Brett Campbell (00:01.443)
Hello and welcome to another episode of Future Learners. I am Brett Campbell, the chairman and CEO of Euka Future Learning. I’m joined today by my guest as, or my guest host as always. Well, not guest host actually, let me start that again. I got a little bit bamboozled there, Ellen, because we don’t just have one amazing people joining us today, we’ve got two of you. So first of all, we are joined by Ellen Brown, the founder and head of education of Euka. I got there Ellen.
I got there. I don’t like to take two takes. So we just need to let people know that this is raw and real as it happens in real time. But what I was just too excited to get to our special guests that we have today. And I’m going to jump straight into that. I’m going to say, Brooke, thank you very much for joining us here today. I’m really looking forward to having a conversation about your journey with your son Noah and your, your affiliation with Yuka and your experience and, and all of the above. So thank you so much for taking the time out of your day.
Brooke (01:00.602)
Thank you. Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.
Brett Campbell (01:03.555)
Absolutely. It’s our pleasure. So what I’d love to do is I’d love to take our listeners on a bit of a journey, a bit of a journey. And I’m going to, we’re going to go back into time a little bit here. So we’re going to test our memories and I’d love to know from your perspective, where did it all start for you for homeschooling? Like what, what, what was the sort of moment where you’re sort of sitting there and you’re like, you know what homeschooling is the, the next consideration that I need to make. Take us back to that sort of time.
Brooke (01:32.89)
Okay, so Noah started kindergarten and at a normal local government school and we didn’t have a very great experience and it was quite difficult. They made it quite difficult and it was disappointing because my husband had always wanted me to home school Noah and I was quite against it because I went to traditional school so I thought that he wouldn’t.
he wouldn’t have social skills because these are the things that you think when you don’t know when you’re not in the environment. And so off we sent him to kindergarten and he has a lot of health challenges, my son, and he’s neurodiverse and we didn’t have any support for him and he would go for two days and be off sick for two weeks and the school would get funding for Noah and use it on other students and they wouldn’t send work home and…
It was clear to my husband and I that he was dyslexic and he couldn’t hear phonics and we would be doing our phonics and reading to him and he couldn’t make the sound back to us. And I went to the teacher and said, you know, I think he has dyslexia. Me and my husband are pretty sure. And…
This is his teacher who’s with him five days a week from nine till three. He said no, definitely not. He definitely doesn’t. And I said, I also think he has autism. And she said, oh, no, there’s no possible way. And I thought, I said, well, I also think he has ADHD. She said, no, I assure you he’s so compliant and he’s quiet. And I said, well, that doesn’t mean that he’s not struggling. Like I asked to see his work and his work was not.
not one piece of work was completed and so I thought well something weird’s going on and I had friends at home schooled and had listened to their you know positive experiences and Noah was never bullied so you know that’s not our experience. I was bullied by the school I will say that that I was bullied and not listened to and they made me feel like I was you know…
Brooke (03:55.258)
I was wrong about my own child.
And then COVID happened. And so like the majority of Australians, we all learnt what home learning was. And everybody thinks that that’s what homeschooling is because we all had this experience with home learning. And it’s not, it’s not the same. And home learning for us was terrible. So we had no support from the school. And I’m not just talking about our experience, but everybody in the class. So they would send you home this work. The parents wouldn’t understand it because math has changed.
since we went to school and English has changed and the curriculum and some of the things I’m like I don’t know what this what this means and I’ll have to google the words and and that was in first grade and and so then I started thinking well it’s clear to me that he’s dyslexic it’s clear to me that his reading level is not where it should be.
Brett Campbell (04:36.803)
Mm.
Brooke (04:51.482)
and I’m going to work on his English first and see if I can get his English back to where it should be for when he goes back to school. And we worked on his English and he did really well and I got his reading level up 16 levels. And I think that he actually was reading at a higher level but the teacher just was reading him at a lower level to make it easier. I don’t know. I can’t, you know.
Brett Campbell (05:13.667)
Right. And when you say 16 levels, can you sort of like quantify that for the listener of…
Brooke (05:20.058)
Oh, so like at our particular government school, you would read a certain number of books and if you successfully read them in the classroom without mistakes, they put you up a level of book. So on the back of some books that Noah would bring home, they would have levels on the back. And he was at level six in year one and he should have been… So seven?
