Advocate & Author
Every odd duck
deserves to belong.
Joel Kottman is a neurodivergent author, speaker, and advocate helping families, educators, organizations, and fellow odd ducks better understand neurodiversity through lived experience, storytelling, and honest conversation.
I'm an Odd Duck
Observations & Insights about Neurodiversity
Coming Summer 2026
In I’m an Odd Duck, advocate and speaker Joel Kottman shares lived insights into the experiences of neurodiverse students. The book serves as an entry point for educators, families, and organizations seeking more inclusive and supportive learning spaces.
In exploring what it means to be different, I want readers and audiences alike to see that the needs of neurodiverse people aren't unusual at all. We all have the same needs for patience, support, understanding, and the joy of being truly recognized and celebrated.
Joel Kottman is a neurodivergent author, speaker, and advocate helping families, educators, organizations, and fellow odd ducks better understand neurodiversity through lived experience, storytelling, and honest conversation.
As a neurodivergent person, Joel knows what it can feel like to navigate environments full of unspoken expectations, confusing social dynamics, sensory challenges, and assumptions that miss the whole person. His work gives audiences a first-person look at the need for clearer communication, deeper empathy, and genuine belonging.
Joel speaks from lived experience, reflection, and a belief that understanding begins when we stop talking around neurodiverse people and start listening with them.