Welcome to The Runway Foundation – Term 3 Newsletter 2025!
We’re excited to share all the highlights from this term with you. From empowering parents and caregivers with practical ADHD strategies, to pampering our amazing mums, to supporting children and youth through creative and educational experiences, Term 3 has been full of connection, growth, and inspiration!
A Message from Terese
Welcome to our Spring newsletter!
It’s always a great feeling to have the winter months behind us and to enjoy the increasing light, warmth, and wellness—making it much easier for our programmes to run.
We’ve had a busy and fun term, including supporting the excellent collaborative community event Thriving Tamariki Pukekohe in August. The keynote speaker for this free event was Nigel Latta, and today, as I write, I’ve just heard the incredibly sad news of his passing. Pukekohe parents were blessed to experience and benefit from the expertise and advice he shared with both wit and heart. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. His legacy will live on through the many families to whom he imparted wisdom and care.
A highlight for our programme parents this past term was a Pamper Night! The Runway Team, with our special guest Ruth Viljoen from Wildflower Beauty, Waiuku, hosted a night of relaxation, treats, footbaths, and massages… Runway House was transformed into a house of bliss! It smelled divine! Fine china tea and bubbles, chocolate, and happy chatter were flowing.
At the end of the evening, I shared an encouragement inspired by the spring winds that were turbulently expressing themselves. These winds can be unpredictable, annoying, unsettling, at times damaging, disruptive, and chaotic. They’re a bit like our journey parenting children with ADHD!
For the growth of a plant, however, wind is extremely important. It strengthens plants and trees by promoting the growth of thicker stems and deeper roots—building resilience so they can withstand future stresses. Without exposure to wind during growth, plants become vulnerable later in life. This is a great analogy for the trials and strains we experience as parents, and for our children too. Be encouraged that, alongside unconditional love and support, these struggles can serve a purpose—building strength, adaptability, and resilience that will establish them well into the future.
It may feel like there is only disruption, destruction, or chaos… but our children can grow through this. Good can come from it—good that others may not get. If you’re in a storm right now, hang in there! You can do this… and the great news is, the wind stops blowing and the sun comes out. And we can all be stronger for it.
We hope you enjoy reading about all the fun, development opportunities, and growth we’ve had in our programmes recently with our Tamariki and Rangatahi—never a dull moment!
Thank you for all your support and for journeying with us in this grand adventure!
ADDventurers Kids Club – Term Three 2025
Our theme this term has been “Getting Along”, where we explored different strategies to build and maintain relationships, as well as learning how to ask for space when we need it. We also looked at healthy ways to resolve conflict and cope when difficult situations arise with friends. The children showed wonderful self-awareness and empathy, especially in recognising how others might be feeling.
With the warmer weather, we’ve been lucky to spend more time outside. The children have loved playing with our new parachute, coming up with all sorts of creative ways to keep themselves entertained. Our trampoline continues to be a favourite, no matter how many times they’ve used it (even if they have one at home!), it still brings a lot of joy every session.
Indoors, Disney Pictionary has quickly become a favourite game. Each week the children ask to bring out the whiteboard so they can showcase their artistic talents, and there’s always plenty of laughter along the way.
Aroha nui,
Ilse Breytenbach
School Holiday Fun!
Our holiday activity this term was a challenging yet rewarding Portable Escape Room, and it was a pleasure to support a small local business in the process. The children showed fantastic teamwork as they supported one another to solve the different puzzles, and they really enjoyed the variety of themes in the games. We’re pretty sure both the team and the children managed to cram a whole term’s worth of concentration and focus into that one morning!
ADDventurers Youth – Term Three
Term 3 Update – ADDventurers Youth
Kia ora whānau,
This term, our focus has been on “101 – Relationships can be complicated.” We’ve explored how getting the basics right—like listening, empathy, and communication—can lay the foundation for strong supportive networks.
Mentoring has been going incredibly well, with all our youth consistently showing up and generously sharing their thoughts, struggles, and concerns around school, friendships, and life. It’s been inspiring to see their openness and growth. It has been great to work with our “NEW” youth coaching support, Eva Croft, which is adding another valuable layer to the mentoring space.
Youth Nights continue to be a highlight—always busy, always fun! Through engaging activities and small group discussions, we’ve been practicing how to listen to others, handle criticism constructively, and build self-confidence. These moments have been powerful in helping our youth develop essential life skills in a safe and supportive environment.
With the year flying by, it’s been amazing to witness the journey of growth and confidence in each young person. Thank you all for your continued support. We’re excited for the end-of-year celebrations and already looking forward to what next year will bring!
Nga mihinui,
Kelvin Moana
School Holiday Fun!
