Helping Young Minds Understand The World Around
Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom
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Aim: Inspired by my son, I created Ellie Explores... to help kids understand emotions, autism, and cultures through stories.
My son was diagnosed with autism in 2024. Looking back, we began noticing certain behaviours as early as six months old. He would become intensely fixated on anything that spun, like wheels, and stacking anything he could. Transitioning to solid foods was a real challenge, and his diet remained very limited. Socialising with other children was also difficult for him, and he couldn’t understand why — which was heartbreaking to watch as a parent. Over time, these struggles have deeply affected his self-esteem.
Even after receiving his diagnosis, he’s continued to find it hard to understand what it means. It’s also been challenging to help his peers grasp it in a way that fosters understanding and empathy. That’s why I believe it’s so important to raise awareness and educate children from an early age about neurodiversity. Even if it doesn’t affect them directly, it may mean the world to someone close to them.
My son loves reading and learns best through stories. Watching how books helped him understand the world, I created a series called Ellie Explores... — following a curious little girl with a big imagination and a love for adventure. In each story, Ellie explores new countries and cultures, learns about emotions like grief, and meets people with unique experiences, including those with autism. My hope is that these books will help children understand important topics that aren’t always talked about, in a way that’s gentle, relatable, and fun.
With the money raised I will be able to get the book illustrated and published. Once published I will be able to do school readings, book fayres and library readings and hopefully fulfil my aim of helping young children (3-8) tackle these tougher subjects and understand the world a bit better.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 26th August 2025 at 1:36pm