Oxford and Cambridge academics to give £20,000 book advance to charities

Prof Jason Arday and Dr Chantelle Jessica Lewis will be donating their £20,000 book advance to charities committed to neurodivergent working class families

Two leading academics are to give a £20,000 book advance to charities committed to supporting neuro-divergent working-class families.

Earlier this year, Prof Jason Arday became the youngest black person ever appointed to a professorship at the University of Cambridge.

He is writing a book with sociologist Dr Chantelle Jessica Lewis of the University of Oxford.

The rights have bought by Princeton University Press.

The forthcoming book is entitled We See Things They'll Never See: Love, Hope and Neurodiversity.

'Love and hope'

Dr Lewis, who is Andrew Pitt Research Fellow in Black British Studies at Pembroke College, Oxford, has ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Prof Arday, who is Professor of Sociology of Education at Cambridge, was diagnosed with autism and global development delay in his early years.

The pair said they hoped the book would shine "a light on how challenging neurotypical society is for the most marginalised".

In a joint statement, they said: "We are delighted that Princeton University Press will be publishing our sociological reflections on neurodiversity, informed by scholarship which centres love and hope.

"It is a privilege for us to make a contribution to the global movement and long tradition of disability activists seeking to find innovative ways to make the world a more equitable place. Nothing about us, without us."

The work is expected to be published in 2025.

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