In this episode, we talk to Byron Rangiwai about his journey with ADHD – from early struggles in rigid classroom settings to finding academic success and cultural reconnection later in life. Byron shares insights on how schools and homes can better support neurodiverse young people and introduces his pīwakawaka analogy – a powerful way for young people to reframe ADHD and better understand themselves.

Byron Rangiwai is Associate Professor of Māori and Indigenous Research at Ngā Wai a Te Tūī: Māori and Indigenous Research Centre, based at Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka | Unitec Institute of Technology. With dual PhDs from Auckland University of Technology and the University of Otago, Byron’s current research interests centre on Māori and indigenous understandings of neurodiversity.