{"id":76655,"date":"2025-10-27T11:06:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T11:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=76655"},"modified":"2026-03-03T09:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:27:10","slug":"representation-matters-thats-why-i-wrote-a-book-where-disabled-children-feel-seen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/representation-matters-thats-why-i-wrote-a-book-where-disabled-children-feel-seen\/","title":{"rendered":"Representation matters. That\u2019s why I wrote a book where disabled children feel seen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello Sense supporters, I\u2019m Lisette Auton \u2013 a disabled writer, activist, poet, novelist, spoken-word artist, actor, film and theatre-maker, and creative practitioner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Sense Ambassador, I\u2019m on a mission to ensure that disabled and neurodivergent children grow up knowing they belong to a community where they are valued, seen, and celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lisette<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m excited to share my new book: The Starlight Rebel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My latest novel is a bold, futuristic adventure story about 11-year-old Astrifer Nova \u2013 a freckled, neurodivergent girl who feels like she doesn\u2019t fit in, until she uncovers hidden truths about her world and realises her differences might be exactly what the planet needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lisette<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m passionate about telling the stories I couldn\u2019t find when I was growing up \u2013 stories that reflect my Northern, working-class, disabled, and neurodivergent experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sense\u2019s research shows that almost half of disabled people (44%) want to see more disability representation in the media, and that doesn\u2019t surprise me one bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My new novel, The Starlight Rebel, puts disabled and neurodivergent characters at the heart of the story. They\u2019re not sidekicks or plot devices \u2013 they are the heroes. The vivid, hectic world in the book draws directly from my neurodivergent experience, creating a future where difference is not just accepted, but powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why I\u2019m providing free books for Sense<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a Sense Ambassador last year was a really exciting opportunity for me. Sense has supported so many remarkable disabled children and adults with complex needs over its 70-year history, and it\u2019s a privilege to be part of that legacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To celebrate the release of The Starlight Rebel, my thoughtful publishers, Puffin Books<\/a>, sent out free copies of the book to young readers supported by Sense. I hope they love reading it and feel seen in its story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Benjie
Benjie enjoying his free copy of The Starlight Rebel. Thank you Puffin!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another perspective on growing up without representation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One person who wishes a book like The Starlight Rebel had existed when he was growing up is Steven Morris, campaigns officer at Sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steven, who is deafblind, loved reading when he was growing up (and still does!). But he rarely saw disabled characters in the books he read. Not only did this make him feel invisible, but it also meant his non-disabled friends didn\u2019t have any portrayals of disability, and certainly not positive ones, to help them understand him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research shows disabled people are craving more disability representation. I don\u2019t blame them. Growing up, the lack of disabled characters made me feel excluded.<\/p>Steven Morris, Sense campaigns officer <\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Steven reflects, “Loneliness is so prevalent in the disabled person\u2019s community, and feeling shut out from cultural staples like TV, film, and books can really feed into feelings of isolation and exclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll never forget when, during my university Freshers\u2019 Week, someone said to me: \u2018I\u2019ve never met a disabled person before, I\u2019ve no idea how to relate to you.\u2019 Perhaps if that person had seen us accurately portrayed in the books they read growing up, they may not have been so frightened of the unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019ll keep telling these stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because they have power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They shape how we see ourselves \u2013 and how others see us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The characters in my books are the characters I needed when I was growing up. And I\u2019ll keep writing them \u2013 to make sure every disabled child knows they belong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisette Auton’s latest novel, The Starlight Rebel is out now and available to buy here<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My latest novel is a bold, futuristic adventure story, which reflects on my Northern, working-class, disabled, and neurodivergent experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":309,"featured_media":76718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"display_author":[153],"class_list":["post-76655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","display_author-lisette-auton"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76655"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=76655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}