Brett Campbell (05:42.755)
and how old was Nour at this stage?
Brooke (05:47.386)
Oh no, that’s not right. I don’t know. Six, he was six. I’m like, oh my goodness. I forgot how six, he was six. So by the end of kindergarten, they say that you should be at level 13. And so in year one, he was at level six. And I was like, why, why is he still at level six? But I found that his reading, he was actually at a level 27 by the time.
Brett Campbell (05:47.875)
seven. No? That’s all right. I asked the hard questions.
Ellen (05:52.447)
six.
Ellen (05:56.607)
Hahaha
Brett Campbell (05:56.611)
Yeah, okay.
Brooke (06:16.602)
you know, we were working with him. And so I was like, well, how come, like, how come I can get him to read level 27 books, but the teachers only got him on level six? Like, anyway, it just seemed a bit odd. And so when COVID finished, Noah’s doctors and I talked about him going back to school because he had, you know, he’s immunocompromised and has immune challenges and genetic issues. And they said that he would be safer until we knew more about COVID.
for him to be at home. So then I called UGA and I looked online for a few different programs and the school really pushed for distance education and I thought that was my only option and once I talked to people at distance education they said distance education won’t actually suit you because you have all these appointments and…
You can’t do the hours that are required for distance education day to day. You need something more flexible. So they were the ones who actually said homeschooling would be the best solution for you. And called Yuka frantically, not knowing what to do. And they did everything for me and helped me. And we’ve never left and we’ve never been happier. So that’s where we began.
Brett Campbell (07:32.867)
That’s amazing. That’s, that’s yeah. Yeah. No, that’s, that’s amazing. And I look forward to hearing more about that. I’d love to double tap on a couple of things that you said there. Um, and yeah, and this is one of the things that, that I’ve always been, you know, I guess thinking about quite deeply as it relates to, you know, a teacher in a classroom, they’ve got 20, 30 children and
You know, I’d like to say, and I believe this to be true majority of them are doing their absolute best to try and help. Right. However, some, some students just need a little bit of a push in the right direction or a little bit more attention potentially. So what I want to ask is, you know, you, you took Noah’s reading level from, I think you said, was it six to 27, if I remember correctly, like help, help me understand. Cause there’ll be parents listening to this going, you know, my child’s reading level, isn’t where it is. You know, you must be some magic.
Brooke (08:03.354)
Of course, 100%.
Brooke (08:09.562)
Yes. Yes.
Brooke (08:18.522)
Yeah, yes. Yes.
Brett Campbell (08:27.075)
reading teacher to help your child, you know, climb up the ladder there. But what were some of the things that you implemented with Noah?
Brooke (08:28.73)
No, no, no. So just repetition. So reading the same book over and over and over until he could memorize it basically. And then finding books.
of his interests. So Noah loves animals and dogs in particular. So I went online and bought every single dog book that you could find and also Harry Potter. And so we would listen to audio books were very, very helpful because he would hear, you know, especially in Harry Potter, these words that are, you know, quite difficult and he would hear them and he would say, Oh, what does that word mean, mum? And then I would explain it and, um,
Brett Campbell (08:51.523)
Hmm.
Brett Campbell (09:09.347)
Yeah.
Brooke (09:16.986)
we would, you know, when we were younger, I don’t know if you remember, but we would get these CD books and I loved them as a child because it would say play, play the CD and then turn, turn, turn the page when the, you know, the, the chimes and we used a lot of those as well and made reading really fun for him. And he just improved and.
Brett Campbell (09:26.627)
Remember cassette tapes.
Ellen (09:31.199)
Oh, I was going to say I remember record books.
Brett Campbell (09:36.003)
Yeah. Yeah.
Brooke (09:46.81)
I’m not a teacher, I don’t have any special skills. I love reading.
Brett Campbell (09:50.691)
But what you followed, but what you followed was the principles of how do you actually teach most people anything, right? Is the firstly, repetition is key. Like you, you, you can’t just read something once. I mean, look, there’s some people who can, you can read something once, cool. Got understanding of it, et cetera. But repetition is the key. I mean, I’ve got a three year old right now and I think repetition is the key of our entire household. I don’t know how many times I’ve done that. She’s onto like,
Brooke (09:59.226)
Yes.
