Autism/ADHD Mentoring & Support Team- Key2Confidence

28/08/2026

Ready for my first parental Discovery call of the day 🙏☺️

If your young person could use some support from a neurodivergent, neuroaffirming mentor. Do book a Discovery call with me, so I can identify if and how we can help.

https://calendly.com/key2confidence/call?month=2026-09

Patsy x💜💙

28/08/2026

It’s the weekend before your young people return to school or college.
How are they doing?
💜💙💭

20/08/2026

Your GCSE results do not define you…
Patsy x💜💙

20/08/2026

To all of your young people receiving their GCSE results this morning, good luck 🤞 😊🙏💜💙

19/08/2026

It sounds like such a simple job, doesn’t it?

Go to the shop ✅
Get feet measured✅
Choose some school shoes✅
Go home🎊

Except sometimes, it’s anything but simple.

Yesterday, I went school-shoe shopping with my granddaughter, her mum and little sister 🥰

Mum planned ahead and booked an early morning appointment, when we knew the shop would be quieter and less stimulating.

So far, so good. 🙌

Her feet were measured and she was asked to choose which shoes she liked.

She picked two pairs.

Then came the first change…

She needed to go half a size bigger 🫣

That meant she couldn’t have either of the pairs she’d chosen.

Her face dropped.

Then came the next blow…

They didn’t do Velcro shoes in her new size 🫣

Her options were buckles or laces- neither of which were familiar to her.

Her mum could see she was struggling and quietly, calmly tried to reassure her.

“STOP SHOUTING AT ME!”🤯

Except Mum wasn’t shouting.

She was speaking softly.

But by this point, her nervous system was overloaded and even a calm voice was being experienced as shouting.

That was our cue…

We aborted the mission 👍🏼

Because when you look at what had actually happened, this wasn’t just about a pair of shoes…

She was already dealing with the reality that school is getting closer…

Having her feet measured.

Then choosing which shoes she liked.

Being told she was getting bigger and needed to go up half a size from juniors to seniors.

Finding out the shoes she’d chosen were no longer an option.

Then discovering the familiar Velcro fastening wasn’t available either.

Change. Change. Change. Change 😰🤯

For some neurodivergent young people, what looks like a straightforward back-to-school shopping trip can carry a HUGE amount of sensory, emotional and cognitive load.

And sometimes the best decision we can make isn’t to push through and “get the job done”.

It’s to recognise:

She’s had enough for today. We can try again another way.

Back-to-school preparation isn’t always exciting new bags, shiny shoes and fresh stationery.

Sometimes it’s hard.

What are back-to-school shopping trips like for your young person and for you? 💭

Patsy x💜💙
P.S An hour later, mum found Velcro shoes in her bigger size and all is well ☺️👍🏼

19/08/2026

When young people are socially anxious, we go out and explore things they love! I do too!

And we were permitted to touch and sit on everything…. Chairs! 😅💜💙

19/08/2026

Young people shouldn’t need to be medicated to engage, cope and perform their best in school.
The education system MUST change 🙏💜💙

17/08/2026

Would any of you be interested in small group Functional Skills tuition for your teenagers? 💜💙
Comment below online or in person (Evesham)

14/08/2026

I do wish they’d give a gentle pre-warning, before the actual warning, to warn you!
🚨🤣🙏💜💙

14/08/2026

Truth! 💜💙

I don’t know about you, but I’m noticing an increase in ADHD scepticism in the media at the moment, and I’m starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable about it. 😕

Headline after headline questioning ADHD diagnosis, medication, whether too many people are being diagnosed, whether people really have ADHD…

And I keep wondering what is the impact of all this doubt?🤷🏻

Does it discourage people who are struggling from seeking an assessment?

Does it make people already sitting on enormous waiting lists think, “Maybe I’m imagining it. Maybe everyone struggles like this.” “I don’t want people to think I’m jumping on the bandwagon.”

Does it conveniently shift the conversation away from a system that is struggling to meet the demand for assessment and support?

Perhaps, most concerningly…

Does it make people who have spent a lifetime struggling start doubting themselves all over again?

I’m absolutely in favour of robust diagnostic processes.

I’m absolutely in favour of reviewing prescribing practices and making sure people receive appropriate care.

But there’s a huge difference between scrutinising a system and creating a culture in which we begin scrutinising the people asking that system for help.

What/whoever is driving these headlines, I worry about their cumulative effect.

After years of telling people:

“If you’re struggling, ask for help.”

I really don’t want the message to become:

“But first, prove you’re actually struggling.”

Patsy xx🌸