THE NEW FACE OF LITERACY How Two Neuro-Diverse San Diegans Are Changing Your Child’s Bookshelf

The first time I met Sally Pla, she was reading aloud from her book, “Stanley Will Probably Be Fine”, at an event at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore. Chairman of the San Diego Comic Fest, Matt Dunford, was also there because Pla’s main character Stanley, a neuro-diverse middle school student, is on a scavenger hunt to win tickets to Comic Fest. At the time, I had no idea that both Pla and Dunford had high-functioning Autism. Since that day, I’ve had the pleasure of working with both of them.

MEET...Award-Winning Author, Sally Pla

Many of the characters in Pla’s children’s books have traits similar to her own. In addition to Stanley, there is Charlie of The Someday Birds, who searches for rare birds and the perfect chicken nuggets on the way to see his military dad being treated for a traumatic brain injury; and Benji of Benji, the Bad Day, and Me, whose mom rolls him into a blanket burrito to help with his sensory needs.

Pla admits she is tired of disabilities being pathologized as problems. So she and Marriage and Family Therapist Merriam Saunders launched the blog A Novel Mind, a resource for youth literature that highlights characters who are neuro-diverse or have mental health challenges.

“I wanted a place where parents come together to find books that help kids see themselves in a positive spotlight,” says Pla. “It started with a list, and now I think we have 30 archived posts from authors sharing thoughts and stories.” Pla and Saunders have compiled a list of 664 books with diverse characters. Parents and educators are invited to add more. They highlight books with main characters that have disabilities or challenges and who are not marginalized or sidelined. Books are not rated or ranked on the site, as everyone has a different favorite.

When pressed to name a book or character that really speaks to her, Pla sites M is for Autism, by the students of Limpsfield Grange, a school for girls with ASD. The book follows a girl with social and communicative challenges. “I really feel the sensory anguish [of the main character],” Pla says. I relate to her sensory needs.” Pla is working on a new book with a female protagonist with Autism, as she feels girls are underrepresented in Autistic character depiction. Stay tuned for another book about how children know if they are growing, which should be available soon.

MEET...Chairman of San Diego Comic Fest, Matt Dunford

Matt Dunford is a walking comic book encyclopedia. He is incredibly smart, charming and an incessant talker—strengths he uses to promote many projects. Dunford grew up a “comic book kid” — he retains categorical knowledge of almost every comic he reads. His favorite comic book series? The Amazing Spider-Man.

Dunford, an editor at Semantink Publishing until it closed, has been the Chairman of San Diego Comic Fest since 2017. He recently ended a two-year stint as Board President for Little Fish Comic Book Studio, known for inclusive learning partially because Dunford was there to mentor different thinkers and partially because Little Fish Founder Alonso Nunez is a welcoming soul to everyone (his wife is special education attorney, Megan Nunez). Alonso is passionate about teaching kids how graphic images drive narrative. He does this in classes at Little Fish, through his role at One Book, One San Diego, and when leading classes at Cabrillo National Monument.

Dunford believes in his mission. “I don’t see comics or graphic novels as their own genre [of literature],” he says. “Comics are different from novels because they are more accessible. Novels ask you to do the imagining. Comics do it for you.”

“Comics are different from novels because they are more accessible.”

Parents have long sited graphic novels as the only way they can get reluctant readers to sit and read. With this in mind, Chula Vista Public librarians asked for Dunford’s help to expand their graphic novel section. Graphic novels often have a higher level of vocabulary than traditional books for children of the same intended age. They are better for visual learners and a great way to teach abstract ideas (like inference) to children with social and communication challenges because they provide visual depictions of what dialogue infers. Dunford has Autism, but doesn’t think of himself as disabled. He pushes a platform of all types of inclusivity: color, identity and disability. “Representation matters,” he states, matter of fact.

In order to help kids feel included in the 2020 San Diego Comic Fest, Dunford invited contemporary creator Steven Seagle to attend. Seagle, co-creator of Ben 10, has a past in comics that may inspire kids to learn comic history. There will also be activities for kids such as drawing with Little Fish Comic Book Studio and a Girl Scout program where girls can earn their comic-making badge. This year also salutes the 100th birthday of Ray Bradbury, whose short stories and novels have been teen favorites for generations. Bradbury’s All Summer in a Day is often used in middle school as a lesson about bullying and empathy.

Dunford and Pla encourage parents to educate themselves and adopt new ways of viewing literacy. To diversify your bookshelf, find a list of neuro-diverse books at www.anovelmind.com. To learn more about San Diego Comic Fest, visit www.sdcomicfest.org.

Emily Dolton is a resource specialist and local mom of two, one with 22Q 11.2 Deletion Syndrome.