Beyond The Haze ADHD Coaching

A great evening presenting alongside the City of Kwinana, with parents, grandparents and caregivers from across Perth’s southern suburbs.

Thank you to everyone who came along to learn, ask questions and share ideas. I hope you left with practical strategies that make life just a little easier for your family.

These community conversations are always a highlight.

Great to spend time last week with the Carine Schools Network, working with staff from Davallia, North Beach, Poynter, Marmion, Carine, Lake Gwelup and Karrinyup Primary Schools.

We unpacked ADHD, regulation, task initiation, cognitive load and what actually helps students access learning in real classrooms.

These conversations matter. Teachers are navigating increasingly complex classrooms and practical, evidence informed strategies have never been more important.

Thanks to the Carine Schools Network for the invitation and the thoughtful engagement throughout the session.

Many students with ADHD are working harder than we realise just to access learning.

High impact teaching strategies are not about lowering expectations.

They are about reducing unnecessary barriers, improving accessibility, and creating classrooms where more students can engage, participate and succeed.

These are practical strategies that support attention, working memory, regulation, task entry and learning.

Small adjustments can make a significant difference.

We we make learning clear, we allow the brain to think!

When tasks are clear, our ADHD brains can work better.Only then does learning become possible.

Such a pleasure visiting the Mornington Peninsula and presenting at

A big focus of the session was ADHD in girls and how overwhelm can often sit beneath perfectionism, compliance, and “doing fine.”

Really appreciated the warmth, insight, and engagement from staff throughout the afternoon.

We often jump straight to learning.
But for many kids with ADHD, learning is the last step.

First comes calm.
If the nervous system is overloaded, the brain is in survival mode, not thinking mode.

Then comes connection.
When a child feels safe and understood, the brain settles and opens up.

Only then does learning become possible.

Not because they suddenly decided to try harder.
Because the conditions finally allowed them to.

Calm → Connection → Learning

Shift the order, and everything shifts.

Spent yesterday with the amazing staff at in Launceston. A real delight to be back in Tasmania.🥳

What stood out was the warmth and collegiality. People weren’t just listening, they were contributing, questioning, and thinking deeply on how to better support their ADHD students.

Grateful to have been part of it. Thanks so much for making me feel so welcome.

When we design the right conditions, children don’t just behave better.
They think better.

So much of what we call “inattention” or “lack of effort” is actually a problem of access.

Too much language.
Unclear starting points.
Cognitive load that overwhelms working memory.

And the brain shuts the door.

But when we shift the conditions…

Make the first step obvious
Reduce what needs to be held in mind
Let students show thinking before writing

Something changes.

The same child who “wouldn’t start” is now engaged.
Not because they tried harder.
Because they could.

Children with ADHD aren’t avoiding learning.
They’re responding to the conditions around it.

Design for access, and you’ll see what their brain can actually do.