I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to speak on Channel 7’s Sunrise this morning about late-diagnosed ADHD in women.
While I didn’t get to cover everything, I appreciate the chance to start the conversation and raise awareness. There’s so much more to discuss, so I’m sharing my full thoughts here for those who want to dive deeper…
Over the course of my online Digital Parenting Program you will be guided through a step-by-step process to reduce screen time, break unhealthy digital habits, and develop healthier routines that will improve your young person’s overall well-being.
Online Digital Parenting Program
You’ll enjoy…
Zoom Call time and dates:
The course is presented by Vivian Dunstan
For more details contact Vivian on vivian@adhdsupportaustralia.com.au
Social skills are crucial for forming meaningful and lasting relationships, which help make us more resilient. Unfortunately, poor social skills can lead to negative outcomes, including mental health issues and difficulties in forming friendships. This is something that is particularly prevalent in our neurodivergent community.
PARENTING CHILDREN WITH ADHD 6-WEEK ONLINE (INTERACTIVE – Includes 6 weekly group Zoom calls – TERM 2)
INVESTMENT: $449
STARTS 29 April 2025
The course has been specifically developed for parents/carers of children and young people with ADHD.
The goal is to inform and empower you to work with your child to cope with the many challenges of parenting with ADHD by passing on practical, workable strategies that will make a difference in the lives of all family members.
The course environment promotes engagement through non-judgment, empathy and acceptance.
You’ll find greater empathy & understanding for your child’s perspective and with effective strategies on board you’ll increase confidence in your parenting skills.
This course has been running face-to-face in Sydney since 2015, and is now available online so everyone can have access to these important resources!
You’ll learn…
You’ll enjoy…
The course is presented by Vivian Dunstan
Parenting Children with ADHD Course is based on a course developed by the Institute of Family Practice but contains so much more from Vivian’s own personal experience and research with ADHD.
Zoom call time and dates:
For more details contact Vivian on vivian@adhdsupportaustralia.com.au
Ever wondered why someone with ADHD is often late or struggles to stick to routines? Those of us with ADHD are often frustrated with ourselves when we can’t seem to arrive anywhere on time!
After being locked out of yoga for being late this morning, I wanted to share how this feels and raise awareness.
Living with ADHD often means navigating a world that operates on a different time wavelength.
For those with ADHD, punctuality can feel like an elusive goal, as time blindness and executive dysfunction frequently disrupt our best-laid plans and I talk about this here.
In an era where screens reign supreme and virtual connections often overshadow face-to-face interactions, the impact of social media, gaming, and excessive device usage on the mental health of our young people has become a pressing concern. This concern is amplified for vulnerable populations, especially those with ADHD, Autism, or who already experience social challenges and I see this on a daily basis supporting young people and families in the ADHD and Autism community.
INVESTMENT: $249
STARTS ANYTIME
Welcome to Digital Parenting Program, a comprehensive online course that will guide you step-by-step toward achieving a healthy balance in your family’s screen habits.
Gain the knowledge, insights, and practical strategies you need to reclaim control over screen time, foster genuine connections, and unlock your young person’s full potential.
You will
For more details contact Vivian on vivian@adhdsupportaustralia.com.au
The beginning of a new school year should be a fresh start, full of opportunities for new friendships and experiences. However, for many young people, particularly those with ADHD or Autism, who may well have spent the summer break isolated and lonely, returning to school can be a daunting prospect.
Understanding Your Young Person’s Obsession with Gaming
Does your young person retreat online to escape, spending hours staring at a screen playing games that seem to have no end? Do you have difficulty getting them to disengage from the screen, encountering major meltdowns and unwarranted aggression when you try and take the screen away?
ADHD Support Australia is excited to be offering two PEERS® Social Skills for Teens groups via Telehealth.
PEERS® stands for Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills.
The PEERS® program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based social skills group program for adolescents and young adults with social challenges.
Originally developed by Dr Elizabeth Laugeson at the University of California (UCLA) PEERS®, the programme has a strong evidence-base for use with adolescents and young adults with Aspergers/ASD, but is also highly appropriate for those with ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties, those who may be twice exceptional or gifted and talented or indeed anyone experiencing social challenges.
The program assists motivated teens and young adults with social challenges who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends.
Explicitly teaching how to navigate common social challenges allows the formation of more positive relationships.
