Tale Teller Kids 🐛: ADHD

📖 “Normal is a setting on a washing machine. Not a measure of worth.”

— Anon

Rat Gang Crew: Synthia’s Not Normal

A Story About Neurodiversity, Friendship, and the Underground Code

Synthia's Diary, The Wrong Kind of Rat

Date: Don't Care
Place: My Bolt Hole, Pipe Junction 8b
Time: Too Early, Too Loud

Dear Diary,

I don’t know if you count as a friend, but you’re all I’ve got.

Today was another day where nothing fit, not the world, not my clothes, not even my own thoughts. Everything was itchy. The noise of the Overground felt like a thousand forks scraping plates in my brain. Too many smells, too many rules, too many “Why are you like that?” stares.

The other rat kids laugh when I flap or when I say too much all at once. They say I’m “weird” or “wired wrong.” Some days I try to mask it, to pretend I’m like them, but it makes my tail hurt, like it’s trying to curl around my tummy really hard. And then I explode. Or freeze. Or run.

I got suspended again. Fourth time this term. Mum cried. I didn’t mean to kick the bin over in Science, it was just too bright and echoey and the new supply teacher wore citrus perfume and said, “Use your common sense, girl!” I tried. But I don’t have that kind of sense. I’ve got uncommon sense.

I’m officially autistic and have ADHD too. That’s what the paper says. The one the adults pass around like it’s a spell that’ll explain me.

Spoiler: it doesn’t.

I’m not bad. I’m not broken. I just see patterns other rats don’t. I hear the walls hum. And sometimes—when the vibrations start under my feet, I feel something shifting deep, deep below us. Not everyone notices the tremor under Station Corner or the way the grates tremble like they’re breathing. But I do. And lately, it’s been getting louder.

Last night I couldn’t sleep. My brain was whirring like an old synth in meltdown mode. That’s why they called me Synthia, after Dad’s music gear, because when I was born, I made more sounds than a drum machine possessed by ghosts. Still do.

Anyway, I went to my thinking place, near the old pipe junction. That’s where I heard it.

A voice.

Mechanical. Almost musical. Like someone trying to speak in Morse code through steel and sorrow.

It said: “Initiating sequence.”

Nobody believes me, of course. Nobody ever does. But I know what I heard.

Something is waking up beneath the Overground.

And maybe, just maybe…

It’s like me.

Yours in the static,

Synthia

🧠 Author’s Note

To every kid who’s ever been told they’re too much, too loud, too intense, too different—this story is for you.
Synthia’s world doesn’t always make sense to others. But she sees things they can’t. Hears signals they ignore. Feels patterns that aren’t in the textbooks.
She isn’t “not normal.” She’s brilliantly neurodivergent.
In this book, difference isn’t a problem, it’s the key to everything.

Tale Teller Kids™
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Chapter 1 The Rumble Begins, Rat Gang Crew: Synthia's Not Normal by Sarnia de la Mare #autism #ADHD

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The Autism Caravan Project, What is it? Let's find out by Sarnia de la Mare.

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The Autism Caravan Initiative — A Dream in Motion

By Sarnia de la Mare FRSA

I’ve spent my life surrounded by neurodivergent brilliance — in my students, my friends, my family, and even within myself. Over time, I’ve come to see neurodivergence not as something to “manage,” but as something to celebrate. Autism and ADHD are not deficits; they are differences — often gifts wrapped in layers the world is still learning to unwrap.

The Autism Caravan Initiative is born from that realisation.

It's an idea that came to me while watching overwhelmed children at festivals retreat into themselves with nowhere to go, while carers tried to stay upbeat, managing overstimulation without a break in sight. I thought: What if there were a mobile oasis — a sensory-rich hub where both autistic children and their carers could feel held, informed, and inspired?

That’s what we’re building. That’s the Autism Caravan.

The Vision: A Safe, Sensory Sanctuary on Wheels

The Autism Caravan will be a fully adapted motorised vehicle — not just transportation, but transformation.

It will travel to festivals, events, parks, community gatherings — anywhere that neurodiverse children and their families may need a pocket of peace. We are designing this as a modular experience: part tech, part soft-play, part learning centre, and 100% neurodiversity-affirming.

Once we secure funding, this vibrant hub will include:

Sensory Tents: Quiet, low-light, low-noise spaces with calming stimuli, soft textures, and gentle music — perfect for decompression.
Information Tent: A learning and resources area filled with interactive media, helpful leaflets, video explainers, and guidance for families and carers navigating diagnosis, school support, or simply day-to-day life.
AUADHD-Friendly App: A specifically designed, ever-evolving app built to spark joy and encourage creative expression and emotional regulation, featuring favourite stim-triggers like loops, patterns, and choice-driven stories.
Touchscreens & Tech Try-Outs: Interactive panels with games and gadgets — not just for play, but to foster engagement, decision-making, and a bit of pure fun.
Coloured Beanbags and Cosy Corners: Yes, seating matters! These mobile cocoons of calm offer the comfort of choice: recline, nestle, roll, or bounce.
Awareness Messaging: Bright visuals and affirming language painted directly on the vehicle. It will be a roving billboard reminding the world: Autism is a superpower. ADHD is a different rhythm. Neurodiversity is a spectrum of brilliance.

Why It Matters

Too often, autistic and ADHD children are misunderstood — labelled disruptive when they are simply overwhelmed, withdrawn when they are simply protecting themselves. Carers are left navigating impossible spaces that weren’t designed with them in mind.

The Autism Caravan says: You are not alone, and this world can bend with you.

We want children to feel that their way of seeing and sensing the world is not only okay — it’s wonderful. We want carers to breathe, feel seen, and find the tools they need. We want society to shift from tolerance to appreciation.

How You Can Support This Initiative

We’re currently seeking funding to get the motorised vehicle on the road. We need support to cover:

Vehicle purchase and conversion
Tech equipment and software development
Tents, materials, and staff training
Marketing to reach events and communities that need us most

If you believe in what we’re doing — if you’ve ever wished for a quiet space in a noisy world, for a more understanding community, or simply for a little joy for a child who needs it — please share, donate, or connect us with allies.

The Autism Caravan is a beginning. A beginning of something mobile, magical, and made for every child who deserves to feel safe, stimulated, and celebrated.

Let’s drive this dream forward.

With warmth and hope,

Sarnia de la Mare

Founder, Autism Caravan Initiative

FRSA | Educator | Neurodiversity Advocate