Yes, yes.
Brooke (10:13.786)
Yes, yes, yes.
Brett Campbell (10:19.811)
Um, 60 piece bluey puzzles, right? Super small pieces now. And I’m just like, how many times do we have to do the same puzzle in the same? Like it’s, it’s unbelievable, but you see that’s how they learn. Right. And that’s it. That’s a, a really powerful skill that a lot of parents can learn. Cause I found with a lot of my friends, um, who have younger children, they’re like, Oh my God, if I have to do the same thing again. And, and they’re often changing because they’re bored with it where it’s like, well, has your child actually reached, you know, the mastery of that in that space?
Brooke (10:22.522)
That’s cute. Yes. It is, yes. Yes. Yes.
Brooke (10:44.538)
Yes.
Brett Campbell (10:48.867)
specific situation. But the other thing that you mentioned there as well, which I think is hands down, absolute imperative to learning and having the desire to continue to learn because you can only sit down with Noah for so long to go, Hey, let’s read this. It’s time to read this. But it’s like, what you would obviously aim to have is when you’re not around Noah and Noah is sitting on the couch or doing something in his room, it’s like he’s picking up a book of interest, right? And that’s the big thing that you mentioned there is
Brooke (10:49.018)
Yes.
Brooke (11:03.834)
Yes, yes that’s right. Yes.
Brooke (11:12.986)
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
Brett Campbell (11:17.283)
You went and bought every book known to man on a dog. So I have to ask what is Noah’s favorite dog?
Brooke (11:23.866)
A corgi. We don’t have a corgi but that’s what he wants. That’s his dream dog.
Brett Campbell (11:25.571)
A corgi.
Brett Campbell (11:30.019)
I bet he knows everything about it too.
Ellen (11:32.351)
I think I’ve got a little bit of it.
Brooke (11:32.506)
He does. He loves.
Ellen (11:35.615)
I’ve got a little bit of a question about that journey that you went on, Brooke. So how did Noah go with that transition from year one and into homeschooling? What was his feelings and how did you prepare him for that so that it was a positive experience for him?
Brooke (11:38.01)
show.
Brooke (11:52.474)
We talked to Noah about what he wanted to do as well. So we were a household that he’s included in most of our decisions, especially such a big decision because education is most of his life until he’s a young adult. And so we talked to him about COVID, we talked to him about the decisions.
He was quite frightened of COVID because of his health problems, so he was quite happy to stay at home and give it a try. And we always said to him that if this at any time doesn’t work for us or for you and you miss your friends, or we can change. Everything is adaptable and that’s what you could talk me as well. When I rang up and said, how do I get my, you know, my child’s learning up? How do I get them into read better? They gave me tips like,
printing off the top 100 sight words and printing them and laminating them and going over and over and over them with Noah until they were like in his brain. And then I sent them on to the next homeschooling family who told me they were having a challenge with their child’s reading. Sorry, I went off topic. But he…
loves being homeschooled and he didn’t struggle with the transition. He loves it. If someone came and said Noah has to go back to traditional school today, that would be such a challenge. Whereas for us, the other way around, it was so easy for us.
Brett Campbell (13:26.915)
And something you said a little bit earlier, you said your partner, husband wanted to homeschool Noah immediately. Is that because he’s actually been homeschooled or was it, he just thought that would be the initial best thing for Noah or he didn’t want the schooling system? What was that like? Because, you know,
Brooke (13:33.818)
Yes.
No, no. So yeah, I think, you know, probably the schooling system. So he had a pretty negative reaction, negative experience, I guess, with with traditional school. And he now is an adult, is ASD. And he would be, he is, would have been and was a very disruptive student because he was bored.
and highly intelligent and needed assistance but back then they were just classed as naughty children and that was sent out into the hall and he was suspended quite a lot.
And so his experience was that it wasn’t suited for everybody. Whereas I was a really good student and a really good, you know, never got in trouble, always did the right thing, loved learning. So I was like, oh, he’ll be like me. He’ll love it. Like, why would I deprive him of that? And, um,
And then by the time that COVID came around, we both had kind of switched. I was like, yeah, no, we’re going to homeschool. And he was quite nervous. Like we did a 180, both of us. But of course he’s supportive now. But and he also he’s from the United States. So he learned on a different, you know, he learned a different metric system to us. His English is completely different. Their spelling is different. So he was worried that.
