"Jellypie, Firefly" : Children's Book

Dedications To ABG: my inspiration and the original Jellypie, never lose your glow. Love Mom. A. Theresa Graham

Creating this has been a learning experience that has really made me glow, inside and out.

This is for neurospicy brains everywhere.

Mareka Stake

It was lovely to bring Jellypie to life, thanks from the bottom of my heart to this amazing team. I hope this book will bring some glow magic to the lives of many families.

Emma Gandolfi

By A. Theresa Graham with Mareka Stake

Illustrated by Emma Gandolfi

Hello! My name is Jell

And I’m a firefly.

ypie.

ery Fireflies are v res. special creatu w what? o n k u o y e s u a c Be

e When we fly, w

glow!

We have our very own special magic that makes us glow.

Our magic glows because we are:

We get to be ALL these things at once!

Fireflies have so much glow magic from being awesome, dynamic, happy and different that we use a little trick to tell people how special we are.

We just say we have ADHD.

By the way, having ADHD might mean we are a little different.

But you know what?

. g in h t l ia c e p s y r e v is a

Let me show you!

Here are a few stories about me and my ADHD.

me show you!

I justLet love to tell stories. Stories about dragons and flowers, Here are a few stories and princesses and space slugs. about me and my ADHD.

And somet imes when I’m telling I get so ex my stories, cited that my voice g ets

er.

louder and loud

And louder. And

LOUDER.

But you know what?

When I want my parents, teachers and friends to love and understand my stories just like I do, I use my glow magic to help me remember to tell them in

a quieter, inside voice.

The world is such an interesting place, it makes me really happy.

And sometimes, w hen I’m really hap py, I get excited and like to run aroun d being a dinosaur.

I stomp and I gro

wl,

and I roar and ro

ar.

And roar.

And ROAR!

My friends have t

o watch out whe

n Jellysaurus is a

bout!

But you know what?

Even though I love being Jellysaurus, if my friends and teachers don’t like the stomping and the roaring, that’s OK. I just use my glow magic to turn back into Jellypie.

And I remember that it’s just as nice to be me, once in a while!

Every day I wake up excited.

Because every day means fun things to do.

And sometimes, I think it’s hard to remember to do little things like put on my shoes.

Or do big

things lik

e finish m

y reading

homewor

k.

Then my parents tell me they get frustrated, and remind me to do those things

ain and again and again and ag

again.

But you know what?

Even if I don’t understand why they are frustrated, that’s OK! Because my parents use their own glow magic to find a smile,

Then I remember I can use my glow magic to do the little things like finding socks to go with shoes.

Or the big things like reading a whole, entire book!

In fact, reading might be my favorite activity!

Every book brings new words to learn, like

.

New words like that make me giggle!

And fill up my head with fun ideas.

I’ll read stories over and over until the letters start to and they’re not even words anymore.

All those letters can make my brain tired, and I feel sleepier and sleepier

.

But you know what?

When I’m feeling tired, or my brain tells me it wants a rest, I can just let my teachers or parents know

that I need a break!

Then I can go to my own quiet space, and even let my eyes shut if I want.

There I can use my glow magic to power up again.

And when I’m all glowed up, I’m ready to tackle the next super fun thing that comes my way!

I am very brave, and I like to discover new places and new adventures. Although sometimes, new adventures mean there are lots of sounds or lights or people.

Too many lights and sounds and people can also make me feel a bit upset.

Or very, very, very c

onfused.

But you know what?

When I’m upset or confused, I use my glow magic to focus on the things

that make me happy.

Things like the sound of songs or pictures of birds, and the people who are my friends and family!

I love to draw pictures.

And my very favorite picture to draw is oc

topuses!

And sometimes, I like to spend hours where all I do is draw and draw

and draw and draw.

Even if those pictures are actually on my math homework...

But you know what?

When I reeeeeeeally want to draw a picture of an octopus, I use my glow magic to

finish my math lessons first.

Then I can draw as much as I like at home, and make all those different octopuses that I thought about at school!

Have you ever pretended to be something else?

I like to pretend that I’m a magical creature.

And sometimes, w hen I’m feeling uncomfortable o r frightened, I fly and fl y and

fly and fl

y,

until suddenly I become a dragon!

Then I can breathe fire, and fly away from the things I’m not sure about or the things I don’t feel ok with.

But you know what?

When I fly away, it can also make me feel sad because I am far away from my friends, family and teachers.

magic w o l g y m e s So, I u y back a w y m d in to f e me.

v o l o h w e s to tho

Which makes me feel happy and safe, and I can enjoy being a firefly again.

The thing I like best about me is my glow magic.

And sometimes, I find that it glows brighter and brighter and brighter, until you can see nothing but light and magic.

But you know what?

When I glow that brightly, I share my magic with my parents, teachers and friends.

And when I share it, that doesn’t mean my brightness dims.

It makes their light shine too.

So, next time you wonder just how special you are, remember what ADHD stands for:

Admired

Adventurous

Achiever

Adorable Authentic Able Alive Astonishing Appreciated Ace Active Artistic

Amazing

Dynamite

Dedicated

Devoted

Dependable Decent

Detailed

Deep Darling

Dauntless Direct

Deserving

Dazzler

Hilarious Heroic Helpful Handy Honest Heartwarming Headturning Healthy Hardworking Huggable Human

Delightful Determined Defender Daring Decisive Diamond Doting Delicious Danceable

Driven Dreaming Dynamo

But you know what?

There are plenty of

other special words

that perfectly descr

ibe YOU.

So, make sure you te ll your family, teachers and friends about your special magic in whatever way make

s

you glow the brighte

st.

Your friend, JELLYPIE

PARENT GUIDE A FAMILY PSYCHOLOGIST’S TAKE

In my work, we have a helpful set of techniques, and way of approaching challenges, called ‘Narrative Therapy’.

We use social stories to help children and adults discuss challenges and real world situations, to help make sense of why they may need help and most importantly what their strengths are!

A similar technique is used in the creation of Jellypie, Firefly.

That’s why I wanted to support this book, and add this guide to using it in life with an ADHD child, whether you’re a parent, teacher or therapist.

You can read this book all in one go, or take Jellypie’s stories, each a hopefully familiar life scenario, one at a time. This might be helpful if the child has a very short attention span, as each page spread ofthe book tries to demonstrate a topic for discussion: things like emotional regulation or task management.

You could stop there and potentially chat about how such a situation feels for the child, and you.

There’s certainly no one size fits all.

But Jellypie is designed as a relatable, visual connection to try and deal with tough topics.

Think of her as a friend to help you do that sometimes difficult work, together.

You could return to a specific story, if it’s a particular stumbling block for the child or family, and try to talk about the issue in different ways, thinking about how the glow magic concept might help.

It’s the intention that you could use Jellypie to ask a child about something they’re finding hard to navigate in life that maybe is or isn’t featured in the book: “How do you think Jellypie would handle that?”

One little firefly could spark a lifetime of good, healthy conversations.

Good luck. And remember, you’re not alone, there are others just like you. And you’ve always got that special glow magic in each child, and by your side.

Dr Naomi Gibson, DClinPsy BSc www.drnaomigibson.com