Understanding Perfectionism:
The Hidden Fear of Failure in Neurodiverse Students (AS, ADHD, ODD, PDA, OCD)
Perfectionism in Neurodiverse Children
Discussed in this Episode:
✅ The Finn story: a student who pushed peers over to be first, because teachers had rewarded being first every time.
✅ The ODD student who derailed lessons by saying “this is stupid, this is boring, this is dumb,” then was met by a social script written in his own language.
✅ The little girl who twisted her glue stick too far, broke it, and became upset. Sue used calm co-regulation: “Uh-oh, it’ll break. We need to roll it back down. Let’s do it together.”
✅Audrey, the PDA student whose voice would turn angry while negotiating (“Can I just do this bit? Can I work with this person?”).
✅ The OCD student (twice exceptional, very high IQ) who took a long time to move between classes because of constant checking and end-of-lesson questions.
✅ The autism school strategy: doing the daily schedule cut, paste, and place activity every single day so children with autism experienced repeated success.
✅ The Zoom workshop experiment: educators were asked to pull out their phones, pick a task they had been avoiding, and set a timer for the weekend to start it.
✅ Hand-over-hand cutting practice with the student’s flapping arm tucked in, so the paper stayed steady.
✅ Writing a social script that used the exact phrases her ODD student had been using (boring, stupid), eventually turning them into a shared joke once trust was built.
✅ Letting an ADHD child who always needs to win be the umpire, starter, or ribbon-giver at sports day so they could stay regulated and involved.
Learn about Perfectionism for Neurodiverse Students Today!
A Visual to Understand Perfectionism in Neurodiverse Students
Resources Mentioned in This Podcast
Red Beast Anger Workbook
This very practical workbook shows Danni coming to terms with the reasons for his angry outbursts and learning ways to control his Red Beast.
Included are a number of black & white illustrations from the new edition that are excellent for discussion times – the children can colour them in as you talk about the content – very therapeutic.
Suitable for ages 5 to 10.
$48.95
9 in stock
ABC’s “You Can’t Ask That” Episode Referenced in This Episode
Recommended Courses
Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder: Knowledge to Improve Student Learning, Participation and Outcomes
Recommended Podcasts
Episode 338:
Why Choice Making is so hard for Neurodiverse Children and What To Do (AS, ADHD, PDA, AuDHD)
Episode 339:
PDA vs. ODD: A Guide to Supporting Pathological Demand Avoidance in Schools
Episode 290:
Building Confidence: Understanding the 5 Key Obstacles to Neurodiverse Students’ Learning (ASD, ODD, PDA, ADHD)
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
UNDERSTANDING AuDHD: Teaching & Supporting Students with Autism and ADHD Co-occurrence
✅ 2 Hours, 8 Lessons
✅ 6 Weeks to Complete
✅ Certificate of Completion
✅ Lesson Transcripts
2 Hours
Certificate
$149























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