Inclusive Teacher Co

My ADHD was missed because I was academic.

Stephanie Batey — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT

I looked fine on paper, so nobody looked closer.

That is the tension running through this episode - how ADHD can hide in plain sight when a girl is bright, articulate, high-achieving and broadly compliant.

I talk about being diagnosed at 37 after years of being seen as clever, academic and capable, while parts of school still felt bizarrely hard.

Not because I could not do the work, but because interest, relevance, pressure and memory were doing far more heavy lifting than anyone realised.

This episode challenges one of the laziest ideas still hanging around schools: that good grades cancel out the possibility of ADHD. They do not. A girl can be top set, hand in strong work and still be masking, overloaded and quietly struggling.

I also dig into why girls are still missed, why achievement can delay the right questions, and why we need to stop asking whether a child is achieving and start asking how she is managing to do it.

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Have a listen if you have ever mistaken achievement for ease.

Your child doesn’t hate reading. They hate what reading feels like.

Stephanie Batey — Tue, 19 May 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Children don't always hate reading, they just hate what reading feels like...

Constant nervous system shaking and the need to protect themselves from shame and embarrassment.

And it's no wonder, because they're always corrected more than their peers!

In this episode, I’m sharing my tonight-ready plan: no surprise performance, make it smaller, protect flow, and use one sentence that calms the whole moment.

If you are a parent, teacher, SENCO or school leader trying to understand ADHD and reading struggles more clearly, this episode will land.

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ADHD, Reading and the Children We’ve Been Misreading

Stephanie Batey — Tue, 05 May 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Some children are not refusing to learn.

They are hitting a wall before the task has even properly started.

In this episode, I talk about ADHD, reading difficulty and the children we’ve been getting wrong in school.

I explain why I call reading the passport skill and why weak, slow or effortful reading can quietly block access to everything - not just English, but maths word problems, science questions, revision, homework and exams too.

I reflect on what I got wrong earlier in my career, including the children I read as lazy, avoidant or not trying hard enough, when the real issue was reading access, cognitive overload and hidden literacy difficulty. I also talk about ADHD and dyslexia overlap, masking, reading comprehension, working memory and why some very bright children can look like they are underperforming when they are actually spending huge amounts of energy just trying to get through the text.

If you are a parent, teacher, SENCO or school leader trying to understand ADHD and reading struggles more clearly, this episode will land.

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Reading Is Not Just Academic. It’s Emotional Training.

Stephanie Batey — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Reading is usually framed as an academic skill. I think that misses the bigger picture.

For children with ADHD, reading can shape far more than school results. It can build emotional vocabulary, perspective-taking, self-understanding and the ability to respond rather than simply react. And when reading is hard, those quieter losses can stack up fast.

In this episode, I talk about why books help children recognise feelings, understand motives, make sense of behaviour and develop emotional intelligence over time. I also explore what happens when ADHD reading difficulties, weak fluency or overload get in the way - and why what looks like avoidance or lack of motivation may actually be stress, shame or cognitive overload.

If you are a parent, teacher, SENCO or school leader supporting a child with ADHD, this matters because reading difficulties do not just affect comprehension and attainment. They can also limit access to one of the safest ways children build insight into themselves and other people.

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If this shifts how you think about ADHD and reading, have a listen and see what stands out.

ADHD, autism and dyslexia labels - what actually does harm?

Stephanie Batey — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:00:00 GMT

ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia.

People panic the second a label enters the room. As if naming a child’s needs is the thing that will damage them.

I do NOT buy that.

In this episode, I talk about why so many parents and educators resist labels, why diagnosis can bring huge relief, and why the real danger is not understanding but ignorance, stigma and low expectations. I get into ADHD misconceptions, girls who mask and get missed, late diagnosis in women, self-diagnosis, and the difference between explanation and excuse.

Because no label does not mean no judgement. It usually means the wrong judgement wins. Lazy. Naughty. Difficult. Dramatic. Thick. And those labels do real damage.

If you work with neurodivergent children, support pupils in school, or you are trying to make sense of ADHD, autism or dyslexia in your own family, this conversation will give you a more honest way to think about diagnosis, behaviour, shame and support.

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If this one hits a nerve, listen through and send it to someone who needs to hear it.

Weak Literacy Puts Life Chances at Risk

Stephanie Batey — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMT

Reading is not just an English issue. It is a gateway skill.

When a child with ADHD falls behind in reading, the impact does not stay neatly inside literacy lessons. It spills into every subject, every homework battle, every exam question, every form, every instruction and every moment where independence depends on understanding words on a page.

In this episode, I make the case for why weak literacy puts life chances at risk. I talk about ADHD and reading comprehension, why some children can decode but not retain meaning, and why shame and avoidance can build fast when reading feels slow, confusing or exposing. I also share what the UK reading picture is telling us, why the warning lights are flashing, and what parents, teachers, SENCOs and school leaders need to notice before the gap gets bigger.

This matters because reading difficulty is not just about school performance. It affects confidence, access, revision, exams and long-term outcomes. For children with ADHD, hidden comprehension gaps can make it look like they are not trying, when actually the text is not sticking.

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Take a listen if you want a clearer, more compassionate way to understand why reading support cannot wait.

SEND White Paper

Stephanie Batey — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:54:24 GMT

Headlines about the SEND White Paper can hit like a punch.

In this episode I give my plain-English take on what the government is proposing: earlier support in mainstream, less reliance on EHCPs as the only route to help, and a new layer called an Individual Support Plan (ISP) to record and monitor provision.

I also share where I agree with the direction of travel (support shouldn’t be locked behind diagnosis and paperwork), and where I’m concerned: school capacity, admin load, meaningful training, and whether children who mask in school could still be missed.

I’m looking at this from both sides - families and the staff expected to deliver it.

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If you want fewer headlines and more clarity, press play and take what helps.