‘Active’ books for ADHD
One of my kids has ADHD. I remember talking to him about reading and he commented that, while he liked the books, he didn't like sitting still to read as his body and brain needed to move. I'm AuDHD and, while I can't completely relate, I understand what he's saying....
The curtains were blue?
I see a lot of talk around comprehension and how kids with hyperlexia don't understand what they are reading. Hyperlexia is a syndrome characterised by a child's precocious ability to read, basically, they read well beyond the expected level. I have also seen a lot of...
Choose books based on interest, not reading levels
It seems my brain has decided this week I'm talking about tips for engaging neurodivergent people in reading! Got to love how that works... I am AuDHD and a big reader. Both my kids are neurodivergent and read a lot when they were younger too. We all read well above...
Audiobooks and ADHD
I run a number of groups with young writers, many of them are neurodivergent. One piece of advice I give regularly when I'm asked what they can do to one day become an author is that reading widely is a great way to learn how to write as you can see how others tell...
Things to know about creative writing for wellbeing
So often when I talk about creative writing, people think of all the rules they were taught in English class. When I say it can be a powerful tool for mental health, they look at me like my head just fell off. When writing for yourself, you can forget all those rules....
What I’ve Read – March 2024
Happy April Fools Day! It's a new month, and that means a look back at reading for the last month. March was a busy month with the Gippsland Wellness Expo taking up a lot of time. Most of my reading was by audiobook as I was also doing a lot of driving! This is what I...
Writing at an expo!
Over the weekend, I had a stand at Wellness Expo Gippsland. If you follow me on social media, you would have seen a few photos of my setup, but not much more... I was too busy to take many photos! I have done expos in the past, and they can be quite overwhelming. This...
What is Wellbeing?
When I started writing Creative Writing for Wellbeing, I reflected on what I meant by wellbeing. When I looked up a definition, various things were mentioned, but essentially it came down to how you feel about yourself and your life. What this looks like is different...
Who am I?
It's been quite some time since I've done an introductory post here, and now that I'm changing things, I thought I should introduce myself again and share a bit more about what is going on. My name is Melissa Gijsbers. I am in my 40s, have two adult children, and live...
Creative Writing for Wellbeing – new book!
If you follow me on social media, you may already know that I have a new book coming out. I wrote it and got it ready for publishing in 10 days! Most books don't take 10 days to produce, and if I had more time, then this would all look quite a bit different, including...