Brooke (15:07.77)
If I wasn’t here and he had to teach Noah one day, but he wouldn’t even know because he didn’t. Yeah. When he came here, he didn’t know what a kilometer was, what a centimeter was, you know what I mean? Like, so he’s learned as well.
Brett Campbell (15:11.203)
I was gonna have to take him.
Brett Campbell (15:17.123)
Yeah. Yeah.
Brett Campbell (15:22.595)
Excellent. So you’ve now been on the journey for a couple of years homeschooling. It would be three years, wouldn’t it? If I’m doing a timeline. Fifth year. Well, geez, time flies, doesn’t it? Okay. So five years. What would some of the things you would share to parents who are considering potentially homeschooling, whether it be for a specific need or whether it’s just a desire or a want to change? What are some of the things that…
Brooke (15:28.89)
No, this is our fifth year. This is year five, yeah.
Yeah.
Brett Campbell (15:51.203)
you thought you believed about homeschooling that weren’t true. Meaning when you actually entered into homeschooling, you’re like, oh, wow. Because I see this every day and in conversations I have and even myself, still deeply understanding the industry itself. I think homeschooling is almost like a best kept secret in many ways. The education really isn’t out there enough for families to turn. That’s, I guess, another big reason as to why we’re trying to do what we’re doing here is to…
Brooke (16:12.602)
Yes.
Brooke (16:19.738)
you.
Brett Campbell (16:20.931)
share the opportunity that is out there. But yeah, what were some of the things that you believe to be true that you no longer believe?
Brooke (16:27.962)
Yeah, so I had this outdated vision almost like you see homeschoolers as like little house on the prairie people. Like that you think that they’re backwards in their thinking or…
Brooke (16:52.154)
you know, lots, lots of children and they homeschool because they’re afraid of the government or like this is what I thought. And then I watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie and they actually go to school on Little House on the Prairie. So I was like, what am I thinking? Because they actually go off to this little school and they, they have a wonderful education and they come home and they help on the farm. And I thought that, I thought that they didn’t follow the curriculum.
Ellen (17:06.079)
I’m sorry.
Brooke (17:19.354)
I thought that they could do whatever they wanted or they didn’t have to do any work. I didn’t know that they were regulated. I didn’t know that they, you know, they had to submit their work. I thought that their children would be socially awkward. I just thought and everything I thought was wrong, everything, because everyone I know that homeschools, their children are so…
socially aware and they’re socialized and they’re not weirdos and if they do have challenges they actually get more support in homeschool than they would at traditional school and if they are bullied they’re safe being homeschooled and it opens up this world that not everybody has access to and Noah and I are gone some days five days a week.
Brett Campbell (17:57.443)
Mm -hmm.
Brooke (18:18.938)
and have like a how would he go to normal school, a traditional school I should say, and see even the way that and see I get questioned all the time about why would I do this and they feel sorry for me they always say they feel sorry for me as a parent and I’m like why I get to spend all this time with my child and and it is regulated and we follow a curriculum and we have to you know submit our assessments and
Brett Campbell (18:26.979)
Mm -hmm.
Brett Campbell (18:34.243)
Mmm.
Brooke (18:48.698)
It’s the exact curriculum that traditional school is doing, but we’re doing it around our lifestyle. And my son can be himself and he’s safe and he’s well. And I don’t really care if people think we’re weirdos, because we’re not.
Brett Campbell (19:07.555)
Yeah, that’ll be that that’ll be the title of the podcast we are not weirdos
Brooke (19:12.922)
But the thing is, even when I went to school, there were people, everyone’s different, and there were people that I went to school with that were eclectic and didn’t fit into the box. And I think back now and I think, oh, they probably would have thrived in homeschool.
They just didn’t want everybody thrives in especially boys and people who have ADHD. They can’t sit still for that amount of time and they’re missing their life outdoors. And you can let us do activities outside and or in the library or in the car or, you know, any any way that suits my child.
