Really proud and glad this book exists, being autistic myself. So insightful and based around community

On one hand, I'm glad that there's more and more space made for lived experiences of neurodiverse individuals. On the other, we're at the point in time that these books become quite repetitive as the publishers seem to favour white and conventionally attractive authors. As a result, they act as spokespersons of a massive group of people, kind of ignoring their positionality.

As a mother waiting for a PDA diagnosis, I am trying to read a wide range of things from the neurodivergent community. When I saw this book that was from a female perspective I wanted to read it even more! I found it so informative and it gave me hope for the future with my neurodiverse daughter. Thank You!

“Different Not Less” is an effervescent and authentic guide to being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world. Hayden is like a particularly bubbly, pixieish tour guide, and tweens and young teens with questions about being neurodivergent will enjoy spending time in her company. “Different Not Less” is not a memoir, although Hayden shares her experiences growing up autistic and with ADHD. Expect lots of Disney references! Hayden offers guidance on many aspects of the neurodivergent experience including sensory needs and meltdowns, as well as tips on navigating relationships, school and work. The tone and format of the book may not be suitable for everyone but, those who it speaks to, should hopefully depart feeling validated, informed and empowered.

This was a great book. I love these types of books as I was diagnosed with autism as an adult not so long ago and find them very helpful. This book really helps you understand some of the issues we face every day. And what is better is I also learnt some new things. This book is also very useful to those who wish to understand autism more to help friends and family. It's unbelievable how people were treated in the past. Especially the reason why nobody wants to use the word aspergers. Wow, that was some shocking reading. The author did a fantastic job at getting her story across in a way that was ery easy to understand. She gave some very good advice. I really recommend reading this book as it made things so easy to understand.

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for sharing this story that I found so helpful.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/different-not-less-by-chloe-hayden-murdoch-books-4-stars under ladyreading365

I'm really happy to have read Different, Not Less as it's important to rely more on the personal experiences of neurodivergent people than on 'experts' who only have an academic interest in people with differences. In fact, some of the most powerful and enraging parts of this book are when Chloé Hayden is shouted down at public panels for merely stating her own lived experience.

Overall, despite some of Chloé's early experiences, this is a positive book showing how she has been able to excel in her chosen fields by being supported by her family and allowed to find strategies for life and work that allow her to move forward, as opposed to the existing structure of school and work that do not allow for difference or for other ways of learning.

As a parent of a child with SEN, it was a good book to read - it's really easy to fall into the trap of finding and relying on information that has been put together by people with no lived experience of neurodivergence, and the outcomes can seem all doom and gloom. Increased instances of depression, addiction and future crime in neurodivergent people can make the future look quite bleak, but perhaps if all neurodivergent people got the right support, as Chloé has, these statistics would be vastly reduced.

It was also great to read Chloé's experience of her special interests - so often, SEN are seen in a negative light, with few redeeming features, but there is a super power in knowing the most about something - it may not been apparent from the beginning, but Chloé shows how knowing absolutely all there is to know about Disney can be turned into a career!

An important book, and one that there should be more of - I recommend it for neurodivergent people, but also for people like me who have children who have SEN and are looking for more information about a hopeful future for them, and less of the horror stories that are so prevalent.

this book helped me discover who i am and find out more about who i've been my entire life. chloé hayden deserves everything and more for writing this book - i feel truly seen.

In Different, Not Less, Chloé shares her moving story of her early life prior to being diagnosed with autism and ADHD, what the diagnosis process was like and how she navigates the highs and lows of life as a neurodivergent person. Although Chloé understandably covers some serious and sensitive topics, she has such a way with words and manages to embed elements of comedy throughout the book. She uses Disney analogies throughout and they do a fantastic job of illustrating her point.
The book shares diagnostic criteria for autism and for ADHD, differentiating how each is “expected to present” (aka how it often presents in males – which is what the current diagnostic criteria is largely based on) and how it may present in women. Chloé defines meltdowns, shutdowns and burnout in such an eloquent way she speaks fantastically about stimming, really advocating for neurodivergent people to feel like they can stim openly. One of the closing chapters is entitled eye sparkles, the amazing phrase Chloé uses to describe special interests, and it’s a beautifully worded exploration of how special interests should be celebrated and encouraged. Different, Not Less also covers largely unspoken about topics relevant to neurodivergent women, such as periods and navigating romantic relationships.
Clear trigger warnings are given throughout the book where appropriate (which for reference are: sexual abuse, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, mental, health, and suicide).

I would love to have seen the section entitled ‘When your child is having a meltdown’ rephrased as ‘when your loved one is having a meltdown’ as it’s more in keeping with the earlier points in the chapter that meltdowns are part of life for autistic adults, not just autistic children. On a similar note, despite discussing how little neurodivergent women are represented in society’s general understanding of neurodivergence, the list the book shares of autistic famous people was predominately full of men. Whilst I recognise that due to girls largely being under-diagnosed there will be less famous women diagnosed as autistic, it would have been nice for the list to have had more of an equal gender split.
Overall, Different, Not Less is a must read for all neurodivergent adults, whether formally diagnosed or exploring the possibility that they may be neurodivergent, and also for loved ones of neurodivergent people. I also think professionals, particularly within the education sector, could take a lot from reading about Chloé’s experiences of education.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I have posted an extended review on my blog www.yourschloe.co.uk and the post is linked.

A great read. Full of anecdotes and ideas that highlight its not always a bad thing to be different.

This is a very informative and frank guide to neurodiversity, written by Australian actress Chloe Hayden.

She draws on her own experiences of growing up autistic, how she felt different  from her peers and struggled with the school system, but wasnt diagnosed until she was 13.

She focuses particularly on  neurodiversity in girls and women, as they are often misdiagnosed with other conditions (eg PTSD or depression) or missed, due to the nuances in the way their symptoms present compared to boys (historically, most studies have been done on boys as autism was originally thought to only affect males)

As well as describing different aspects of neurodiversity (and how it affects people differently), Chloe provides some useful coping strategies for both neurodiverse individuals themselves and family and friends close to them, when they experience meltdowns (or to avoid them).  She also points out that neurodiversity shouldn't be considered a negative, just differences in the way brains process things.

The book explores the labels used for autistic  people, why the term Aspergers is inappropriate (in short - he was an Austrian Nazi who experimented upon and murdered children with Autism and his "research" is not even used today) and why we shouldn't  box people awsy as "high" or "low" functioning as this can fluctuate at different times, due to different experiences/situations

This is an invaluable resource for people who have recently been diagnosed as autisitic, for parents of autistic children and those simply wanting to find out more about neurodiversity.

A perfect book for young women and girls wanting to learn more about autism and how to navigate the neurotypical world. Of course, none of the resources mentioned exist for us in the US but seeing one’s self in the author’s lived experience makes the book a worthwhile read.