Not Naughty offers a powerful and emotionally honest narrative told through the perspective of a 14-year-old boy navigating life with overwhelming anxiety, autism, ADHD, and Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). This book provides deep insight into the invisible struggles faced daily by young people often labeled as "disruptive," "defiant," or "aggressive." It explores the reality behind the behavior when environments feel too loud, demanding, and emotionally unsafe.

Readers are taken inside the daily experiences of sensory overload, masking, panic, shame, emotional exhaustion, social pressure, and the constant fear of judgment, culminating in the emotional collapse at home—the only safe space to stop pretending.

Key Insights and Focus Areas

• Explores the deeper reality behind behaviors often misunderstood by society, schools, and systems.
• Challenges simplistic narratives regarding attendance, discipline, and the pressure to simply attend school.
• Recognizes the wider systemic pressures impacting families, schools, and professionals.
• Offers compassionate insight into emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), masking, sensory overwhelm, autistic burnout, ADHD, emotional dysregulation, shame, and nervous system survival.

Practical Support Provided

This book blends lived experience, emotional storytelling, and practical guidance designed to support:

• Young people
• Parents and carers
• Schools
• Professionals

Practical support includes guidance on:

• Recognizing early signs of overwhelm
• Implementing reasonable adjustments
• Co-regulation techniques
• Capturing evidence
• Listening to the child’s voice
• Creating safer, more inclusive environments

Specifications

• Author: Mrs Rebecca Anne Footitt
• Contributor: Mx Riley Hugh McGinty
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Publication Date: June 15, 2026
• Print Length: 52 pages
• Dimensions: 152 x 3 x 229 mm (5.98 x 0.12 x 9.02 inches)
• Item Weight: 132 g

Not Naughty moves beyond labeling to ask what happens when we truly understand the internal world of a child struggling to cope. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking compassionate insight into neurodivergent experiences and school-related anxiety.