Brett Campbell (19:59.299)
Yeah. Amazing. Thank you for sharing. Um, let, let’s share a few sort of tactical things. I know obviously there’s lots of parents potentially considering homeschooling, but we’ve also got a lot of parents who listen to this, who are, you know, similar to yourself being homeschooling for a while or just starting homeschooling, et cetera. And, and it always comes down to sometimes the Achilles heel of eucharist because well, not just you could, but homeschooling itself is that you can have a lot of flexibility and sometimes with a lot of flexibility.
can become overwhelmed of, oh my God, I just need to be told exactly what to do, right? So, but the beauty of having flexibility is the ability for you to help design, you know, with parameters of course, but you get to design your school day, school week, school month, et cetera. So myself and Ellen, we did a podcast a few weeks ago now where we broke down, you know, the average sort of here’s how you can plan your year. Here’s how you can plan your term. Here’s how you can plan your month, week, day.
Brooke (20:33.21)
Yes.
Brett Campbell (20:58.723)
down to the minute. What are some of the things that you could share with our families around how you plan and maybe if you want to start it as how do you look ahead for the year maybe? Let’s get, you know, we’re recording this and it’s, you know, we’re still at the start -ish of the year per se, we’re coming into term two, but how do you tackle looking ahead for the year? What is a couple of things you do there and then we can sort of reverse engineer back to then how do you look at a term? How do you look at your week and then how do you look at your day?
Brooke (21:14.138)
Yes.
Brooke (21:29.082)
So yearly, I obviously get the program for the whole year. And so I usually in the school holidays, I look through and see what materials that we need and what I think would suit Noah or might not suit Noah in the activities. And the good thing about the activities is that they are made for every type of learner. So Noah is a visual learner.
and a hands -on learner and I’m not I’m an auditory learner so I at the beginning taught him like an auditory learner and we were having this you know frustration because he doesn’t learn how I do but anyway I try not to
overwhelm myself and I do tend to plan more term to term and so I have a you know have a corner in the dining room where I have all of the folders that I you know print out in advance put them in the folders put them away order the books that I need
If I need certain resources from the craft shop or the $2 shop, I go and get them so that I’m prepared. I like to be prepared in advance. I don’t like to open the page and it say, you know, you need 40 pipe cleaners or, you know, like it doesn’t say that, but you know what I mean? Like, I don’t want to be like, Oh my God. I like to, you know, know, know where we’re going. And I think that helps Noah too, that if I’m organized, he’s more likely to be organized too. And.
Brett Campbell (22:43.331)
He’s like, where’s the plug, Penis?
Ellen (22:46.079)
Thank you.
Brooke (22:59.258)
I have to still work with Noah one on one. So we’re not at a stage where Noah’s working independently without me. He does sometimes on the computer do computer work alone, but because of his learning challenges, I do have to help him. So I have to plan my days around him where I can sit and work with him side by side. And sometimes life happens and you can plan all you like, but yeah, sometimes.
sometimes you don’t have any time to do any work at all and that’s okay and that took me about a year to really be like okay I had to I had to unschool myself if that makes sense because I at the beginning wanted you know wanted him to wake up at this certain time and we start at this certain time and if he was having a bad day and we couldn’t do it like it just was so overwhelming for me but
Now that we’ve got further along and I’ve learned more about the importance of sleep for him and we can talk about that later if you like that our days are much more flexible and sometimes planning day to day is better than planning a year in advance but if you are the type of person that likes to plan in advance, Yuka can do that for you because it’s all there and that’s the good thing about Yuka.
is that I’m so busy in my life with Noah and his OT and speech and his doctors that I needed a program that was a one -stop shop so I can do the reporting, I can upload his work, I’m fulfilling the legal obligations and Yuka’s doing all of the work for me and I’m just working with Noah the day to day and that’s what I needed. Not everybody wants to do that, some people want to do the report.
themselves but the new reporting particularly is so easy and you don’t have to worry and yeah we’re all busy and this just takes one more weight off my shoulders as well so I don’t have to and and the fact that it’s you know written by teachers and there’s teachers in the office that can support us is so amazing.
Brett Campbell (25:22.211)
So, go ahead.
Ellen (25:22.559)
just got a question around registration reporting your connections with with Nessa. I’m assuming you’ve got an AP that which is called an authorised person in case you you’re out there and you don’t know what happens in New South Wales. So in New South Wales, you have a person who I like to think. Yeah.
Brooke (25:30.458)
Yes, yes.