Much like our Kid’s Club, our youth also took on the challenge of the Portable Escape Room. They had a blast working together, solving clues, and racing against the clock to crack the codes. We wrapped it all up with a well-earned pizza lunch, perfect for restoring all that mental energy!
Celebrating Our Amazing Volunteers
Another term has passed, and we are once again so grateful for our volunteers and the incredible work they do to support us. The past few weeks have been especially busy for them with exams, and we feel truly blessed that they choose to share these important times in their lives with us. It’s a privilege to walk alongside them and to remind them that we are here to support them in any way we can.
Tips, tricks, and ideas to try.
ADDy's Corner is where we share helpful tips, tricks, and ideas that might make life a little easier. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we believe that by sharing as a community, we can support each other through the challenging, yet rewarding, journey of parenting our children with ADHD.
Preparing Our Children with ADHD for Prizegiving Season
The end of the year brings prizegiving's, ceremonies, and changes in routine. While it’s an exciting time, it can also be challenging for children with ADHD — especially if they don’t receive an award. With some preparation and support, you can help your child navigate this season with confidence and resilience.
1. Set Realistic Expectations
- Talk about what to expect: Explain where the event will be, what will happen, and how long it will take.
- Acknowledge the reality: Let them know not everyone receives an award, and that’s okay. Prizegivings celebrate many different achievements
- Role-play feelings: Practise responses to possible emotions, like “I might feel sad if I don’t get an award, but I can still cheer for my friends.”
2. Celebrate Their Unique Journey
- Children with ADHD can be up to three years behind their peers developmentally. Remind them that everyone’s journey looks different.
- Celebrate your child’s individual strengths and growth — whether that’s effort, kindness, creativity, or resilience.
- Create your own tradition at home by giving a “family award” that recognises their unique achievements.
3. Support Their Emotions
- Validate their feelings: If they’re upset, acknowledge it — “I know it’s hard to watch others get awards. I’m proud of how you handled it.”
- Shift the focus: Ask them what they enjoyed about the day that wasn’t award-related.
- Plan something positive afterwards: Ice cream, a family game, or special time together gives them something to look forward to no matter the outcome.
- Sit in a spot that feels comfortable and less overwhelming.
- Bring a fidget tool or plan a quiet break if needed.
- Remind them that effort, improvement, and trying new things matter just as much as awards.
4. Help Them Cope on the Day
Manage End-of-Year Changes
The final term can feel disruptive with ceremonies, timetable shifts, and new class preparations. It will help to communicate with teachers to help prepare your child for changes in routines, classrooms, or teachers for the new year.
Where possible, keep home routines consistent to support their sense of stability.
Key reminder: Prizegiving season doesn’t define your child’s worth. By celebrating their unique journey and giving them the tools to cope, you’re helping them build resilience and a healthy sense of self that goes far beyond one event.
Thriving Tamariki 2025
This term, we had the privilege of being part of Thriving Tamariki, held in Pukekohe.
Fran and Kelvin attended the event, meeting many parents who were looking for support and the opportunity to grow and learn — not only to become even better parents to their tamariki, but for many to also to find more information and support within the neurodiverse community.
The evening’s speaker, Nigel Latta, shared both funny and practical advice with those in attendance. We feel honoured to have been there for what must have been one of the final events he spoke at before his passing.
Ladies Pamper Evening
In the last week of term we held a special Ladies Pamper Evening. We wanted to create a night dedicated to loving on our mums and caregivers, who so often put themselves last.
We were delighted to have the wonderful Ruth Viljoen from Wildflower Beauty in Waiuku, who treated our ladies to relaxing foot and hand massages. There were also soothing footbaths infused with beautiful scents, filling the room with a divine aroma.
There were bubbles and tea served in beautiful china teacups, chocolates, treats, cheeses, grapes, and so much more—the plates were overflowing! The evening was truly special and a perfect way to celebrate, giving our mums the chance to pause, refresh, and fill their own cups.
Tamaoho Parents Event
In collaboration with Te Whare, we were recently given the opportunity to present to the parents of Tamaoho School on ADHD. Terese shared her knowledge and experiences on parenting children with ADHD, providing valuable insights to empower parents. Her session helped raise awareness in the ADHD community and offered practical strategies that parents can use to support their children.
She spoke on:
- ADHD: How an ADHD brain works differently
- Parenting approaches: What this means for how we parent
- Emotional and self-regulation: Understanding and supporting these skills
- Handling meltdowns: What to do during challenging moments and how to help prevent them
- The power of routine: Why structure matters
- Partnering with schools and teachers: Keys to success
- Parental challenges: Recognising difficulties and maintaining your own wellbeing
- Self-care and support: Understanding available resources
Thank you, Te Whare and Tamaoho School, for helping raise awareness and giving your parents the tools to help their children with ADHD thrive.
