Five Common Mental Health Challenges For Kids Living With Learning Difficulties

Supporting Adults & Older Students

In this episode, I chat with Dr Shae Wissell. Shae is an award-winning advocate and entrepreneur specialising in dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions. We talk about what happens after students living with learning difficulties leave school and we become adults! We cover * The anxiety spiral around grades and "what are my options?" in Years 11 and 12 * Alternative pathways into uni and TAFE (and why the scenic route is fine) * What support looks like at university.  Accommodations, disability services, and tools like Read&Write [https://www.everway.com/en-au/products/read-and-write-education/] * Why people still don't disclose at uni or work, even in 2024 * The hidden load of masking difficulties and what workplaces actually need to know * AI and assistive tech as genuine game-changers for dyslexic adults * Shae's own mental health journey post-diagnosis is honest, real, and worth hearing * Workplace training. What it covers and why it matters for the business, not just the employee * Low-cost screening for adults ($650 with a clinical psych report) * How JobAccess [https://www.jobaccess.gov.au/] can fund workplace support * Shae's book Dyslexia: Insights into the Hidden Disability In and Out of the Workplace [https://rethinkdyslexia.com.au/dyslexia-insights-into-the-hidden-disability-in-and-out-of-the-workplace/] and the audio version coming soon (narrated by Shae herself) Full show notes available at https://dyscastia.com/ [https://dyscastia.com/]

Mental Health Strategies For Parents

In this episode, I'm joined by Brisbane-based psychologist Leanne Tran to talk about how to look after your own mental health as the parent of a child living with disability. We work through the journey as a timeline covering five stages. The pre-diagnosis worry and anxiety, receiving the diagnosis and working through the guilt and adjustment that comes with it, navigating the school system as an advocate without burning yourself out, managing the stress of school results that don't reflect your child's effort, and eventually letting go and handing over independence when they are ready. Leanne draws on 20 years of working with families and brings really practical, grounded advice to each stage. For more detailed show notes, visit the Dyscastia website [https://dyscastia.com/episodes/episode-23-mental-health-strategies-for-parents/].

Five Common Mental Health Challenges For Kids Living With Learning Difficulties

In this episode, I’m joined again by clinical psychologist Valli Jones to talk about the mental health issues she most commonly sees in children and young people living with learning difficulties. We framed the conversation as a “top five”, not to rank problems, but to help parents and educators feel less alone and better able to recognise patterns in what they’re seeing. We talk about anxiety and school can’t, emotional and behavioural dysregulation, social difficulties and isolation, family stress and major life changes, and why some families seek a second opinion after earlier assessments. Throughout the episode, Valli shares practical insights drawn from her day-to-day clinical work. For more detailed show notes, visit the Dyscastia website [https://dyscastia.com/episodes/episode-22-five-common-mental-health-challenges-for-kids-living-with-learning-difficulties/].

Why Maths Word Problems Are So Hard

Why Word Problems Are So Hard In this episode, I talk with intervention teacher Sue Griffith about why word problems in maths are especially difficult for students living with learning difficulties, including dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and autism. We explore how language, ambiguity and working memory overload can block understanding, and share structured strategies like CUBES and C.O.P.P.E.R. to support clearer problem solving. Full show notes, resources and some bonus content, ↗ https://dyscastia.com/episodes/episode-21-why-maths-word-problems-are-so-hard/ [https://dyscastia.com/episodes/episode-21-why-maths-word-problems-are-so-hard/]

