Family Pathway

28/10/2025

Poverty, exclusion and unmet need in Wales

When poverty meets neurodivergence, the barriers don’t just add up — they multiply.

In my latest article for Children in Wales (Autumn 2025), I look at why so many neurodivergent learners are still being failed by systems meant to protect them — and what it would take to make inclusion more than a policy promise.

It’s time to move past “awareness” and start talking about accountability, resources and real-world change.

💬 Read Elsa Torres’ full article here ⬇️
See pages 57–58 of Children in Wales Autumn 2025 - https://issuu.com/childreninwales/docs/ciw_magazine_autumn_2025_english?fr=xKAE9_zMzMw

19/10/2025

✨ ADHD • Autism • AuDHD ✨

These three profiles can overlap — but they’re not the same.

Understanding the why behind behaviours helps us offer the right support.
🔹 ADHD (Inattentive Type) – distractible, forgetful, disorganised, often underdiagnosed in girls.
🔹 Autism – sensory sensitivities, prefers structure, differences in communication and social understanding.
🔹 AuDHD (Autism + ADHD) – sensory + attention challenges, masking and burnout, craves routine but struggles with follow-through.

When both co-exist, strategies must reflect both sets of needs.
ADHD tools alone can overlook sensory differences.
Autism tools alone can demand executive skills that ADHD affects.
Every brain is different — and every learner deserves support that fits them, not the label first written down.

19/10/2025

16/10/2025

🎙️ New Episode: Understanding ADHD – Compassion, Confidence, and Change

In this powerful conversation, Cath Evans, ALNCo at Chepstow School in Monmouthshire, joins me on Cardiff Radio to raise awareness around ADHD — not as a label, but as a lens for understanding human diversity.

This episode is about more than awareness — it’s about building confidence in how we recognise and respond to neurodiversity in our classrooms, communities, and workplaces.
Because when we understand the “why” behind behaviour, we create space for compassion, connection, and belonging.

Huge thanks to Donna Zammat, Cardiff Radio, and Safer Wales for giving us this platform to share voices that matter.

https://audio.com/elsa-1846152602953258/audio/rec-20251015dz1330ishon-mp3cutnet

12/10/2025

🎥 NEW CHAT: Making Support the Normal Way of Working in Secondary School
Your child just started Year 7 — big step, right?
But here’s the real question:
👉 Has their support actually followed them into secondary?
In this short webinar, I talk about what happens when those vital tools — laptops, reading pens, overlays, rest breaks — quietly vanish after transition, and what you can do right now to make sure your child doesn’t lose the confidence they built in Year 6.
💬 It’s not about extra help.
It’s about fair access, consistency, and confidence.
Because tools aren’t “special treatment” — they’re what make learning possible.
🎯 Watch now to find out how to:
✅ Keep your child’s supports consistent
✅ Protect their exam access evidence early
✅ De-stigmatise using tools in class

12/10/2025

𝐀𝐃𝐇𝐃 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦: 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫 — 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧.
ADHD affects 5–7% of learners globally, yet so many remain undiagnosed or misunderstood.
Girls often mask and internalise; boys may externalise. Both need predictable, flexible classrooms that work with their nervous systems — not against them.
💡 Simple wins every teacher can use:
• Visible timer for every task
• One reset (≤2 mins) every lesson — before dysregulation hits
• Two regulation options per room (standing spot + quiet/audio space)
• Universal scripts: “You’re safe. Let’s slow this down together.”
• Active breaks every 15–20 mins — proven to boost focus and engagement
If your classroom works for ADHD, it works better for everyone.
Let’s make predictable, person-centred design the new normal.
👉 Download the full guide in our October 2025 newsletter:

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10/10/2025

💛 Create an atmosphere where all feelings are allowed.

Every classroom, every home, every community space should be a place where emotions are seen, heard, and accepted — not silenced or fixed.

When we tell children it’s okay to feel sad, angry, anxious, or unsure, we teach them that being human isn’t something to hide.
We help them belong, not just behave.

🌱 Inclusion starts with emotional safety.
Because belonging isn’t about fitting in — it’s about being free to be yourself, feelings and all.

🎥 Watch this powerful short film: Helping Bob Belong

Teachers can tell - belongingness matters for teens' performance in school! But how can we help? I suggest two short, empirically supported interventions to ...

10/10/2025

🧠 World Mental Health Day 2025 🌍
Let’s drop the stigma and start talking — openly, honestly, and without shame.

Mental health isn’t just a “personal issue.” It’s everyone’s business.
Right now, the world feels heavy — cost of living, global conflict, rising violence, and the daily pressure to “keep it together.” It’s a lot. And it’s taking its toll on all of us — students, educators, parents, and communities alike.

Taking care of your mental health isn’t weakness. It’s survival.
It’s time we normalise asking for help, checking in on each other, and building systems that care, not just cope.

💬 Let’s talk.
🫶 Let’s listen.
⚡ Let’s be part of the change.

🎥 Watch this powerful reflection on mental health and resilience:

It’s not always easy to tell others that your child has challenges managing their thoughts or feelings. And it might not be easy for your child to express th...

10/10/2025

Not everyone with dyslexia is the same. This is why grouping dyslexic students together in school is often not as effective as teachers think. Also just following a checklist of resources and approaches for dyslexic students may not work for all of them. Parents too can get confused when their children show very different signs of dyslexia. Understanding each child's unique profile of strengths and weaknesses is the key to helping dyslexic students thrive. https://www.dyslexia-assist.org.uk

09/10/2025

This week is awareness week. Dyspraxia can include poor balance, difficulty with motor skills like writing and dressing, problems with organization and time management, and challenges with learning new physical skills.
The Movement Matters website and resources aim to make Dyspraxia research more accessible. All of submissions are reviewed by people with lived experience.
You can take a look at the resources or you can submit your research.

committed to making DCD research accessible