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ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person regulates attention, impulses, and activity levels. It is commonly identified in childhood but can continue throughout adulthood. People with ADHD may experience patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that make tasks such as focusing on instructions, organising work, managing time, or sitting still for long periods more difficult. ADHD does not affect intelligence, but it can significantly influence how a person learns and interacts with their environment. In education settings, ADHD is recognised as a disability under human rights law when it creates barriers to learning or participation. Schools have a duty to accommodate students with ADHD by removing barriers and providing appropriate supports. These may include adjustments such as flexible seating, movement breaks, organisational supports, or alternative ways of demonstrating learning.

Many parents feel frightened to keep their child home from school, even when the child is clearly distressed or traumatised. Families are often told that school attendance is mandatory and may worry that lawyers or child protection authorities will intervene if their child…

The apology is probably not coming. It is worth saying plainly, before anything else, because so much of what keeps families suspended in the aftermath of institutional harm is the unspoken anticipation of it — the sense that healing cannot properly…

Success in school complaints rarely looks like the resolution families imagined when they began. There is almost never an apology. There is rarely an admission that something went wrong. The school will not, in most cases, say plainly that your child…

Complaints are stressful for the whole family, and children are perceptive in ways that adults consistently underestimate. A child does not need to overhear a specific conversation to absorb the tension that a complaint process generates — they feel it in…

Institutional normalisation is not a legal defence, and it is not a satisfactory answer. “This is our practice” is one of the most common responses families receive when they challenge something a school has been doing for a long time without…

Yes. Many families assume they must choose one path and exhaust it before opening another. In reality, different pathways address different dimensions of the same harm, and pursuing them in parallel is not only permitted — it is often strategically essential.…

The biggest risk is not conflict. It is lost options. BC’s formal complaint pathways carry hard deadlines that run whether or not you are aware of them. A human rights complaint must generally be filed within one year of the last…

Documentation threatens ambiguity, and ambiguity protects institutions. When parents begin keeping clear records — dates, quotes, follow-ups — schools may shift tone. You might be labelled “adversarial” or “untrusting.” This response is about risk management, not your behaviour. Documentation is not…

Procedural unfairness is about how decisions are made, not just what decisions are reached. Common examples include: Procedural unfairness matters because it is reviewable. Bodies like the Ombudsperson do not re-decide educational policy — they assess whether the process was fair, transparent, and…

“Collaboration” is often presented as a moral requirement, but it is not always appropriate — especially when serious harm is occurring. Collaboration assumes shared power and good faith. Many complaint situations involve neither. When a school controls information, staffing, documentation, and…