Ready Eddie Go! The Birthday Party

Developed from the Ready, Eddie, Go! animated TV show, each book in this series highlights an area that autistic children find challenging and provides gentle and supportive strategies to help children find ways of coping, which all children can benefit from. The books use clear structure as well as visuals to help readers understand the story and identify strategies that may help when they face similar experiences. There are prompts and interactive elements that can be followed independently, or with a trusted adult.In this book, Eddie goes to his friend Nina's birthday. He finds out what to expect, and what to do if things become overwhelming. Eddie realises that parties can be a lot of fun!Beautifully illustrated, and presented in Eddie's trademark friendly voice, the Ready, Eddie, Go! series is designed to speak directly to young autistic children and to provide them with the reassurance and advice they need to be happy day-to-day.

Not only does this book help to prepare neurodivergent children attend a birthday party, but it also shares ideas that adults can do to improve the child's experience (e.g ensuring the child has their "safe food" and marking the date on the calender). Crucially, it lets the child known that it is okay to need things to be done a bit differently to the other kids at the party. Another gem in this neuro-affirming and beautifully presented book series "Ready Eddie Go!", Ready Eddie GO! The Birthday Party is a great resource for helping children and their grown-ups to understand potential challenges associated with attending a party. It highlights changes to the environment (e.g., balloons), understanding the rules of party games, choosing not to take part in a game, and possible sensory experiences (e.g., the noise associated with singing the 'happy birthday' song). It offers helpful solutions such as using ear defenders to reduce the impact of noise, and walk-throughs of games to support the understanding of rules.

Nikki Saunders the author and co-producer for the Sky TV series, Ready, Eddie, Go! She is also a parent of SEN children. Nikki's work has been featured in SEN Magazine and The Mum Space, and has been awarded the Theo Paphitis SBS Award and Sue Atkins Recommended Rosette.