Brett Campbell (25:39.075)
You also might want to, Alan, just Alan, you might also want to let people know what NESA is.
Ellen (25:46.975)
Oh, well, yes. Well, that’s actually the Department of Education in New South Wales. So in New South Wales, the Department of Education has one area that handles their homeschooling, which is NESA. And then what happens when you join homeschooling is you’re assigned to an authorised person who handles all the homeschooling people in one particular area. So before COVID,
Brett Campbell (25:48.323)
Not Vanessa!
Brooke (25:51.77)
Hehehehe
Ellen (26:11.455)
all of those authorized people would come out and visit you and sit with you and have a chat through what you were doing, what you’re planning and that kind of thing. Now, when COVID came, that all turned into online meetings and discussions. And I actually have heard that most parents have found that to be really much more wonderful than having someone come out. So just your experience on that, Brooke, would be really interesting in, you know, we’ve got a lot of parents when they first start that that’s like,
Brooke (26:29.722)
Yes.
Ellen (26:41.151)
a nerve wracking part of their experience is that, you know, getting in the APs meeting for the first time or even with reporting and work samples. What’s your experience been in there in that?
Brooke (26:52.538)
So for our first reporting I got Yuca to do all of the, they were called Complete Education at the time when we joined, now Yuca. So I rang.
I did a couple of surveys online to work out what Noah’s strengths were. We did some work. They submitted all the paperwork for me and then the AP was on Zoom. They were very nice, very nice person. I’ve had three or four different ones now. They’re all very nice. But I still
get nervous even to this day even when I know that you could does the reporting you know and everything’s done for me I still get nervous because I think you feel like they’re going to say no that’s it you know no we’re taking this opportunity away from you you can’t do it anymore but that’s not what happens you can makes it very easy so that everything is you know all
their I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed and you know that you don’t have to worry about any of that but they’ve all been so lovely. It’s usually like a 20 minute zoom and you just show some of the child’s work and you talk about the understanding like is your child meeting the requirement or do they need extra work? In those meetings if your child you know does have some learning challenges you can say look…
he’s not at this level and we need to change the level. So I’ve spoken to Yuka for an example if you have someone who’s doing really well at English and you can move them up a level you can do that with Yuka they can change the level or if you’re having someone who’s struggling you can bring them back to a lower level until they understand more and then move forward and so that’s what you talk to your AP about you talk to them about your daily life and what activities you do like if you go bushwalking or…
Brooke (28:59.738)
swimming or activities like that and then they give you an approval. So our first approval was three months and then we went again and then we got a year approval and then now we get two yearly approvals. And so it’s not as daunting when it gets to two years because you have more time to prepare everything. And it’s always been positive.
Brett Campbell (29:20.739)
It’s like anything, right? When you’re starting new, yeah. It’s like starting anything new, there’s always going to be the hesitation or the unsure nature of how something might pan out. But again, and to your point there, and that’s the reason as to why we offer those elements of our, not just the curriculum, but it’s the two other key drivers, the reporting and registration is a big thing because…
Brooke (29:28.122)
Yes.
Brooke (29:41.562)
Yes.
Brooke (29:46.138)
Yeah.
Brett Campbell (29:47.395)
parents have enough to worry about on the decision itself, right? Then having to figure those things out. I’d love to ask sort of a…
Brooke (29:48.922)
100%. Yeah. Yeah.
It’s so easy with Yuka. I really recommend anyone who is doubting their ability to do it all just try the reporting once and you won’t go back. It’s so easy.
Brett Campbell (30:07.011)
Hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so I’d love to just sort of finish up on what I’d say is the most important, um, topic and that is Noah, right? I want to know from your perspective as, as a mother, as, as, you know what I mean? As a father myself, there’s nothing I love more than my child, right? So the love that a parent has for their child is we do anything for them. So what are the things that you’ve noticed in Noah? Um,
Brooke (30:25.882)
Yes. Yes.
Brett Campbell (30:36.323)
as, you know, as a young boy and growing and evolving, what are the things that, that you’ve noticed within him that I guess, and I know you’ve been homeschooling for circa five years now, but pre homeschooling and then now homeschooling, what are the things that you never thought you might’ve seen within Noah that, you know, you’re seeing now, given that he’s got that, you know, different level of autonomy to learn and take care of himself. Um, and, you know, as he’s growing, what, what are, what are some things there that you’ve noticed?
