Building Confidence, Reducing Anxiety: Using Educational Platforms to Empower Neurodivergent Individuals.

Liz Day, from Touch-type Read and Spell (TTRS), explains how the TTRS platform can help.

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Mental health is vital for everyone, but for neurodivergent individuals, such as those with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other cognitive differences, it can present unique challenges. Experiencing misunderstandings, frustration, and struggles in an academic setting can increase an individual's vulnerability to mental health difficulties, which is why providing the right support early on is so important to foster resilience, confidence, and well-being.

In the context of mental health, protective factors strengthen an individual’s ability to cope with stress and adversity, while risk factors increase the likelihood of experiencing mental health issues. Fortunately, we have educational tools that focus on building skills and confidence and can tip the balance toward positive outcomes. One such tool is Touch-type Read and Spell (TTRS), a supportive, accessible platform that helps individuals build typing, reading, and spelling skills in a structured, empowering way.

Understanding the Needs of Neurodivergent Individuals
Neurodivergent learners often face challenges that go beyond academics. Struggles with self-esteem, difficulty communicating, and repeated academic setbacks can contribute to feelings of failure and isolation. Without the right interventions, these challenges may evolve into more serious mental health risks. Recognising and addressing these needs is critical in supporting long-term mental health and success.

Protective Factors Strengthened by TTRS

• Building Confidence and Self-Efficacy:

TTRS focuses on small, achievable steps. Every completed module represents a success, reinforcing a learner’s sense of achievement and their belief in their own abilities.

• Supporting Academic Success:

Mastering practical typing and literacy skills provides neurodivergent individuals with tools that directly enhance their academic or workplace performance, opening doors to broader opportunities.

• Enhancing Communication Skills:

Improved spelling and writing fluency allow for clearer self-expression. For many neurodivergent individuals, this can lead to stronger social connections and a better sense of belonging.

• Promoting a Growth Mindset:

TTRS encourages learners to focus on progress over perfection. Celebrating effort and improvement helps nurture perseverance and reduces fear of making mistakes.

Risk Factors Reduced by TTRS
Reducing Feelings of Failure and Frustration:
The program’s step-by-step approach minimises overwhelm and builds momentum through positive reinforcement.

• Minimising Social Isolation:

As communication skills strengthen, opportunities for peer interaction and connection increase, reducing the risk of loneliness.

• Decreasing Anxiety Around Learning Tasks:

TTRS’s repetitive and predictable structure offers a safe, reassuring environment. This sense of control can significantly lower anxiety, particularly for learners who feel overwhelmed in more traditional settings.

• Preventing School Avoidance or Dropout:

Positive early experiences with learning can transform attitudes toward education, making it more likely that learners stay engaged and motivated.

Why TTRS Works Well for Neurodivergent Learners
TTRS’s multisensory approach—combining visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic input—matches the diverse ways neurodivergent individuals learn best. Its self-paced structure allows learners to take ownership of their progress without the pressure of competition or rigid timelines. Most importantly, TTRS focuses on celebrating strengths rather than highlighting deficits, offering a pathway to empowerment rather than discouragement.

By enhancing protective factors and reducing risk factors, TTRS offers neurodivergent learners a powerful foundation for lifelong mental well-being. It builds literacy and typing skills and nurtures confidence, resilience, and a love of learning. Educators, therapists, and families seeking to support neurodivergent individuals' mental health would do well to consider TTRS, not just as an educational tool, but as a bridge to greater empowerment and a brighter future.

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Would you like to get involved in our conversations? Contact BATA’s Communications Co-ordinator Jade Hegarty by emailing jade.hegarty@bataonline.org.