Introducing ~ "Snub Club" ~ Read a guest post by Diane Christiansen

SNUB Club and the Case of the Disappearing Donuts

Snub Club draws the reader in from the very first page and holds their attention with the often humorous but important theme that says being different is not a bad thing after all. We go on an adventurous journey with Jackie and his close friend Cameron as they attempt to navigate through their first year of Middle School. However, when you drop in a bit of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) along with ADHD plus one tough and ornery bully things become close to impossible! Then out of nowhere, the teachers begin morphing into something other than educators and things really begin getting weird. Snub Club allows the reader to completely and safely escape into a fantasy world while going on an exciting adventure. The reader will be introduced to bullies and different ways to deal with them. As if all of this wasn’t already enough our heroes Jackie and Cameron suddenly find themselves on the case of trying to discover what has happened to their nice, calm teachers and how they must fix it ASAP. Along the way the boys discover that having Autism doesn’t have to be bad at all. The reader will stimulate and expand their inner imaginations, stretch their attention span, and learn to empathize with the problems of others while connecting with their own feelings and emotions.

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Guest post by Diane Christiansen

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I’ve been writing Young Adult Fantasy novels for ten years.  I’ve always believed in teaching kids something on the sly, and I think that the real objective of my writing has always been to introduce the idea of neurological differences to a young audience. Growing up struggling with dyslexia left me with that mission. SNUB CLUB was a bit of a switch for me.  It’s a chapter book for a younger audience, designed for typical elementary school-aged children.

 When my son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the world changed for me.  No longer was I talking about my own journey with dyslexia, I was now sharing his as well.  The difficult days when he missed every social cue and came home thinking that the world hated him, the loud noises that made his head rattle, and the anger that seemed to absorb him were just the tip of the iceberg. Those are the tough ASD issues.  There are also great things like his photographic memory and his amazing sense of humor.  I want children to have a glimpse into what things like ASD and ADHD might look like on a daily bases, to have a better understanding that we all have things that set us apart.  But SNUB CLUB is also a fast-paced story that will keep them engaged.  I hope that more than anything, we can teach children to embrace who they are and to celebrate the things that make them different. The sooner we can get words like autism out to the masses, the sooner the masses can learn things like tolerance and acceptance and maybe even appreciation for the amazing beings that they are.

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Diane Mayer Christiansen graduated with a Biology degree despite her struggles with dyslexia. She worked at both the University of Chicago and Northwestern University doing genetic research. Christiansen is now a published author writing young adult fantasy and middle school chapter books.  Her characters are based around children with special needs such as dyslexia and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She speaks to parents and teachers about learning to celebrate those things that make our children different and her journey with her son and his ASD.

You can find out more about her and SNUB Club at: http://www.jackiejournal.com.