Could your child understand more than school can see right now?

As I write this, we're in that final stretch before Christmas.

The lists feel endless. The shops are busy. Budgets are stretched. And there's that familiar pull to chase the next shiny thing that promises to make life easier or magically fix whatever's been hard this year.

Whether it's the "perfect" gift, the must-have gadget, or the latest learning programme quietly whispering "this will finally help," it's easy to get caught up in it all.

I've been thinking a lot about where the real glimmers are in this madness.

Not the big, polished moments. The small, grounding ones.

The relief of school being finished. The pause when there's nowhere urgent to be. The moment people who've struggled all year can finally stop comparing themselves to everyone else.

For those who've found the year heavy, this break offers something precious: the chance to feel capable again.

Over the years, I've learned that real progress rarely comes from doing more or buying more. It comes when pressure eases and we're all given space to be ourselves again.

The Christmas break offers exactly that. Space.

Space for tired brains to rest. Space to reconnect with what we're actually good at. Space to remember that confidence doesn't arrive wrapped in shiny packaging or through another programme.

Whatever this season has held for you, I hope the days ahead bring a few small glimmers. A laugh. A quiet moment. A reminder that you don't have to fix everything right now.

She understood everything. School just couldn’t see it.

Erin Brockovich could answer questions verbally with ease. She grasped concepts quickly and deeply.

But when it came to written assessments, she consistently failed.

Not because she didn’t understand.
But because her intelligence didn’t show up neatly on paper.

School measured one narrow skill and almost missed her entirely.

Sound familiar?

How many children are sitting in classrooms right now, understanding far more than they’re able to show?
How many are labelled as struggling, when the real issue is how they’re being asked to prove what they know?

What if learning had been shaped around how their brain works, rather than forcing them into a system that never quite fit?

And what might have been different if they hadn’t spent years feeling “less than,” inadequate, or quietly defeated?

Every person deserves to feel understood and valued in their learning and work environment.

Watch her interview: Erin Brockovich: How Dyslexic Thinking won the biggest direct action lawsuit in US history.
 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

As this year winds down, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for trusting me with your questions, your worries, and your hopes for your children.

The work you do every day - advocating for your child, believing in them when school doesn’t, and showing up even when it’s hard -  matters more than you know.