Parenting a Neurodiverse Child with The Firefly Theory

If you are a parent of a neurodiverse child or are neurodiverse yourself, you will understand how difficult it is to get support and understanding of the complexities of raising a neurodiverse child in a neurotypical world. A new book called IGNITE: The Firefly Theory does just this!

Aimed at parents, educators and medical personnel, the book delivers hard science with compassion, exploring the intricacies of the human body’s nervous, immune, and energy systems and offering a universal model for optimal health and development for all children and those with special needs and illnesses. Hard science is also accompanied by a series of lovely illustrations and stories that are personal and engaging.

Written by Alda Smith, a mother searching for ways to support her son with debilitating dyspraxia DCD, apraxia, and ADD, The Firefly Theory is the result of an eight-year journey of personal experience and research in the hopes of finding a simplified model for optimal nervous system development and immune priming in children.

After discovering her son Néo at eight months old, lifeless with skin turning blue, Alda and her husband rushed him to hospital while she performed CPR. Thankfully, after a traumatic night and subsequent repeated seizures, Néo stabilised and pulled through. However, Alda still wasn’t getting answers as to why he had almost succumbed to what doctors diagnosed as SIDS-in-the-making. Néo was later diagnosed with dyspraxia DCD, apraxia, and ADD and Alda says:

“I was compelled to understand what had caused the first year’s hell and the dyspraxia DCD Néo would be diagnosed with five years later. I instinctively knew that if I understood his challenges, I could better support this beautiful child and possibly even help others. Little did I know that my journey would eventually lead me to what I view as a universal theory in development and immune priming in children – The Firefly Theory.”