Teens learn how to …
* Develop & maintain friendships
* Improve conversational skills
* Choose appropriate friends & find common interests
* Appropriately use electronic forms of communication
* Appropriately use humour & assess humour feedback
* Start, enter & exit conversations between peers
* Organise successful get-togethers with friends
* Be a good sport when playing games and/or sports with friends
* Handle arguments & disagreements with friends
* Handle rejection, teasing, bullying, rumours/gossip & cyber bullying
* Change a bad reputation
PEERS® Social Skills for Teens is a 14-week online program for teens aged 13-17 who experience social challenges and are interested in learning new ways of making and keeping friends.
In weekly 90-minute online small group sessions, teens are taught important social skills and given the opportunity to practise these skills during socialisation activities in the session.
Parents or caregivers attend online 60-minute weekly small group sessions separately to their teens and are taught how to become their teen’s social coach – supporting them in practicing their new skills at home, coaching them during their weekly socialisation homework assignments and providing feedback.
Sessions are relaxed & fun whilst using evidence-based skill-teaching methods …
* Small group (6 – 12 participants)
* Safe environment where everyone finds success
* Didactic instruction (concrete easy to follow rules & steps)
* Socratic questioning method (a question/answer dialogue to draw out ideas)
* Teaches ecologically valid skills (skills that socially successful people use)
* Correct/Incorrect role play examples
* Role-playing and modelling practice of correct skills (behaviourial rehearsal)
* Perspective-taking questions targeting social cognition
* Social coaching from both course facilitators & parent(s)/carer(s)
* Homework exercises (with parent/carer assistance)
* Each session builds upon the previous week
Vivian Dunstan
* Certified PEERS Adolescent & Young Adult Social Skills course provider
* Masters of Teaching (Primary)
* Facilitator of Parenting Children with ADHD 6-week course since 2015
* ADDCA ADHD Coach
* Certified Tech Addiction & Digital Health Educator (NIDHW)
* Former RAISE mentor
* Certified NeuroACT program provider
* Founder & Organiser of ADHD Support Australia
* Advocating for & supporting the ADHD community since 2013
* Organiser of 130+ expert ADHD talks
* Author of ADHD Support Australia’s website
* Experienced Mum who’s navigated 26 years with an ADHD child, teen and now young adult
Teens must …
* be between 13-17 (or 12 turning 13 and at high school)
* have social challenges
* be interested in attending the program
* agree to participate in the program voluntarily
* consistently attend the program; and
* a parent/carer must be willing to participate as the teen’s social coach
To help your teen improve their confidence socially and go on to create and maintain more meaningful connections find out more by viewing the recording of the recent webinar here so you are familiar with what’s involved in the program.
In this webinar, you will discover the following:
Then, please ensure your young adult is the appropriate age, you’ve checked you’re available on the days/times the program will run
Parent Session: Wednesdays from 6 August 2025 @ 7-8.00pm
Teen Session: Wednesdays from 6 August 2025 @ 5.00-6.30pm
For 14 weeks finishing week beginning 4 August 2025
There will be a break on the week of 29th Sep and 6th October 2025
Your investment for this intake is $2,970 incl GST ($2,700 + $270 GST)
* 1 intake interview
* 14 x 60 min parent/social coach sessions
* 14 x 90 min teen sessions
* Weekly handouts/homework assignments
* Support throughout the 14-week program
Great value at $212.14 per week for the 2 sessions!
If you’d like to move forward:
Book in a time for me to meet you and your teen via Zoom to ensure they’re also on board with starting the program and to give them a chance to meet me and ask any questions they may have.
You can speak to me privately prior to bringing your teen into the conversation if you prefer.
Once you’ve selected the time slot that suits you, ensure you accept the invitation that will be emailed to you and this will then automatically go into both our online calendars.
If the program isn’t right for your teen I’ll let you know, and if you decide after our chat that it isn’t for you, that’s fine – it’s a no obligation meeting.
If we decide to move forward after the Zoom, there will be some intake forms for you and your teen to complete and you will be invoiced.
Once this is finalised your place will be secure!
If you are intending on using NDIS funding for the program, I suggest you start your enquiries and process now, so you can have that in place prior to our program start date as this can often take some time.
Once I have completed the process with all those families interested, I will form a suitable group or groups and all details will be sent through.
If you’re not able to attend on the above dates/times but are interested in joining this or a future course, or if you have any further questions, not covered above please email me @ vivian@adhdsupportaustralia.com.au.
