AI and Executive Function: Teaching Students to Think With AI, Not For Them
Artificial intelligence has enormous potential to support students with ADHD, but there is a problem we may be overlooking. Writing an effective prompt requires many of the same executive functioning skills these students can find difficult. This article explores why we need to look beyond teaching students to write better prompts and instead help them understand where they are stuck, what support they need, and how AI can become a scaffold for thinking rather than a substitute for it.
Supporting ADHD in Schools Means Understanding Digital Ecosystems
Every new app promises to make life easier, yet every new login, notification and platform can add another layer of mental effort. This article explores why supporting students with ADHD means thinking beyond individual tools and towards creating digital ecosystems that reduce cognitive load.
Beyond the Report Card: Helping Young People Navigate Disappointment and Self-Worth
Exam results can bring relief, pride, disappointment, and sometimes a deep sense of self-doubt. While academic outcomes matter, they should never become the sole measure of a young person's worth. This article explores how parents and educators can help young people navigate disappointment with compassion, perspective, and hope.
ADHD and Exams: Why Studying Falls Apart
When studying breaks down during exams, it’s easy to assume a lack of effort. But for many students with ADHD, the challenge is not motivation, it’s knowing how to begin and manage the demands of study under pressure. This article explores what’s really happening.
Designing Environments That Help ADHD Brains Work
Students with ADHD don’t just need better habits — they need environments that support how their brains work. This article explores how structure, clarity, and reduced cognitive load can make a meaningful difference in focus, organisation, and engagement.
Why Smart Students Struggle: Understanding Executive Function in Senior School
Many highly capable students begin to struggle in senior school despite being intelligent and motivated. Often the issue is not effort, but executive function. Understanding how these skills develop can help parents and educators better support adolescents navigating the increasing demands of senior secondary education.
When Time Becomes Personal
There comes a point in midlife when time stops feeling abstract. Often prompted by illness, loss, or ageing, this shift brings sadness, reflection, and a quiet desire to live differently. This piece explores what happens when life’s fragility becomes personal, and how that awareness can invite greater honesty, intention, and care.
When “Good Kids” Struggle Quietly: The Students We Miss at the Start of the School Year
At the start of a new school year, behaviour is often the first thing we notice — but rarely the first thing that goes wrong. This reflection explores why predictability, regulation, and belonging matter more than firmness or consequences, and why some of the students who struggle most are the ones we miss.
Belonging Before Behaviour: When Students Feel Alone at School
Loneliness in schools often hides behind behaviour, achievement, or quiet withdrawal. This reflection explores why belonging matters for student wellbeing — and what schools can do differently.