Happy ADHD awareness month!

Contributed by Kirstie McHale, Kaitoko Ako Learning Advisor

1 in 20 of us have ADHD in Aotearoa. Maybe that’s you, or your whānau. It’s definitely people you work with, or will work with, in your profession. So, learning more about ADHD and how to work well with it is helpful for us all. I don’t identify as having ADHD, but I love living and working with some amazing ADHDers and learning some tricks from them.

Last week I attended the Neuroabilities Symposium. One kōrero I enjoyed was from Erena Fussell, who is a Te Pūkenga Learning Advisor at EIT Hawke’s Bay. Erena was diagnosed with ADHD in her forties. In her presentation she talked about how her experience with ADHD contributes to her work and her skills, and how she helps others break down challenges with study by looking at the executive function skills behind tasks. For example, how managing our emotions interacts with how we manage our studies. (If you’re interested in learning more about executive function this article is a good start – there’s also a link in there to some tips for supporting your executive function.)                                                                                                                                                                                                      You can also hear from Erena through a video she has contributed to ADHD New Zealand’s free online course Strategies to optimise the tertiary outcomes of learners with ADHD. In the video she talks about the taimana model which she developed with students. It’s called taimana because it’s a diamond shape – in this model there are four connected corners to staying on track:

1. Attendance (going to class)
2. Communication (with yourself, with your tutor and with your classmates)
3. Engagement (motivation)
4. Competence

This model is talking about what happens when you get in a bit of a cycle, where maybe you miss a few classes (attendance), and then you feel bad about it, so you don’t let your tutor know what’s going on (communication), and then maybe you lose some motivation (engagement) because you feel overwhelmed and behind, and all this impacts on your learning (competence).  So, it describes how things can get hard, but also how to get back on track. The students who made this model with Erena said: “if it’s all turned to custard you can pick any one of those things and start fixing it”.  

So, it’s really about finding a specific thing you can do to start turning things around. Maybe that’s just sending a text or an email to ask for some help – it could be to your tutor, a friend, or to one of our Student Support or Academic Support services at Ara.  We’re at the time in the academic year when things are getting real, and lots of us are feeling a bit overwhelmed. Especially right now with managing finances and wellbeing especially hard. So, if things are tough right now, this ADHD strategy could be a good place to start with finding just one thing you can do that will help.

World Statistics Day – October 20

Contributed by : Shane Dye, Kaitoko Ako | Learning Advisor Maths

October 20 is World Statistics Day. Officially this only happens every five years, but statistics is important enough to draw attention to every year.

With the Aotearoa New Zealand election less than a week before World Statistics Day, political statistics have been in the news a lot. Polls analysed beyond what their data could support. Early predictions made about the final outcomes as the votes were counted.

With the Men’s Rugby World Cup final less than a fortnight after World Statistics Day, sports statistics are also big news. How likely that the All Blacks will play in the final. Which players scored the most tries, played their part in the best way. Predicting how many people watched the quarter finals and how many will watch the final.

Statistics is more than politics and sport. It can be important in every career.

Statistics is the science and art of finding meaning within data. The science part is the maths behind statistical analysis and statistical models. The art part is because statistics is so context dependent – what is important depends on what the data is used for, what it means, what questions you are trying to answer.

Statistics can be used to predict the best treatment for a disease or medical condition. To assess the risks of a new business venture. To predict how long a new bridge will remain safe enough to be used. To assess the long-term health benefits and risks of fluoridating Christchurch’s water supply. To inform decision making in all forms, to help make decisions that are more likely to lead to better outcomes.

Understanding and using statistics are important skills for everyone.

World Mental Health Day

Contributed by Rose Edgar, Disability Advisor

Just like physical health, everyone has mental health that needs to be looked after to ensure we are functioning as our best selves. That doesn’t mean being happy all the time or even not experiencing mental illness but having tools and strategies to manage the not so good times.

World Mental Health Day 2023 theme is “Mental Health as a Universal Human Right”. Everyone should have access to resources and services to support their mental health no matter who they are!

Although we have come a long way as a society, there is still stigma around mental health and mental health conditions. it is about opening up the conversation to allow everyone to feel safe to share their experiences. Poor mental health can be an isolating experience due to feeling that ‘no one else will get me or what I’m going through’. The more we talk, the more we will see that mental health, good and bad is a shared human experience that should be talked about.

