School and learning
Neuroaffirming classrooms, school can't, accommodations and the choice to learn a different way.
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Neuroaffirming classrooms, school can't, accommodations and the choice to learn a different way.
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Every morning, Australian parents pack a lunchbox and brace for what the school might say about it. For families of children with feeding differences, selective eaters, neurodivergent kids, and children with sensory or medical needs, school food policies built for the average child can turn eating into a daily barrier. This piece names something that rarely gets named: how one-size-fits-all rules, lunchbox comments and "good food, bad food" messaging quietly undermine the feeding relationship, and why that matters when neurodivergent people are so overrepresented in eating disorder statistics. It also covers what good looks like, a classroom where food is treated as neutral, and what parents can actually do, including the reasonable adjustments schools are legally required to make under the Disability Discrimination Act. Your child has a right to eat at school without shame. Advocating for that isn't being difficult.
6 July 2026
Neurodivergent students often perform well academically while experiencing severe burnout and exhaustion that parents rarely see. Jocelyn Green, an AuDHD student and advocate, explains why neurodivergent brains work twice as hard just to keep pace, why success stories can be harmful when they hide the cost, and what accommodations genuinely help. This episode challenges the myth that good grades equal wellbeing and invites parents to recognise the invisible toll of masking, the reality of autistic burnout, and the grace their child needs most.
21 June 2026
Unschooling offers neurodivergent families an alternative to traditional schooling by prioritising child-led learning, nervous system safety, and curiosity over curriculum. In this article based on Episode 24 of Neurodivergent Pulse, Melissa Crockett-Joyoue (founder of Weave ND) explains why regulation is essential for learning, how special interests become powerful learning pathways, and why parents must do their own healing work.
10 March 2026
What if play was never a break from learning, but the learning itself? In this episode, Angie and Kaycee Larney from Curious Me share why messy, chaotic, special-interest play is exactly what neurodivergent kids need. Learn how to shift from "be careful" to curiosity, honour your child's process, and trust that today's car-lining might be tomorrow's life skill.
12 January 2026
What does it take for neurodivergent children to feel truly safe at school? Educator Millie Carr shares practical strategies for creating neuroaffirming classrooms on our podcast. From Universal Design for Learning to teaching equity over equality, discover how teachers and parents can work together to build inclusive spaces where every brain type belongs. With 96% of teachers feeling unprepared to support neurodivergent students, this conversation offers hope and a path forward.
24 September 2025
With Melissa Crockett-Joyoue
With Angie Casella & Kaycee Larney
With Corinne Smith
With Millie Carr