ADHD Support Australia is excited to be offering two PEERS® Social Skills for Teens groups via Telehealth.
PEERS® stands for Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills.
The PEERS® program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based social skills group program for adolescents and young adults with social challenges.
Originally developed by Dr Elizabeth Laugeson at the University of California (UCLA) PEERS®, the programme has a strong evidence-base for use with adolescents and young adults with Aspergers/ASD, but is also highly appropriate for those with ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties, those who may be twice exceptional or gifted and talented or indeed anyone experiencing social challenges.
The program assists motivated teens and young adults with social challenges who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends.
Explicitly teaching how to navigate common social challenges allows the formation of more positive relationships.
Teens learn how to …
* Develop & maintain friendships
* Improve conversational skills
* Choose appropriate friends & find common interests
* Appropriately use electronic forms of communication
* Appropriately use humour & assess humour feedback
* Start, enter & exit conversations between peers
* Organise successful get-togethers with friends
* Be a good sport when playing games and/or sports with friends
* Handle arguments & disagreements with friends
* Handle rejection, teasing, bullying, rumours/gossip & cyber bullying
* Change a bad reputation
PEERS® Social Skills for Teens is a 14-week online program for teens aged 13-17 who experience social challenges and are interested in learning new ways of making and keeping friends.
In weekly 90-minute online small group sessions, teens are taught important social skills and given the opportunity to practise these skills during socialisation activities in the session.
Parents or caregivers attend online 60-minute weekly small group sessions separately to their teens and are taught how to become their teen’s social coach – supporting them in practicing their new skills at home, coaching them during their weekly socialisation homework assignments and providing feedback.
Sessions are relaxed & fun whilst using evidence-based skill-teaching methods …
* Small group (6 – 12 participants)
* Safe environment where everyone finds success
* Didactic instruction (concrete easy to follow rules & steps)
* Socratic questioning method (a question/answer dialogue to draw out ideas)
* Teaches ecologically valid skills (skills that socially successful people use)
* Correct/Incorrect role play examples
* Role-playing and modelling practice of correct skills (behaviourial rehearsal)
* Perspective-taking questions targeting social cognition
* Social coaching from both course facilitators & parent(s)/carer(s)
* Homework exercises (with parent/carer assistance)
* Each session builds upon the previous week
Vivian Dunstan
* Certified PEERS Adolescent & Young Adult Social Skills course provider
* Masters of Teaching (Primary)
* Facilitator of Parenting Children with ADHD 6-week course since 2015
* ADDCA ADHD Coach
* Certified Tech Addiction & Digital Health Educator (NIDHW)
* Former RAISE mentor
* Certified NeuroACT program provider
* Founder & Organiser of ADHD Support Australia
* Advocating for & supporting the ADHD community since 2013
* Organiser of 130+ expert ADHD talks
* Author of ADHD Support Australia’s website
* Experienced Mum who’s navigated 26 years with an ADHD child, teen and now young adult
Teens must …
* be between 13-17 (or 12 turning 13 and at high school)
* have social challenges
* be interested in attending the program
* agree to participate in the program voluntarily
* consistently attend the program; and
* a parent/carer must be willing to participate as the teen’s social coach
To help your teen improve their confidence socially and go on to create and maintain more meaningful connections find out more by viewing the recording of the recent webinar here so you are familiar with what’s involved in the program.
In this webinar, you will discover the following:
Then, please ensure your teen is the appropriate age, you’ve checked you’re available on the days/times the program will run
Parent Session: Mondays from 4 August 2025 @ 7-8.00pm
Teen Session: Tuesdays from 5 August 2025 @ 4.30-6pm
For 14 weeks finishing week beginning 4 August 2025
There will be a break on the week of 29th Sep and 6th October 2025
Your investment for this intake is $2,970 incl GST ($2,700 + $270 GST)
* 1 intake interview
* 14 x 60 min parent/social coach sessions
* 14 x 90 min teen sessions
* Weekly handouts/homework assignments
* Support throughout the 14-week program
Great value at $212.14 per week for the 2 sessions!
If you’d like to move forward:
Book in a time for me to meet you and your teen via Zoom to ensure they’re also on board with starting the program and to give them a chance to meet me and ask any questions they may have.
You can speak to me privately prior to bringing your teen into the conversation if you prefer.
