Dav Pilkey Said Something Every Neurodiverse Person Should Hear
It sent chills down my spine
Captain Underpants has soared through my son’s imagination for several years. He has read all twelve books in the series and transitioned seamlessly from Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants to Dog Man series.
He even turned his mom into a Captain Underpants fan. So, when his mom asked if he wanted to hear Pilkey speak at a book tour event, I was surprised when he said, “Nah, I don’t want to go to that.”
“Are you sure?” I said. “This could be a chance you might not get again.”
He changed his mind, and if you ever get a chance to hear Pilkey speak in person, get your tickets right away because the events on his global “Do Good” tour sold out fast, so large is his legion of Captain Underpants fans.
A rock concert atmosphere
As we stream into the auditorium at Santa Monica High School, my first impression is … this feels like a rock concert. An inflatable Captain Underpants and Dog Man give high-fives to kids as a slide show presents flip-o-rama animation scenes from Pilkey’s books on a screen set to high-energy music.
Sitting near the back, Dominic narrates the scenes of George and Harold fighting this or that villain from Dav’s books, and the auditorium buzzes with anticipation before a tall man with close-cropped, red hair walks on stage.
Pilkey is wearing blue jeans and a long-sleeve green dress shirt with a floral pattern and sneakers, and he is utterly unassuming to his adoring fans, most of whom are between five and eleven years old — with a few older fans.
“Hi, everyone,” Pilkey says. “How are you doing?”
I’ve been looking forward to hearing Pilkey speak because I read that he shares his struggles as a child with ADHD and dyslexia.
Like his favorite author, Dominic has ADHD, and I want him to hear how the author-illustrator dealt with ADHD while growing up as a kid in school.
Dav Pilkey’s childhood
“Notice how I am smiling in these first couple of pictures,” Pilkey says before the happy images on the screen gave way to a sad-looking boy. “Now can anyone guess …. why I am not smiling in this next picture?”
It is a school photo of Pilkey in first grade, and kids stand up and scream responses toward the author before he opens up an old wound.
“I’m not smiling because I started school,” he says.
Kids and parents burst out in laughter as they recognize the truth that school can be a painful place for many children because they have a learning style that is not compatible with the typical one-size-fits-all classroom model.
Or because they are neurologically wired differently and schools fail to accommodate how their brains learn differently. Or because of a school culture that’s not inclusive to kids who are different than everyone else.
Descriptions in extra-large bubble font pop up on the screen surrounding Pilkey’s school photo. Daydreamer. Disruptive. Disrespectful. Can’t sit still. Incomplete work. Fidgety. Class clown. Easily distracted. Doesn’t use time wisely. Talks too much. Reading problems. Disorganized. Unfocused.
“So there I am,” Dav says. “A kid with lots of hair and lots of problems. I had ADHD and a reading disorder called dyslexia as a kid. These made school very difficult for me, and my teachers were not very understanding of my ADHD.”
Pilkey says as an elementary-age kid he came home from school most days wondering why he had to have these challenges no one else did in school.
“ADHD wasn’t a term when I was a kid . ADHD was called ‘Extreme Hyperactivity Disorder.’ But I don’t call it Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I call it Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Delightfulness. I think of ADHD and dyslexia as my superpowers that help me to write the kinds of books I do.” — Dav Pilkey
What Pilkey said next gave me chills
The audience broke into applause, and then a cartoon of Pilkey as a kid appeared on the screen showing a classroom full of students engulfed in nervous perspiration as a comic Dav struggled to read aloud.
Then he said something every kid in the audience with ADHD, and every parent of a neurodiverse child with ADHD, dyslexia, or autism needs to hear:
“I want you to know that if you have ADHD, there is nothing wrong with you. You just have a brain that thinks different. The world needs people who think different. I wouldn’t write the kind of books I do without ADHD and dyslexia.” — Dave Pilkey
Wow. I’ll never forget how Pilkey views his ADHD and dyslexia as being his superpowers — and the world needs people who think differently
I silently added the word autism to the people who think differently and ruffled my son’s hair in case he didn’t receive the message from his favorite author. But I’m sure he did because he has very high emotional intelligence.
Dav Pilkey’s three P’s for success
“Luckily, I had somebody in my life who is the most positive person I’ve ever met: My mom. She taught me the most important question to ask when something bad happens, and that is, ‘How can I turn this bad situation into something good?’ ” — Dav Pilkey
He gave an example of turning a bad situation into something good how by sharing how his second-grade teacher would snap her fingers, point to the door, and shout, ‘MR. PILKEY — OUT!’ There was a desk in the hallway.
“She sent me out so frequently that she placed a desk in the hallway for him. Looking back, I can see how my behavior was disruptive. But I had ADHD it was hard to control my behavior, and I didn’t like being the singled out kid.”
He smiles.
“But I filled the desk up with paper, pencils, and crayons before class every day, and when she sent me out of class, it became a blessing to me. It was creativity time. I’d draw superheroes and villains and create stories.”
More applause mixed with laughter ripples through the auditorium.
Pilkey said he created his two most famous characters, Captain Underpants and Dog Man, while out in the hallway in second grade, and he shared the story of how he came to draw his first Captain Underpants in second grade.
“One day my teacher said the word ‘underpants’ in class, and everyone laughed. She shouted, ‘UNDERWEAR IS NOT FUNNY!” And, of course, everyone laughed harder. And that’s when I drew my first ever Captain Underpants.” — Dav Pilkey
Inside Dav Pilkey’s mind
Then he showed comic-style illustrations of a few of the pranks he played on his teachers as a kid. Dav sticking snowballs in a teacher’s boots. Stashing the classroom gerbil into his teacher’s purse. Switching the letters on a teacher’s desk nameplate from Mr. P. Ottee to Mr. Potty — to applause and laughter.
Then he asks his fans a question, “Who do you think is like Harold?”
“You!” the audience roars back.
“That’s right, Harold is the quiet part of my personality that can spend 10 to 12 hours a day drawing,” he explained. “But there is an outgoing side of my personality that loves doing pranks. Who do you think is like that?”
“George!” the audience shouts back with rock star decibel noise.
“Harold and George are my alter egos. When I was a kid, you never knew what side would come out.”
Neurodiverse role model
My son and I took a picture with Dav Pilkey after his presentation. Dominic didn’t say anything while shaking his hand, and all I came up with is, “I loved your presentation,” even though there was a lot more I had wanted to say.
Afterward, I realized I wanted to tell him he is a role model to neurodiverse kids and how I love how he sees his ADHD as his superpower and how my wife became a fan after ripping me for buying my son a Captain Underpants book.
I’m sure he’s heard this before, but I wanted to express my gratitude to him.
We walked back to our car with my superhero cape with the words, flapping in the wind and my wife saying she couldn’t believe I was still wearing it.
While I was thinking every kid should get a chance to meet their favorite author, actor, or athlete and have them be as inspirational as Dav Pilkey.
You might also like these articles on neurodiversity:
Or check out my YouTube video on how to write a strong opening to a story.
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