My approach

My work is grounded in a simple belief:

Children need understanding before they can develop emotional skills.

Especially for children with ADHD, emotional development often takes longer, feels more intense, and requires repetition, safety, and clarity. My approach focuses on building emotional intelligence gently and gradually, without pressure, shame, or expectations to cope before a child is ready.

Understanding Comes Before Regulation

Many approaches focus on behaviour or regulation first.
My work begins earlier than that.

Before children can regulate emotions, they need to:

recognise what they are feeling
understand why feelings show up
feel safe experiencing emotions without being rushed or corrected

Emotional intelligence is not about controlling feelings.
It is about making sense of them.

This understanding becomes the foundation on which regulation, confidence, and self-awareness can grow over time.

Designed with ADHD in Mind

Children with ADHD often experience:

stronger emotional responses
slower emotional development
difficulty explaining internal experiences
repeated misunderstandings of behaviour

My books and resources are created with these differences in mind.

They use:

clear, simple language
repetition without pressure
relatable everyday situations
calm, reassuring narratives

There are no quick fixes, reward charts, or behaviour targets.
The focus is on emotional awareness and self-understanding.

A Coaching-Informed, Educational Approach

I am a qualified ADHD coach, and an Emotional Intelligence practitioner, my work is informed by coaching principles, emotional intelligence research, and lived experience.

These resources are:

educational, not therapeutic
supportive, not corrective
designed to be used alongside other supports

They are not intended to diagnose, treat, or replace professional care.

Instead, they offer language, perspective, and gentle tools that help children, and the adults supporting them, better understand emotional experiences.

Supporting Parents and Carers Too

Children do not develop emotional skills in isolation.

Parents and carers play a vital role in:

modelling emotional language
responding calmly to big feelings
creating emotional safety

Each book includes a short parent guide to encourage reflection and connection, rather than instruction or fixing.

This work often supports adults as much as children, helping parents slow down, think differently, and respond with greater confidence and compassion.

How These Resources Are Meant to Be Used

These books are designed to:

be read when children are calm
be revisited over time
support discussion without pressure
grow with the child

Reading once is not the goal.
Familiarity, repetition, and safety are.

A Final Note

Emotional intelligence develops slowly.
Progress is not always visible.

My approach respects this pace, trusting that small moments of understanding, repeated gently, can make a meaningful difference over time.

This work is not about changing children,
it is about helping them understand themselves.

The Science Behind This Approach

Emotions play a central role in early development.

The amygdala, the part of the brain involved in emotional processing and threat detection, develops very early. This is why even babies can sense and respond to emotional cues, such as crying when another baby cries. Emotions are often a child’s first way of understanding the world.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) — the area responsible for planning, impulse control, emotional regulation, and rational decision-making — develops much more slowly and continues developing into early adulthood.

In children with ADHD, research shows that the development and functioning of the PFC can be delayed compared to neurotypical peers. This means that during childhood, emotional responses often lead the way, while logical reasoning and regulation take longer to come online.

As a result, children may rely heavily on emotional processing when responding to situations — often asking, at a subconscious level:

Is this safe?
Do I like this or not?

As described by Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. in Emotional Intelligence, repeated emotional experiences can become familiar patterns over time. These early patterns influence how children respond to challenges, stress, and relationships as they grow.

This helps explain why emotional dysregulation is such a common part of ADHD. It is not a lack of effort or willpower — it reflects a developing brain working with the tools it has available at that stage.

A Note on Scope and Use

The information and resources shared on this website are intended for educational and supportive purposes only.

My books and materials are designed to support emotional understanding, self-awareness, and reflection in children, particularly those with ADHD, and to support the adults who care for them.

They are not intended to diagnose, treat, or replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic support.
These resources are best used alongside other supports where appropriate.

If you have concerns about a child’s emotional wellbeing or development, please seek advice from a qualified health or education professional.

My Approach