Clarity Compass Blog

There’s a quiet pressure that follows a lot of neurodivergent kids and adults: try harder, be more normal, blend in. It sounds helpful. It isn’t. I stopped treating my child like a problem to solve, and started treating them like a person to understand. The message hiding underneath “Try harder” A lot of neurodivergent kids grow up hearing the same message in a thousand different ways: try harder, act normal, be quiet, don’t stand out. Sometimes it’s said with love. Sometimes

TLDR: If an autistic student is moving into a mainstream school or classroom, the biggest mistake adults make is assuming they “should be fine” because their grades or test scores look okay. Real success depends on what happens in real classrooms: starting tasks, handling noise and pace, managing materials, coping with group work, and navigating all the unspoken rules. Start with this: assess, don’t assume. Build a current learner snapshot based on real school tasks, not just

Some nights I sit at the kitchen table watching my son stare at a blank page, textbook open. The pencil is in his hand, the homework is open… but nothing happens. I see the shutdowns, the screaming, the running to their room in avoidance. And in that moment, I think: Please please tell me they’re not refusing again. Please tell me this isn’t about laziness. Because I’ve seen enough to know, it isn’t. What Task Initiation Really Looks Like It’s not just "getting started." It’s

If I had to generalize how to foster independent skills in autistic individuals, I would start by looking at generic societal definitions of independence. For example, I would create a list of skills one needs to navigate life on your own, with no or little help. These could include, simple finances, washing your clothes, cooking, cleaning, transportation, to more specific executive skills like remembering when the garbage needs taking out, brushing your teeth or showering. I

Autistic students are exposed to multiple levels of social interaction with peers and adults, in a general education setting. In most cases it is expected the student follows the “unspoken rules” of social interaction and classroom etiquette, which can be very challenging and confusing for most autistic students. When working with others they will also be (indirectly) exposed to many executive functioning skills, such as planning and organizing in project work, task initiatio

Executive functions are the mental skills that help us manage daily life, from planning and organizing to controlling impulses and staying focused. (Pardo-Salamanca, 2024). Thomas E. Brown, a clinical psychologist known for his work on ADHD, identified six key clusters of executive functions. Understanding these clusters can help us recognize how our brains work and why some people struggle with tasks others find easy. What Are Executive Functions? Executive functions are li

Neurodivergence is an important term that refers to various neurological differences, including Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and learning differences like Dyslexia. These differences are not defects ; they represent unique ways of experiencing and interacting with the world. As someone who identifies with neurodivergence, I have learned to appreciate both the strengths and challenges that accompany it. In this post, I will explore at a very high le

TLDR: During emotional dysregulation, the connection between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala is weak, and the amygdala's "distress signal" is not adequately managed, leading to difficulty controlling strong emotions. Being in this state for too long has serious health consequences on the brain and body. (Ismail, 2021). I created a simple evidence based 5 step process; a graphic organizer with mnemonics, and chunking to support diverse learners, and teach a simple nervo