun?
[00:36:18.680] – Speaker 1
Yes, it’s Underscore Have More Fun. And that you can find me there on Instagram or TikTok. I’m always sharing my silly videos and my takes on this and my accessible tips. And then last Lastly, the mystoryay. Com is somewhere I’d love people to go and find out more and sign up for when we launch as a way to really do something different, to get their kids something that they would never have experienced before and to really get those kids that might be a little bit literature hesitant to cross them over into reading. That’s my goal is to get those kids that are sitting on those edges into books, into reading, into literacy.
[00:37:01.180] – Speaker 2
So as we wrap up, what about parents and adults? Do you have any advice, words of encouragement for caregivers, parents who might be struggling with their child’s diagnosis, feeling overwhelmed by what they’re facing every day. What would you say to them? How would you encourage them as we wrap up?
[00:37:22.440] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. So I would start by saying your child that has a diagnosis is the same child that did not have a diagnosis. So don’t let that dictate to you who they are or who they are supposed to be. The other thing I would say is a child with a diagnosis, autism, ADHD, anxiety, they grow and learn like every other child. So just because you’re having a hard time today, don’t think it’s going to be a hard life for always. Give your kids the opportunity to learn, to grow, to thrive. Support them as who they are, as opposed to trying to change them into someone that they are not. They are not a broken neurotypical. They are who they are meant to be. And the more you can support them with that mindset, the better relationship you’ll have and the faster and better they will be able to grow into the person that they’re supposed to be.
[00:38:13.670] – Speaker 2
I just think of another conversation We’re having this season with two moms who have adult sons on the autism spectrum. One is an athlete for Canada as a speed skater in the Canada Games, and another is a chef who started his own catering business. There are just some encouraging stories about what kids with neurodivergence can actually get at and accomplish and thrive in life. And so I think your words of encouragement just resonate really well. Thank you. As we think about this as a holistic topic for parents who are navigating some of these things every day.
[00:38:58.790] – Speaker 1
Absolutely. My son didn’t really speak till he was four. If I went around thinking that that was the way it was always going to be, that could be really difficult. He now, I have to be like, Dude, you need to stop talking for a minute because he can go off like crazy. So just don’t worry about where we are today. Worry about how you can support them to move forward.
[00:39:18.210] – Speaker 2
Well, Sara, it’s been an incredible conversation today. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Love the books, love how you got to them, and I’m sure so many of our listeners are going to go on and pick them up. They’re actually not super expensive either, right? So get as many as you want, parents. And thank you, Sara, for your time and for what you do and the heart behind what you do. Really appreciate you and for joining us today.
[00:39:42.640] – Speaker 1
Thanks so much for having me. It’s been a joy.
