“My Invisible Friend ADHD” by Amanda Amaral

"This is a wonderful book in so many ways - I highly recommended it!

First of all, it’s simply an enjoyable read, no matter your interest in the topic. It’s beautifully illustrated, lively, and briskly paced - it reads like an adventure story you don’t want to put down. The vocabulary suits the target age group, while including just enough challenging expressions to stretch young readers’ language skills, and finding a balance between poetic and down-to-earth.

Second, it presents “living with ADHD” from a refreshing and compassionate perspective: you truly “live with” your invisible friend and constant companion, ADHD. The message aligns perfectly with modern psychological guidance for kids: it explains ADHD clearly, including its highs and lows, in a matter-of-fact, yet upbeat tone.

Finally, it’s not just useful for children with ADHD and their families, giving everyone a shared vocabulary, but also for the general public. It raises awareness and encourages understanding, making it an educational and heartening read for all ages."

"My Invisible Friend: ADHD by Amanda Amaral presents a lyrical and visually engaging exploration of ADHD through the eyes of a compassionate and curious child. The book thoughtfully balances both the challenges and the strengths of living with ADHD, offering normalization and validation through empathy, relationship, and understanding.

From an art therapy lens, this story highlights the importance of creativity, movement, and mindfulness as supportive tools for children with ADHD, honouring diverse ways of thinking, feeling, and expressing. This book is a valuable resource for parents of children with ADHD, educators, therapists, and anyone who incorporates bibliotherapy into their work with children."

'My Invisible Friend ADHD' is a book that is bright, witty, fun, and a deeply gentle unfolding of personal imagination that all children - ADHD-diagnosed or not! - will find relatable, fun, and encouraging.  This book is a hallmark call to embrace imagination as an empowering sense of self, as it fuels our creativity and genuine connection with ourself and the world around us.

Parents will find a short overview resource in the back of the book giving some tips and insights on what ADHD is and how is manifests in children, a great launch-point in understanding their little ones' inherent creative genius.  ADHD doesn't need "fixed" - it needs to be understood, so that it can be guided into expressed creativity and discovery that allows children (and adults) to flourish and thrive.

This would be a welcome addition to school and public libraries, too, and I hope it will find distribution far and wide. I recommend the title to all out there who have ADHD as part of their lived experience.

 "This will truly resonate with WOW kids. I love that it's strength based highlighting all the amazing traits of the ADHD brain. Then going into the executive functioning deficits that are really hard to control like blurting out - impulsivity, getting started on homework - task initiation, forgetting the map - working memory. It's all exhausting, but your invisible friend has your back - there are things that can help - weighted blankets, fidgets, etc (OT strategies). When she finally reaches self acceptance - she shines!"

"As a special education teacher I absolutely love this story and recommend it anyone with littles or looking to teach others about ADHD. I think this story does a beautiful job of describing the experience of living with ADHD and does so in a bright and engaging way, I can’t wait to share it with my students"

"This book is important. It so succinctly described how my son sees and acts in the World. I’m so happy he and others have this book to celebrate our uniqueness but also our togetherness as it shows, we’re not alone and many others with ADHD face with the same challenges in society. Excellent read."

Beautiful and fun ADHD resource for Kids! What an amazing book! The author describes the highs and lows of living with ADHD in such a beautiful way. The illustrations are so vibrant and fun. My daughter with ADHD loved seeing herself represented in a book! Highly recommend if you have a little one with ADHD in your life!

This beautifully written, fun, and whimsical book is a true joy to read while also offering thoughtful insight into ADHD. Our daughter absolutely loved it! The beautiful illustrations and joy-filled pages kept her engaged from beginning to end! This book is the perfect addition to any home or classroom library!