{"id":25046,"date":"2024-12-13T13:59:27","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T02:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.relationshipsnsw.org.au\/?p=25046"},"modified":"2025-04-11T16:50:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T06:50:49","slug":"helping-neurodivergent-kids-make-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.relationshipsnsw.org.au\/sr_rs\/blog\/helping-neurodivergent-kids-make-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"\u041a\u0430\u043a\u043e \u043c\u043e\u0436\u0435\u043c\u043e \u043f\u043e\u043c\u043e\u045b\u0438 \u043d\u0435\u0443\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0432\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0458 \u0434\u0435\u0446\u0438 \u0434\u0430 \u0441\u043a\u043b\u043e\u043f\u0435 \u0447\u0432\u0440\u0441\u0442\u0430 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0458\u0430\u0442\u0435\u0459\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430 \u0443 \u0448\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0438 \u0438 \u0432\u0430\u043d \u045a\u0435"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Between them, Madonna King and Rebecca Sparrow support thousands of tweens, teens, and parents every year to prepare for and thrive during adolescence. <\/span>You\u2019ve<\/span> likely<\/span> heard<\/span> from one of them (if not both!) through their books and articles, countless media interviews, online webinars, or school events<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Most recently, they\u2019ve published their first book together, Out of the Box: a one-stop guide to navigating neurodivergence<\/em><\/a>, which collates expert advice, real stories and interviews, and practical resources to help neurodivergent (ND) children flourish. Through interviews with almost 2,000 ND children and their parents, as well as medical experts, and educators, the book explores the challenges and opportunities of friendship, the education system, family dynamics<\/a>, dating, and life after school.<\/p>

We got to speak with one of the book\u2019s authors, Madonna, to hear what she learned about friendship<\/a> and how we can support ND children to make strong, meaningful connections.<\/p>

Challenges neurodivergent children face in friendship-making<\/h2>

During Madonna and Rebecca\u2019s interviews with ND children, many shared how they felt different and isolated from their classmates. One child said, \u201cMaking friends is easy, but I am never their favourite and they get sick of me, and I don\u2019t always understand the jokes they make… so it feels like they are making fun of me and I hate that.\u201d<\/p>

Some of the common \u201cstumbling blocks\u201d that ND children faced when making friends included a lack of impulse control, misunderstanding social cues, focusing on rules, and black-and-white thinking.<\/p>

Madonna says that instead of pointing out the \u201cdifferences\u201d in ND children, we need to highlight what makes them great friends.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWe spoke to Professor Tony Atwood [leading clinical psychologist and specialist on autism], who says that those who are neurodivergent have all the skills that make them a good friend,\u201d Madonna explains.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThey are loyal, hard-working, their sense of social justice is really strong, and eventually they will find people who value that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Teachers also shared how ND students could positively influence a classroom’s morale and help neurotypical (NT) children approach learning differently.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div>
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A post shared by Rebecca Sparrow (@rebeccasparrow72)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>