Foundational Module
The Brain, Explained
Understanding the mechanisms behind ADHD and autism - not stereotypes, but how the brain actually works. This foundational knowledge helps everything else make sense.
Why understanding mechanisms matters
When you understand why your child struggles with transitions, or why they can focus for hours on one thing but not another, behaviour stops looking like defiance and starts making sense.
This module covers the brain systems involved in attention, regulation, reward, and sensory processing - giving you a framework for understanding both ADHD and autism.
Explore the Brain
Neurodevelopment Essentials
Brain development timeline, plasticity, and why environment shapes expression.
Executive Functions
Working memory, inhibition, flexibility, planning - the brain's "air traffic control".
Attention Systems
Alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Why attention is context-dependent.
Arousal & Regulation
Nervous system states, sensory load as cognitive load, and the meltdown cascade.
Reward & Dopamine
Dopamine, noradrenaline, motivation, and why "important" isn't the same as "rewarding now".
Sensory Processing
Seeking vs avoiding, interoception, auditory filtering, and overload cascades.
Emotional Regulation
Bottom-up vs top-down regulation, co-regulation, and why shame worsens dysregulation.
Key concepts you'll learn
Executive functions are separate from intelligence
Attention is not a single thing - it has multiple systems
Sensory overload can deplete cognitive resources
Dopamine is about motivation, not just pleasure
Emotional regulation develops with brain maturity
Co-regulation from adults supports self-regulation development