Brooke (31:07.098)
So really early on, and I touched on this earlier, I noticed that his sleep was quite terrible. And I did a lot of research around how to improve his sleep so that he would grow better and he would learn better. So what we did was he had three sleep studies to make sure nothing was wrong with his sleep. And it was just his ADHD in the end, making him incredibly hyperactive and hard to go to sleep. And so…
Brett Campbell (31:15.299)
Mm.
Brooke (31:36.666)
The sleep doctor actually said that he has a pattern of sleep similar to a teenage boy so that he needs to go to sleep a little bit later and he needs to sleep a little bit later in the mornings. And if you could try that for three to six months to see if that would change things and change his health and change his attitude and make him more alert when he wakes up. And because when we all go to school and we go to work.
We’re all rushing in the morning and we’re all like, get up, get up, get up. You’re going to have your breakfast. You got to put your shoes on. And we’re all, we all leave on this terrible note. And that’s one big positive that I’ve known since in him, since we started homeschooling is that he’s not rushed to leave the house if we’re not going anywhere. I let him naturally wake up his body. I don’t wake him. And if he wakes up really late, then he wakes up really late, but he’s rested and he sleeps.
and he learns better on those days.
Maybe that’s just what’s working for Noah, but I think we all need that. That we’re all exhausted, we’re overstimulated, we’re all over booked. I’ve noticed that change in him. He’s more confident now than he was before. When he was in kindergarten and he was struggling with work, he wouldn’t put his hand up, he wouldn’t ask for help, he wouldn’t tell the teacher that he was struggling. So the teacher could only do so much as well because he was
Brett Campbell (32:41.379)
Mmm.
Brooke (33:05.084)
saying it. Now if he doesn’t understand he says, Mom I don’t get it can you please explain it in a different way or I get my husband to explain it in a different way.
What we noticed with the dyslexia, we did as much research as we could. There isn’t very much help for dyslexia, but YouTube is a very good resource for anything or any challenges your child has. You can Google any information and videos will pop up. There’s somebody in the world with the same issue that you’re having and so you feel less alone.
me worrying about him and his social skills. His social skills have improved because he’s having these these in -depth conversations about topics that he loves and he loves learning about. And you know we have three hour drives to the children’s hospital there like three hours one way three hours back and we we talk about ancient Egypt and we talk about
politics and he loves WWE for instance he’s obsessed and so I get him to talk about the history of WWE and the statistics and so he’s learning as he’s speaking and he doesn’t even know and he’s happy and he’s not sick and his immune system is not affected and he’s thriving and it’s been such a wonderful experience for our whole family not just for Noah.
Brett Campbell (34:09.603)
Haha.
Brett Campbell (34:19.747)
Mmm.
Brett Campbell (34:32.259)
Mm.
Brooke (34:32.826)
and he doesn’t feel singled out because he’s neurodiverse and he doesn’t feel different to other children in the class.
we work on his strengths, you know, and what he what he what challenges him we we can come back to it later and and we’ll rework it in a different way and we just adapt the whole program to him and he’s he’s a happier child and once you know when your child’s happy everything’s good.
Brett Campbell (35:01.923)
That’s amazing.
Hmm. Yeah. Look, firstly, you touched on so many things there that, um, I’m not even going to double tap on any of it because you said it so beautifully. So, um, yeah, first of all, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to speak with us and also share your journey, you know, with the thousands of families, um, around the country and also obviously around the world. Um, and also thank you for being an amazing mom to Noah. Um, amazing.
Brooke (35:13.85)
Yeah.
Brooke (35:20.506)
Thank you. Thanks.
Brooke (35:33.882)
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Brett Campbell (35:35.459)
amazing to see and keep up the amazing work. So thank you so much. And to our amazing listener, thank you for tuning in. If you’ve gotten value out of this episode, please head over to iTunes, Spotify, drop a five star comment. We’d really, really appreciate it. And if you got value out of this episode, make sure that you send it to someone else who you think might get value too. So with that being said, we will see you on the next one.
Brooke (35:38.458)
Thank you. Thank you.
Brooke (35:58.426)
Thank you. See you.
Brett Campbell (36:02.595)
Thank you very much.