Once you’ve selected the time slot that suits you, ensure you accept the invitation that will be emailed to you and this will then automatically go into both our online calendars.
If the program isn’t right for your teen I’ll let you know, and if you decide after our chat that it isn’t for you, that’s fine – it’s a no obligation meeting.
If we decide to move forward after the Zoom, there will be some intake forms for you and your teen to complete and you will be invoiced.
Once this is finalised your place will be secure!
If you are intending on using NDIS funding for the program, I suggest you start your enquiries and process now, so you can have that in place prior to our program start date as this can often take some time.
Once I have completed the process with all those families interested, I will form a suitable group or groups and all details will be sent through.
If you’re not able to attend on the above dates/times but are interested in joining this or a future course, or if you have any further questions, not covered above please email me @ vivian@adhdsupportaustralia.com.au.
ADHD Support Australia is excited to offer PEERS® Social Skills for Young Adults via Telehealth.
PEERS® stands for Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills.
The PEERS® program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based social skills group program for adolescents and young adults with social challenges.
Originally developed by Dr Elizabeth Laugeson at the University of California (UCLA) PEERS®, the programme has a strong evidence-base for use with adolescents and young adults with Autism, but is also highly appropriate for those with ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties, those who may be twice exceptional or gifted and talented or indeed anyone experiencing social challenges.
The program assists motivated teens and young adults with social challenges who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends.
Explicitly teaching how to navigate common social challenges allows the formation of more positive relationships.
Young adults learn how to …
* Develop & maintain friendships
* Improve conversational skills
* Choose appropriate friends & find common interests
* Appropriately use electronic forms of communication
* Appropriately use humour & assess humour feedback
* Start, enter & exit conversations between peers
* Organise successful get-togethers with friends
* Be a good sport when playing games and/or sports with friends
* Handle arguments & disagreements with friends
* Handle rejection, teasing, bullying, rumours/gossip & cyber bullying
* Change a bad reputation
* Dating etiquette/skills
PEERS® Social Skills for Young Adults is a 14-week online program for those aged 17-30 who experience social challenges and are interested in learning new ways of making and keeping friends.
In weekly 90-minute online small group sessions, attendees are taught important social skills and given the opportunity to practise these skills during socialisation activities in the session.
Parents or caregivers or elected social coaches attend online 60-minute weekly small group sessions separately to the young adult and are taught how to become a social coach – supporting them in practicing their new skills at home, coaching them during their weekly socialisation homework assignments and providing feedback.
Sessions are relaxed & fun whilst using evidence-based skill-teaching methods …
* Small group (6 – 12 participants)
* Safe environment where everyone finds success
* Didactic instruction (concrete easy to follow rules & steps)
* Socratic questioning method (a question/answer dialogue to draw out ideas)
* Teaches ecologically valid skills (skills that socially successful people use)
* Correct/Incorrect role play examples
* Role-playing and modelling practice of correct skills (behaviourial rehearsal)
* Perspective-taking questions targeting social cognition
* Social coaching from both course facilitators & parent(s)/carer(s)
* Homework exercises (with parent/carer assistance)
* Each session builds upon the previous week
Vivian Dunstan
* Certified PEERS Adolescent & Young Adult Social Skills course provider
* Masters of Teaching (Primary)
* Facilitator of Parenting Children with ADHD 6-week course since 2015
* ADDCA ADHD Coach
* Certified Tech Addiction & Digital Health Educator (NIDHW)
* Former RAISE mentor
* Certified NeuroACT program provider
* Founder & Organiser of ADHD Support Australia
* Advocating for & supporting the ADHD community since 2013
* Organiser of 130+ expert ADHD talks
* Author of ADHD Support Australia’s website
* Experienced Mum who’s navigated 26 years with an ADHD child, teen and now young adult
Young adults must …
* be between 18-30 (or 17 turning 18)
* have social challenges
* be interested in attending the program
* agree to participate in the program voluntarily
* consistently attend the program; and
* a parent/carer/social coach must be willing to participate as the young adult’s social coach
To help your young adult improve their confidence socially and go on to create and maintain more meaningful connections find out more by viewing the recording of the recent webinar here so you are familiar with what’s involved in the program.
