I’m an Odd Duck is a short, lived-experience perspective on what it feels like to navigate school, communication, and belonging as a neurodivergent student—especially within high school and college environments.

I'm an Odd Duck

Not everyone is given the rulebook.

This book offers a way to better understand it.

Written from lived experience. Designed to spark understanding and conversation. This book is especially helpful for those looking to better understand neurodivergent students in school and college settings.

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About The Book

I’m an Odd Duck explores what it feels like to navigate academics, social expectations, and community life as a neurodivergent student—especially in environments shaped by unspoken rules.

Drawing on his own experience, Joel Kottman shares candid observations about learning, communication, and belonging in systems that aren’t always designed with neurodivergent minds in mind.

With warmth, clarity, and curiosity, the book invites readers to better understand neurodivergent experiences—and to reflect on how expectations are communicated, interpreted, and lived.

This is not a how-to manual or a clinical guide.
It is a starting point—for reflection, conversation, and deeper understanding.

Educators, Advisors, and Student-Support Professionals

For those seeking a more human understanding of how neurodivergent students experience school and how expectations shape access and belonging.

Who This Book Is For

Parents and Caregivers of Neurodivergent Youth

For families navigating school systems with empathy, curiosity, and a desire to better understand their child’s experience.

For organizations supporting neurodivergent individuals and families seeking a shared language, a grounded perspective, and more thoughtful conversations.

Nonprofits and
Community Organizations

What Often Goes Unnoticed

Many neurodivergent students spend years trying to decode expectations they were never explicitly taught—often internalizing confusion, frustration, or the belief that they’re “missing something.”

I’m an Odd Duck explores these experiences not to assign blame, but to bring clarity.

Through personal observation and reflection, the book helps readers better understand how expectations are communicated—and how that shapes a student’s experience of learning, belonging, and self-advocacy.

What Readers Are Saying

I'm an Odd Duck is a resourceful tool for both neurodiverse and neurotypical learners looking to gain more insight into cognitive differences and disabilities. Being an active part of Joel's journey as he navigated college with patience, resilience, and determination was beyond rewarding. Whether you want to learn how complex learning disabilities impact daily living, implementing problem-solving and conflict resolution strategies, or how to support neurodiverse learners, this is the book for you!

SCOTT DONOVAN

Director, OPTIONS Transitions to Independence

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

Joel Kottman’s eloquence as a storyteller allows me to hear his words in his voice as I read. His first-hand account offers valuable insights into one person's perspective on the neurodiverse experience. It is an excellent reminder of the importance of community in creating adaptations to allow each person to be their most successful self.

KIM BELL

Director of Community Connections, ConnectAbility

What Readers Will Find

This is not a manual or a checklist. It’s a short, reflective look at what it feels like to navigate college as a neurodivergent student.

Personal reflections on navigating academic and social environments
Insight into unspoken expectations—and how they shape experience
Language for understanding self-advocacy and belonging
Perspective on connection, support, and community
Stories that make differences easier to recognize and talk about

Concise by design. Reflective by intention.

How This Book Helps Readers Understand Neurodivergent Students

I’m an Odd Duck offers a short, experience-based perspective on navigating college as a neurodivergent student.

This book is especially helpful for educators, families, and students trying to better understand neurodivergent experiences in college.

It is often used as a starting point for conversations about neurodiversity in higher education—helping readers better understand how expectations, communication, and environment shape the student experience.

Readers often use it for:

Understanding how neurodivergent students experience college differently
Starting conversations about neurodiversity in the classroom
Supporting student self-advocacy and communication
Reflecting on how expectations are communicated (or not)

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