Understanding Alexithymia: The Invisible Emotional Barrier
Alexithymia affects the ability to recognise and describe emotions. This article explains what alexithymia is, why it occurs, and how it impacts relationships and emotional wellbeing.
It’s Not Laziness: How Executive Function Gaps Shape Teen Motivation
Many teenagers with ADHD are labelled as lazy or unmotivated, but the real issue often lies in executive functioning. Skills like initiation, time management, prioritising, and sustained attention develop differently in ADHD brains. When these brain systems struggle, everyday expectations such as homework, organisation, and starting tasks can feel overwhelming. Understanding the role of executive functioning and dopamine can help families move from frustration and blame toward understanding and support.
When a Child “Flips Their Lid”: What Teachers Often Miss
When a child reacted strongly to discovering her usual teaching assistant was absent, the behaviour was seen as defiance. But what teachers witnessed was actually the result of a nervous system response known as “flipping your lid.” Understanding the brain behind the behaviour can completely change how schools respond.
Executive Functioning in SEND Reform: The Part That Finally Makes Sense
SEND reform is beginning to recognise executive functioning as central to learning. Understanding how regulation and development underpin these skills may be key to reducing escalation and supporting children earlier in education.
Why Are We Linking Autism to Intelligence?
When did autism become linked to intelligence? Autism describes how the brain processes the world — not cognitive ability. Here’s why that distinction matters.
Addiction and the Search for “Normal”
Addiction is often misunderstood as a lack of willpower. This blog explores how dopamine, regulation, and nervous system needs can make addiction risk higher if you’re autistic or ADHD — and why it’s often about escaping a low, not chasing a high.
Why Strengthening Executive Function Skills is a Game-Changer for Autistic & ADHD Brains
If mornings feel like juggling jelly, executive functions might be the missing piece. This blog explains the brain’s “air traffic control” system and why strengthening it is a game-changer for autistic and ADHD daily life.
Why Do I Think Like This? - Suicidal Thoughts, Autism, ADHD and the Pain of Feeling Constantly Criticised
If you feel like you’re always getting it wrong, constantly judged, or stuck in shame, you’re not broken. This blog explains how autism, ADHD and criticism sensitivity can create painful thought loops — and what can help.
Why Those Who Are Autistic or ADHD Are So Often Labelled “Manipulative
Being labelled “manipulative” can be deeply harmful for autistic and ADHD people. What looks like manipulation is often anxiety, overwhelm, and a need for safety — not bad intent.
It’s Not Bad Behaviour — It’s an Undeveloped Skill
Schools are still punishing autistic and ADHD children for behaviours caused by undeveloped skills. This blog explains why that approach is harmful — and how misunderstanding neurodivergence is damaging children’s self-esteem, safety, and education.
When Everything Feels Personal: Understanding Criticism Sensitivity from Childhood Onwards
Many children and adults grow up feeling that everything is personal. This piece explores criticism sensitivity, how it develops in neurodivergent people, and why it often begins in childhood.
Why Emotional Regulation Is Harder When You’re Autistic or You’re ADHD – and Why Waiting Matters
If you’re autistic or you’re ADHD, emotional regulation can feel overwhelming. This blog explains how inhibitory control develops through waiting, why modern life removes that practice, and why this impacts autistic and ADHD brains more.
The Four-Tier System: When Support Comes Too Late
The four-tier system is being discussed as a form of early intervention in SEND support. But many children don’t struggle early. Some cope through primary school and only begin to struggle later, often in secondary school when demands increase sharply. A system that requires children to move slowly through tiers risks delaying help until real damage has already been done. This blog explores why waiting for repeated failure is not early intervention — and why parents need to understand what may be coming.
When Motivation Is Missing: Understanding Low Motivation in Children and Adults with ADHD or Autism
“Low motivation isn’t laziness — it’s brain wiring.”
When dopamine doesn’t fire in the usual way, starting tasks can feel impossible for ADHD and autistic people. This blog explains why — and what genuinely helps.
Stop Moving the Goalposts: Why PDA Isn’t an Excuse for Poor Behaviour
Pathological Demand Avoidance is increasingly used to explain any challenging behaviour. But when PDA becomes a catch-all label, it stops helping those who genuinely experience it. This blog explains what PDA really is, why language matters, and why understanding behaviour means looking at the ‘why’, not excusing the ‘what’.
When Offence Replaces Recognition: The Cost to Neurodivergent Children
When professional discomfort with language delays early recognition of autism and ADHD, families pay the price. This blog explores how clarity, not comfort, is essential for timely support and better outcomes.
When Alexithymia and Interoception Differences Look Like Narcissism
Emotional distance is often labelled as narcissism, but for many people it reflects alexithymia and interoception differences. Understanding this distinction can change relationships.
Why So Many Women Are Now Being Diagnosed With Autism and ADHD
Women are not suddenly becoming autistic or developing ADHD.
A generation of women was overlooked, misread, and forced to survive quietly until modern life removed the structures that helped them cope. This blog explains why diagnoses are rising now – and why this is overdue recognition, not overdiagnosis.
Awakening the Brain to Interact with Our Environment
Understanding how the brain processes sensory information is key to learning, behaviour, and daily life. This blog explores how our senses keep the brain alert and engaged with the world around us.
Understanding Language Disorders: More Than Just a Speech Issue
Language disorders affect how people understand and use language, not intelligence. This blog explains the types, signs across ages, and how support can help.