Note:  This resource guide is written directly for students with learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism. If you're a parent or educator seeking strategies to support neurodivergent students, see our companion guide " When Education Becomes Trauma: A Guide for Parents and Educators. " To understand the systemic issues in education that create trauma for neurodivergent students, see our advocacy piece " When Education Becomes Trauma: Why Our Schools Are Failing Neurodivergent

Epilogue: The Onion Replanted Every peeling must lead somewhere. The onion, once opened layer by layer, does not simply disappear. What remains is not just the core we found, it’s the knowledge we’ve gathered, the empathy we’ve grown, and the connections we’ve made along the way. Peeling the onion was never about reaching an ending; it was about learning to see depth where others see only surface. Each layer taught us something vital. Visibility reminded us to look closer. Ac

Note:  This is an advocacy piece calling for systemic change in education. If you're looking for practical strategies to help neurodivergent students right now, see our companion guide " When Education Becomes Trauma: A Guide for Parents and Educators. " Key Points If you read nothing else, know this: The crisis is real : Neurodivergent students face 10x the mental health risk of their peers, with autistic children 46x more likely to experience severe school distress. The num

Week 10  The Core: Identity as Liberation   At last, we reach the center. We have peeled away the thin skin of visibility, the fragile bridges of access, the layered misunderstandings of communication and education, the ache of isolation, the rebuilding of community, and the discovery of culture. And what remains here is not emptiness. What remains is the core . The core is identity , the unshakable truth of being Deaf, of being autistic, of being ADHD, of being fully and una

This is the first post in a new series exploring education trauma and its impact on parents, educators, and neurodivergent learners. Every Wednesday, we'll dive deeper into a different aspect of this critical topic—from a guide for parents and educators (this post) to why school is failing neurodivergent students to a resource guide for students with LD, ADHD, and autism. Whether you're a parent, educator, therapist, or advocate, this series will provide you with the knowledg

Week 9  The Layer of Thriving: From Surviving to Growth   At this layer, the onion no longer feels sharp or heavy. The tears have already been shed. The lessons have already been learned. We are close to the center now, the heart of life revealing itself. Here, the question changes. We move past how do we survive? and begin to ask: what does it mean to thrive? Survival  is where many of us begin. It’s the quiet strength of navigating schools without language access, of worki

Week 8  The Layer of Family: Connection and Community   The next layer we reach is about connection , the bonds that shape us long before we can name them: family and community. For many Deaf children, family is the first and most powerful test of belonging. Some grow up in homes where parents learn ASL, where conversations flow in the language of the hands, where laughter is visual as much as audible. In these homes, Deafness is not treated as loss but as another way of bein

" Masking is an autistic trait, but autistics don't mask because we are autistic. We mask because we have been traumatized from being in a society where everything we do is criticized because we don't fit the norm. " - autistic advocate Morgaan Foley. This quote shows what many autistic people experience: masking isn't a natural part of being autistic. It happens because society treats autistic behavior as wrong and constantly criticizes it. This is what autism masking really

Week 7  The Cultural Layer: Identity and Shared Belonging   As the onion opens further, we arrive at culture , the layer where identity begins to take shape not just inside the individual, but in the shared space between people. This is the point where I am  becomes we are. For Deaf people, this layer is called Deafhood . Deafhood is not a diagnosis or a label. It is not about what is missing, but about what is made.  It is the process of becoming, the unfolding of self throu

"Just focus." People with ADHD hear this all the time. From teachers, parents, bosses, and friends who mean well. The message is simple: if they just tried harder , everything would be okay. But this advice gets it wrong: ADHD isn't about focusing. It's about controlling where your focus goes. The Myth of the Attention Deficit The name "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" is misleading. It suggests that people with ADHD don't pay attention to things. But anyone who actu

Week 6  The Layer of Language: Self-Worth and the Right to be Understood   Deeper into the onion, we reach the layer where learning and living touch the heart: language and self-worth. Language is more than vocabulary, grammar, or even expression. It is the mirror through which we come to see ourselves. When a child grows up with full access to language, whether through ASL, Auslan, or any form of genuine communication something profound takes root. They learn that their thou

First: take a breath. Whatever you're feeling right now is okay. You might feel overwhelmed, relieved, confused, or scared. Maybe all of these at once. That's completely normal. You might be thinking about what comes next. Or looking back at your life in a new way. You might worry that things just got more difficult. We understand. Many of us have been right where you are now. This diagnosis isn't the end of something. It's the beginning of finally understanding yourself. Her

Week 5  The Educational Layer: Misunderstood Intelligence   Peel again, and we find the classroom. For many Deaf children, and for many who are also autistic or ADHD, school is the first place where the story of being “misunderstood” begins. Intelligence, for them, is often measured by how closely they can fit into hearing norms or neurotypical expectations by how well they perform within systems never designed with their minds, rhythms, or languages in mind. A Deaf child ma

"You're smart. You just need to work harder." If you've heard this—or said it to someone—you know it feels good and bad at the same time. For millions of people with learning disabilities, ADHD, and Autism, this phrase doesn't help. It's a lie that stays with them for years. It says their problems are their fault. That if they just tried harder, everything would be okay. But learning disabilities, ADHD, and Autism don't work that way. Why This Label Is So Damaging When you te

Week 4  The Layer of Belonging: The Space Where We Breathe   The next layer we reach is the social one, the profoundly human need to belong . To be Deaf, to be autistic, to live with ADHD, often means standing at the edge of conversations that move in unfamiliar rhythms. It can mean being the only one signing in a sea of spoken words, the only one pausing to process while others rush ahead, the only one whose timing and energy seem out of sync with everyone else’s. That diffe

Week 3  The Layer of Communication: Expression and Understanding   Peel back another layer, and we arrive at the heart of interaction: how we communicate.  At the surface, many people assume that “communication” simply means speaking and listening that it begins with sound and ends with words. But that is only one narrow slice of the vast landscape of human expression. Real communication is richer, broader, and infinitely more nuanced. It lives not just in the voice or the ea

Week 2  The First Layer: Access   Once the thin skin of visibility is set aside, the first true layer we reach is access . For many people outside the Deaf community, this is where the conversation begins and often, where it ends. Access is what they see on the surface: captions glowing across the bottom of a screen, an interpreter standing beside a speaker, hearing aids or cochlear implants presented as “solutions,” or technology marketed as a bridge to the hearing world. Th

Week 1 The Surface Layer: Visibility The surface is where most people begin. It’s where curiosity first meets awareness. You notice what’s easiest to see: someone signing across a room, someone reading captions at the bottom of a screen, someone using their eyes, hands, and expressions to navigate a conversation. That first impression matters, it’s an entry point, a doorway into a different way of being. But like the paper-thin skin of an onion, it’s only the beginning. It is

Prologue: Why an Onion? Why an onion? Because an onion holds its truth in layers. At first glance, it seems ordinary: smooth, pale, and wrapped in papery skin. You can hold it in your hand and think you already know it. But once you begin to peel it back, something happens. The air sharpens. The scent grows stronger. One layer gives way to another, each thin but distinct, each essential to the whole. The deeper you go, the more your eyes water, and you realize that understand

Disclaimer:  We are not scientists or researchers, and this article simply collects and presents information available at the time of...