In this webinar, you will discover the following:
Then, please ensure your young adult is the appropriate age, you’ve checked you’re available on the days/times the program will run
Parent/Social Coach Session: Mondays from 4 August 2025 @ 5-6.00pm
Young Adult Session: Tuesdays from 5 August 2025 @ 6.30-8pm
For 14 weeks finishing week beginning 4 August 2025
There will be a break on the week of 29th Sep and 6th October 2025
Your investment for this intake is $2,970 incl GST ($2,700 + $270 GST)
* 1 intake interview
* 14 x 60 min parent/social coach sessions
* 14 x 90 min young adult sessions
* Weekly handouts/homework assignments
* Support throughout the 14-week program
Great value at $212.14 per week for the 2 sessions!
If you’d like to move forward:
Book in a time for me to meet you and your young adult via Zoom to ensure they’re also on board with starting the program and to give them a chance to meet me and ask any questions they may have.
You can speak to me privately prior to bringing your young adult into the conversation if you prefer.
Once you’ve selected the time slot that suits you, ensure you accept the invitation that will be emailed to you and this will then automatically go into both our online calendars.
If the program isn’t right for your young adult I’ll let you know, and if you decide after our chat that it isn’t for you, that’s fine – it’s a no obligation meeting.
If we decide to move forward after the Zoom, there will be some intake forms for you and your young adult to complete and you will be invoiced.
Once this is finalised your place will be secure!
If you are intending on using NDIS funding for the program, I suggest you start your enquiries and process now, so you can have that in place prior to our program start date as this can often take some time.
Once I have completed the process with all those families interested, I will form a suitable group or groups and all details will be sent through.
If you’re not able to attend on the above dates/times but are interested in joining this or a future course, or if you have any further questions, not covered above please email me @ vivian@adhdsupportaustralia.com.au.
If there is sufficient interest a second group may be created.
People of all ages with ADHD tend to be way more susceptible to boredom than others. But being in self-isolation or lock down doesn’t mean all hope is lost!
In these uncertain times many people, both with and without ADHD, are certainly feeling disrupted and experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness, depression and fear.
PARENTING CHILDREN WITH ADHD 6-WEEK ONLINE (START ANYTIME)
INVESTMENT: $249
STARTS ANYTIME
The course has been specifically developed for parents/carers of children and young people with ADHD.
The goal is to inform and empower you to work with your child to cope with the many challenges of parenting with ADHD by passing on practical, workable strategies that will make a difference in the lives of all family members.
The course environment promotes engagement through non-judgment, empathy and acceptance.
You’ll find greater empathy & understanding for your child’s perspective and with effective strategies on board you’ll increase confidence in your parenting skills.
This course ran face-to-face in Sydney for from 2015-2020 and is now available online so everyone can have access to these important resources!
You’ll learn…
You’ll enjoy…
The course is presented by Vivian Dunstan
Parenting Children with ADHD Course is based on a course developed by the Institute of Family Practice but contains so much more from Vivian’s own personal experience and research with ADHD.
For more details contact Vivian on vivian@adhdsupportaustralia.com.au
Imagine you have a car….. You don’t remember how you actually got the car but you have had it for as long as you can remember, even before you learned to drive. You’re now on your black license, your learner days are behind you and there is no experienced driver sitting beside you in the passenger seat guiding and supporting you.
I was recently asked if it was overkill to have a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a coach.
While this could seem excessive, the best approach to managing ADHD is through a support team with the various team members having very different functions.
“When I was a kid I was pretty good at day-dreaming. In primary school I would stare into space as soon as the teacher started talking.
I’m super excited to announce I’ve finally launched the new Patreon membership site for ADHD Support Australia to enable you to access our expert ADHD speakers online wherever and whenever you like!
It has been said that the drums are one of the few instruments that access the entire brain, stimulating all the main sectors. Active engagement of practically playing rhythms aid in syncing the left and right hemispheres of the brain; leaving us feeling more connected with ourselves.
Finally, a study that can support my clients in moving forward! If you think it’s tough for kids with ADHD to thrive amongst the social stigma, then imagine how it feels for an adult with ADHD, given most of our population is not aware that ADHD may persist into adulthood. Late last year a study was released called “Positive Aspects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.”
Spend any time perusing ADHD forums or ADHD Facebook pages and chances are you will come across Pyrroles, Pyrroluria, Kryptopyrroles or Mauve factor (all the same condition). You might be wondering; What the heck is Pyrroles and why am I hearing so much about it?
It is generally accepted that undiagnosed Coeliac disease can cause a host of digestive problems but symptoms often also include cognitive impairment.