How do we look after our mental health?

Having something to follow can be helpful. Check out these models of wellbeing:

te-whare-tapa-wha

fonofale

five-ways-to-wellbeing

When things are still hard

Sometimes we need to reach out to others to support our mental health journey. If your mental wellbeing is affecting your daily activities; work, study, friendships, please seek support.

Places to ask for help:

Student Support

Student Support (Te Tumu Hereka Waka) is your key hub of student support. Come and see our friendly student advisors to find out about our support and services situated in the Rakaia Centre atrium.

Student.support@ara.ac.nz

Student Wellbeing

Student Life Office in C Block, so feel free to pop in for a chat, advice or share some ideas on how to improve wellbeing at Ara. You can also email studentwellbeing@ara.ac.nz or text 021 286 8388.

Disability Services

A team of Advisors can provide support for in-class studies, exam and assignment special conditions and arrangements, and creating plans to remove barriers around any disability or impairment impacting academics. Short or long-term; physical, mental, neurological, sensory, or cognitive disabilities, illnesses and impairments are all supported

Disability@Ara.ac.nz

Health Centre

Ara Te Pukenga provides free counselling to all ākonga.

https://www.ara.ac.nz/student-services/health-and-wellbeing/counselling/

It can be hard to reach out when things are tough. Talk to someone who you trust who can help start those conversations.

Together, let’s ensure Mental Wellbeing is protected and celebrated.

Celebrating Tuvalu, Fiji, Niue and Tokelau language weeks in October

October has four Pacific languages to celebrate: Tuvalu, Fiji, Niue and Tokelau. Here are the greetings in these languages: Fakatalofa, Ni Sa Bula Vinaka, Fakaalofa Lahi Atu, and Mālō ni.

Te Gana Tuvalu: 1-7 October

Fakatumau kae fakaakoi tau ‘gana ke mautu a iloga o ‘ta tuā

Preserve and embrace your language to safeguard our heritage identities

Tuvalu language cards from Ministry for Pacific Peoples

Tuvalu language resource in Ara Library.

Fijian Language Week : 8-14 October

Find some Fijian language resources at Pacific Learners and Ministry of Education websites

Vaka nuinui vinaka na siga nikua! – Have a great day!

Fijian language resources in Ara Library

Vagahau Niue week: 15-21 October

Find some vagahau Niue resources from the Ministry of Education website

Fakaalofa atu ki a mutolu. – Greetings to you all.

Niuean language resources at Ara Library.

Gagana Tokelau week: 22-28 October

Find some gagana Tokelau resources from the Ministry of Education website

Manuia te aho! – Have a good day!

Tokelauan language resources at Ara Library.

Banned Book Week – controversies of the written word.

This weekend marks the beginning of Banned Book Week (Oct 1-7^th) which was launched in 1982 in response to a growing number of challenges to books in libraries, bookshops, and schools. It acts as a way for the book community – authors, librarians, teachers, booksellers to show their support for the freedom to express ideas and the harms of censorship.

Those seeking to ban books often complain of offensive language, violence, disrespect for family, explicit sex, and the exaltation of evil. For example, the Harry Potter series is one of the most challenged books of the 21^st century with accusations of glorifying witchcraft and anti-family themes.  Challenges are most often made against young adult novels – especially those with LGBTQIA+ content.

San José Public Library (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Wanting to protect young people from growing up too quickly is a natural response. Yet what happens if that means refusing to acknowledge difference and narrowing what is acceptable to discuss. Prize winning children’s and Young Adult author Judy Blume once faced a ban on her book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret because the story involves menstruation. What happens when something that happens to half the population is not considered acceptable? Where do you go for solace if you don’t fit into what is considered ‘normal’? Books offer a refuge for all. There is a book for every experience and every perspective. A place where you can find yourself when you don’t feel seen in the environment around you. Enforcing your own belief systems on others is a slippery slide – book bans lead to book burning and no one who burns books ends up on the right side of history. Often American book bans get the most attention, but Christchurch City Libraries has constructed a list of banned or restricted books in New Zealand for your scrutiny. Are the reasons behind their banning acceptable or have I just provided you with your summer reading list?