ADHD Coaching with Sharon Collon

In this episode, I am joined by Sharon Collon from The Functional Family [https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/]. We discuss ADHD coaching and how it works to support students living with ADHD, their teachers and families. We focus on practical strategies for supporting executive function, increasing engagement, dealing with emotions, and solving predictable problems. Sharon is an award-winning, credentialed ADHD Coach & Parent Consultant (who is families trained). She is passionate about helping families navigating ADHD create joyful, functional lives with ADHD. She loves anything that makes life easier with ADHD! Her husband and her three sons all live with ADHD (throw in some Autism, Tourettes, ODD, OCD, SPD and SLD too). As well as Sharon’s lived experience, she has been researching ADHD for over 17 years, studied at ADDCA in New York and is PCC credentialed with the International Coaching Federation. Sharon has runs on the board, assisting over 40,000 families since The Functional Family was created.  Sharon has won multiple awards, including Business Awards – Outstanding Education Service, AusMumpreneur – Disabled Business Excellence, People’s Choice Leadership, People’s Choice Making a Difference and the Cook’s Community Award. Sharon lives in Southern Sydney and enjoys being near the sea, spending one-on-one time with her boys and her two boxer dogs… who are more like living cartoon characters than dogs. Are you interested in working with Sharon? Book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with Sharon HERE [https://calendly.com/sharonthefunctionalfamily/15-min-discovery-call-with-sharon]. During this call, Sharon will learn more about you and provide information about what services best suit your needs. Show notes I invited Sharon on because ADHD and learning difficulties often go hand in hand, with around 40% of people living with ADHD also living with dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia. [https://www.mnneuropsychology.com/articles/adhd-dyslexia-genes.html#:~:text=The%20study%20found%20that%20dyslexia,people%20with%20dyslexia%20and%20ADHD.] We know that attention, attitude and positive relationships have a significant impact on learning outcomes, particularly for students living with learning difficulties. Sharon shares some fantastic strategies for engaging students and supporting their (and our) mental health. What does an ADHD coach do? We start by looking at what ADHD coaching covers. It’s about making day-to-day life easier for students living with ADHD and their families and teachers. That includes things like time awareness, transitions, getting started on tasks, and building routines that actually work. Coaching is not therapy. It’s focused on how you make practical day-to-day activities easier. One of the big ideas in Sharon’s work is “predictable problems.” These are the same kinds of friction points that show up every day like getting dressed, brushing teeth, leaving the house and doing homework. The example Sharon gives about the toothbrush is a great one. The assumption was that it was a sensory issue. But it turned out the real problem was needing to go back upstairs after breakfast. The solution? Move the toothbrush downstairs. Done. Co-designing solutions A big part of Sharon’s process is co-designing solutions with the child. When students living with ADHD have a say, they often come up with smart ideas, and they’re more likely to stick with them if they’ve been part of designing the solution. You’ll hear us talk a lot about building autonomy and doing the planning when everyone is regulated. Not during the heat of the moment. What do Pinball Flippers have to do with ADHD? Sharon also explains her brilliant “Pinball Flippers Open / Closed / Neutral” model. It’s a way to quickly understand what state a student is in and how to respond. When a brain is open, it can take things in. When it’s closed, it’s overwhelmed and in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode. Our job is to help open the brain through praise, encouragement, novelty and whatever it takes to get our students engaged and open to learning. We also talk about how to support students in tutoring and classroom settings. I share one of my own strategies a collaborative whiteboard story that students add to each week. This builds in anticipation and (almost) guarantees a positive start to each session. Sharon suggests small “important jobs” like delivering a note to the office to give students a chance to regulate and reset. She also talks about planning exits in advance, so students don’t wait until they’re overwhelmed to step away. Body-doubling (getting expert help like tutors) can help a lot. Kids often respond well to the novelty of an external person, and as parents, we can’t take on everything! Homework – often a predictable problem Homework is a big, predictable problem for many students. For younger students, Sharon often works with families to step away from homework altogether unless it’s something that really matters. For older students, she focuses on breaking tasks down, setting time limits, and choosing the right time of day to work. Often, that’s not after dinner! Five-minute entries work well: “Let’s give it five minutes, and if it’s awful, we’ll stop.” And if you say five minutes, you stop at five minutes. That trust matters. We also touch on rewards and motivation. Reward charts with delayed incentives usually don’t land well for students living with ADHD. “Now” matters. “Not now” doesn’t. Immediate wins, visible progress, and having the end in sight make a much bigger difference. Throughout the episode, you’ll hear both of us come back to the same idea: home needs to be a safe space. School can be full-on, especially for students living with learning difficulties. If home feels the same, there’s nowhere for kids to self-regulate and get a break from the demands of school. Sharon’s approach is all about reducing pressure, supporting regulation, and building routines that give everyone, kids and adults, more gas in the tank. Resources mentioned * Predictable Problems Chart and lots of other freebies! [https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/freebies] * Goblin Tools – Magic Todo task breakdown [https://goblin.tools/] * The Functional Family website and podcast [https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com/freebies] * The Functional Families Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefunctionalfamilygroup] We’d love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback. You can leave a comment or question at dyscastia.com [https://dyscastia.com/].