A story about identity, neurodiversity, family, faith and belonging.
I Am Tinu is a first-person illustrated memoir, written in the voice of Tinu, a neurodivergent Black British girl of Nigerian-Yoruba heritage growing up within a loving Christian family.
Warm, joyful and honest, Tinu's story invites readers to see the child before the diagnosis and reminds children that difference does not diminish their value, identity or belonging.
About the Book
Written in Tinu's own voice, I Am Tinu celebrates neurodiversity and helps children feel seen, understood and valued — whatever makes them wonderfully, uniquely themselves. It's also an open door for the adults around them: a gentle way to start conversations about SEND at home, in the classroom, and within faith and community settings where those conversations are still too often avoided.
Meet Tinu
Tinu is funny, musical, determined and wonderfully herself.
Through everyday moments at home, school and within her community, readers experience the world from Tinu's perspective — her strengths, challenges, relationships and the people who love and support her.
Her story creates space for conversations about difference without making difference the whole story.
More Than a Book
I Am Tinu is the beginning of a wider collection of resources designed to help children, families, educators and faith communities have meaningful conversations about SEND, identity, inclusion and belonging.
In development:
- Children's activities and workbooks
- Parent resources
- Resources for educational settings
- Resources for faith communities
Modupe (Dupe) Awolola
SEND Consultant · Educator · Author
Dupe Awolola is the founder of Budding Gems, a former Deputy Headteacher and SEND Consultant with almost 30 years in education. I Am Tinu draws on her own experience as a parent to a neurodiverse child — the same lived experience that shapes everything Budding Gems does.
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