A note to readers about Autism Spectrum Disorders and ADHD

Neither the hero nor the heroine of Heart Smart are neurotypical. Max is on the Autism spectrum and Holly has Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. A friend asked if I had someone do a sensitivity read. The short answer is no. In retrospect, it would have been great if I had, but I didn’t have the foresight to think of it. There were a couple of people on the spectrum who read it in the review stage, and I trust that if anything had raised huge flags for them, they would have told me. But those weren’t sensitivity reads, per se. 
I did do a lot of research on ASD’s. I have several good friends with kids on the spectrum with whom I discussed Max’s behaviors and interactions, as well as his sensory processing issues. I am so grateful for their feedback in helping to bring Max to life. I also interviewed an orthopedic surgeon about Max’s injuries.
Though, of course, I took liberties with Max. I am sure there are moments when he maintains more eye contact (particularly with Holly) than someone on the spectrum normally would. Similarly, there are times when he is more comfortable with her touch than someone on the spectrum might be. He is, after all, a fictional character. I did the best I could, and I love him. I hope you do, too. 
As for Holly’s ADHD … ah, that’s a fish of a different kettle.
I lived most of my life with undiagnosed ADHD. I knew for a long time there was something “off” about me. I was slow to read, slow to “live up to my potential,” socially awkward, chronically unorganized. Until my daughter was diagnosed when she was nine, I had no idea those were all symptoms of ADHD in women. 
In the years since she was diagnosed (and then I was, shortly after), I’ve learned a lot about ADHD and how to cope with it. Despite that, I’m still learning. Still developing my own coping skills. Still struggling to find ways to do and accomplish the things that seem to come easily to those who are neurotypical. I joke with my kids (because my son was also diagnose at nine), that I’m still studying my Me, User’s Manual. 
If I took liberties with Max, I took some with Holly, also. For all her foibles, she is more organized, more together, and more “with it” than I am. I envy her her early diagnosis and the many coping mechanisms she’s developed. Even though she is the heroine who is most  like me, she is “better” than me at a lot of things. (Spoiler alert: Holly is also thinner than I am!)
But even if Holly is more competent than I am, I tried to honor the emotional experience of having ADHD. Her description of feeling like “the grit in the bottom of someone’s shoe” … that is how I’ve always felt. For me, having ADHD means always knowing I’m annoying and just waiting for people to notice.
On further reflection, I guess it is not Holly’s competence I envy, it’s the peace she has reached about her ADHD. 
There are many things romance novelist “romanticize” in our books. Heroes are always muscle-y and never hog the remote. Heroines are always thinner, despite eating Ben & Jerry’s. They are braver. Their quippy comebacks occur to them in the right moment, instead of five hours (or five years) too late. 
We love novels despite (or perhaps because of) these inaccuracies. 
I hope you love Max and Holly as much as I do—inaccuracies, flaws, and all!