You’ve seen it—the moments when your child seems frozen, stuck in place. They talk about their goals and dreams, but when it comes to taking action, they hesitate. It’s not that they don’t care—it’s that the gap between where they are and where they want to be feels impossibly wide.
For neurodiverse students, long-term goals can feel overwhelming because their brain naturally focuses on the details. Instead of seeing a clear path forward, they see every potential obstacle, every uncertainty, and every place where they might fall short. Without a “bridge” to connect the present to the future, even small steps can feel impossible, leaving them stuck in frustration and self-doubt.
The more they stay stuck, the more they internalize the belief that they’re incapable of change or progress. Over time, this feeling of being “stuck” can lead to hopelessness, avoidance, and anxiety about even trying. And as a parent, you might feel powerless—wanting to encourage them without overwhelming them, and unsure of how to help them build that missing bridge.
This week in therapy, a student shared: “It feels like there’s this huge gap between what I can do right now and what I need to do to get where I want to be. Sometimes I just stay where I am because it feels impossible to get to where I want to be. I don’t see a bridge.”
They described how this mindset affected their schoolwork, relationships, and even their confidence in themselves. “It’s like I’m standing on one side of a canyon, and everything I want is on the other side, but I don’t know how to build the bridge to get there.”
Through therapy and tutoring, we worked on breaking their goal into smaller, manageable steps. Instead of focusing on the entire “canyon,” we identified the first step to building the bridge—one clear action step they could take. For example, instead of “pass the exam,” their first step became “pull up the reading on my laptop” and then “read through chapter one before 8pm tonight.”
Behind the scenes, their tutor collaborated with them to create a structured plan that aligned with their unique strengths and challenges. Parents also learned to focus on celebrating progress rather than outcomes, using encouraging phrases like, “I see how much effort you’re putting into this step,” to build their confidence.
Over time, the student began to see the bridge forming—one small step at a time. They discovered that progress didn’t require perfection, just persistence. And with every step forward, they grew more confident in their ability to make helpful choices for themselves.
If your child feels stuck and overwhelmed by the gap between where they are and where they want to be, they need to know that they don’t have to feel this way forever. At Warrior Brain, our integrated therapy and tutoring services help neurodiverse students break their goals into actionable steps, making life easier for them—and for you.
