There is an intense emotional strain involved with parenting a neurodivergent child with mental health issues. But we will do whatever it takes to understand her brain

“There’s something wrong with me!” my seven-year-old daughter sobbed, back in 2018. “Honestly, there isn’t,” I said, giving her a hug. “You’re just a bit sensitive, a bit anxious.” I wanted to be the reassuring parent, the mum who makes everything all right. But I was having the opposite effect on her: I was underplaying her distress, and it scared her, and shook her faith in me. How could she get any help if I didn’t accept there was a problem?

At the time her dad and I didn’t know our daughter was autistic. She was certainly not the easiest to manage, but she was also funny, bright, imaginative and popular at school. And although we were aware that she had intrusive thoughts, separation and sensory issues, a nasty phobia and difficulty controlling her emotions, her teachers, our GP, relatives and friends told us not to worry too much. “She’s a character! She’ll be fine.”

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© Illustration: Guardian Design/Bruno Haward / Guardian Design

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© Illustration: Guardian Design/Bruno Haward / Guardian Design

Growing awareness about ADHD and autism is reshaping thinking in science, society and medicine. Scientists explain what’s behind the rise – and the best ways to improve neurodivergent lives

It was in the mid 90s that neurodiversity as a formal concept and a rights movement began to emerge. Aided by the internet, autistic people and those with other conditions were able to connect and began sharing their experiences: what they had in common, how their lives differed. A recurring theme was how many felt marginalised, pushed out of a society that embraced only typical ways of being in the world. The phrase “neurological diversity” cropped up in their discussions, which along with “neurodiversity” appeared in magazine articles later that decade.

Neurodiversity has clear parallels with biodiversity. It champions difference and the validity of individuals. It holds that a vaguely defined majority can be described as neurotypical, with brains that operate in a broadly similar way. Others, meanwhile, are neurodivergent, with brains that are built and work somewhat differently.

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© Illustration: Guardian Design/Bruno Haward

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© Illustration: Guardian Design/Bruno Haward

When my son, who is on the austim spectrum, was struggling, this classic game opened up his world. It continues to help lonely, isolated people find ways to connect and belong

A few days ago, I was tidying my home office – which more closely resembles a video game arcade recently hit by a tornado – when I found a long-lost piece of technology in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet. It was an old Xbox 360, the Elite model – black, heavy, ungainly, impossibly retro. Out of curiosity, I hauled it out, found a controller and power cable and switched it on. I knew immediately what I wanted to look for, but I was also apprehensive: I didn’t know how I’d feel if Minecraft was still there – or worse, if it wasn’t. Minecraft, you see, is more than just a game for me. I thought about just putting the console back where I found it. But as this month sees the 15th anniversary of the game’s original release, I felt I had to go on.

In 2012, Microsoft held a big Xbox Games Showcase event at a cavernous venue in San Francisco. The company was showing all the biggest titles of the era – Forza, Gears of War, Halo – but in one quiet corner sat a couple of demo units showing off the as yet unreleased Xbox version of Minecraft. I already knew about the game, of course – designed by Swedish studio Mojang, it was an open-world creative adventure, allowing players to explore vast, procedurally generated worlds, collect resources and build whatever they wanted. It was already attracting millions of players on PC. But I had never really given it much time; so I sat down to have a quick go … and ended up staying for an hour. There was something in it that was holding me there, despite all the other games on offer. That something was Zac.

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© Photograph: Microsoft

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© Photograph: Microsoft

A new study bolsters existing research suggesting that exercise can protect against anxiety, depression and attention challenges.

© Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times