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Recent Episodes

Episode 16: What It Actually Feels Like When School Finally Works

Hosts Lynna and Alex hold a student roundtable with three Fusion Academy students. Together, they walk through the full journey from struggling in traditional school environments to finding a new path at Fusion Academy.

Episode 15: Conscious Parenting for Students Who Learn Differently

We sit down with Dr. Shefali, founder of the Conscious Parenting movement, to explore what it really means to raise a child who learns or experiences the world differently.

Episode 14: When School Isn’t a Safe Place

For parents who have watched their child struggle, withdraw, or slowly stop believing in themselves, the gap between who a child is and what a school can hold can feel devastating.

Episode 13: Are Learning Differences Superpowers?

When a child is struggling in school, it’s easy to focus on what isn’t working. The missed assignments, the frustrating evaluations, the years of feeling misunderstood. But what if that’s only part of the picture? In this episode, explore what it really means to see a child through a lens of ability rather than limitation.

Episode 12: Why Personalized Education Works for Students Who Learn Differently

What if school wasn’t something students had to survive, but something designed for who they are? If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to build a system around students instead of fitting students into a system, this conversation is for you.

Episode 11: How to Help Neurodiverse Students Through School Transitions

From switching schools to moving up a grade, transitions can be especially challenging for students with learning, emotional, or social differences.

Episode 10: Supporting Gifted Students with Learning Differences

Gifted kids aren’t supposed to struggle, right? That’s one of the biggest myths about twice-exceptional, or 2e, students. These learners may have exceptional talents and also face learning, emotional, or attentional challenges that make school especially hard.

Episode 9: How to Support Students with Autism

Autistic students often struggle not because they can’t learn, but because schools weren’t built with them in mind. From overwhelming environments to misunderstood behaviors, traditional classrooms can create unnecessary barriers to connection and progress.

Episode 8: How to Re-Engage Bullied & Depressed Students

When students stop showing up, emotionally or physically, it’s rarely about laziness. School avoidance is often tied to anxiety, depression, or past experiences that make school feel overwhelming or unsafe.

Episode 7: Trauma’s Hidden Impact on Learning

Trauma rewires the brain. For many students, the effects show up not just emotionally, but academically and behaviorally, too. They aren’t just distracted. They’re trying to survive.

Episode 6: Sensory Processing

Sensory processing differences can make everyday school experiences overwhelming. Bright lights, loud bells, scratchy clothes: what’s background for most can feel unbearable for some.

Episode 5: Anxiety

Whether it’s the fear of tests, overwhelming environments, or the pressure to fit in, anxiety can hijack a student’s ability to learn. Join us to discuss what school anxiety really looks like, how it disrupts learning, and what can actually help students feel safe and supported again.

Episode 4: Executive Function Skills

Join us as we explore what executive dysfunction looks like in real classrooms, how traditional school systems can intensify the struggle, and the strategies that truly help students build the skills they need to thrive.

Episode 3: Dyslexia

Sit down with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Dan Peters as we uncover what dyslexia really is, how to recognize it, and the most effective ways to support students who learn differently.

Episode 2: Social Struggles

Many neurodivergent students face social struggles. In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson shares research-based strategies to help them build real-world social skills, friendships, and confidence.

Episode 1: ADHD

ADHD is common but often misunderstood. Dr. Marta Shinn shares how to better support kids and teens with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Welcome to Learning Differently!

On Learning Differently, Lynna Martinez-Khalilian and Michael Wang explore how students with learning differences learn, why traditional school can be tough, and what really helps them thrive.

Meet the Hosts

On season one of Learning Differently you'll hear from Lynna Martinez-Khalilian (Chief Academic Officer) and Michael Wang (District Vice President).

Lynna is back for season two along with Joie Laykoff (Senior Director of Teaching & Learning), Alexandra Arnese (Head of School at Fusion Academy Princeton), and Daniel Patterson (Head of School at Fusion Academy Aliso Viejo).

We’d love to hear from you! Have a question for us? Interested in partnering with us? Just want to say hi?

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