Q&A with Ashley Hards from Foreword Reviews Children's Editor Danielle Ballantyne
"For readers with ADHD, having a realistic depiction of someone
with this disorder can make them feel less alone."
Author Ashley Hards was declared “gifted” at 8, and diagnosed with ADHD at 22 while studying Shakepeare at McGill University. In an interview with children's book editor Danielle Ballantyne for Foreword Reviews, Ashley shares why realistic ADHD representation matters.
What do you hope readers take away from Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway?
I hope that readers will empathize with Hannah’s struggles as a girl with ADHD. For readers with ADHD, having a realistic depiction of someone with this disorder can make them feel less alone.
It’s like: see, Hannah has ADHD but she still does everything other kids do—just in a different way! For readers without ADHD, I hope Hannah can help them understand certain ADHD behaviors. When you just see the result of ADHD—for example, someone being overly chatty in class or never sitting still—it can be easy to pigeonhole people with ADHD as annoying or disruptive.
Hannah’s journal shows us that these behaviors aren’t malicious—they’re just ways of coping with an abundance of energy and the excitement of trying to solve a mystery.
—Excerpted from Foreword Reviews Q&A with Ashley Hards