Empowering Neurodivergent Children through Gamified Learning

BrainySpinach Maths is an innovative educational service founded by Jonathan Wilde – aka BrainySpinach – an experienced teacher with a passion for teaching neurodivergent children, particularly those with autism and ADHD. With a background in both gaming and education, Jon developed BrainySpinach Maths as a maths tutoring platform that uses Roblox, a popular gaming platform, to help children aged 5-12 overcome maths anxiety and build a love for learning. His mission is to teach children that maths is not something to be feared but something that can be engaging and fun.

“I combined my love for maths, gaming, and helping children with special needs to create BrainySpinach Maths. My goal was to make maths accessible, fun, and rewarding for children who struggle with it, particularly those who have had bad experiences in traditional schooling,” Jon shared.

The Journey of BrainySpinach Maths

Jon's personal journey with maths began early. “Maths made sense of the chaotic world around me,” he recalled. His love for maths, however, faced challenges in his school years. He struggled with harsh criticism from his father and experienced uninspiring teaching in secondary school. “One of my teachers was so boring that I decided not to pursue maths further beyond GCSEs. It’s one of my biggest regrets,” Jon admitted.

After a brief detour into sales, Jon turned back to education, spurred by a health scare. He began working as a SEND teaching assistant. During this time, Jon developed a passion for helping children with special educational needs, particularly those with autism and ADHD. “I realised that I didn’t need to be a fully-fledged teacher to make a difference,” Jon said, reflecting on his early days as a one-to-one teaching assistant. As Jon continued working with SEND children, he noticed a pattern: "I heard 'I hate maths' way too often," Jon said. Many students struggled with maths due to bad experiences, and Jon himself understood the sting of harsh criticism. This realization became the driving force behind BrainySpinach Maths. He wanted to help children enjoy learning maths again, and gaming, specifically Roblox, became his key tool for achieving that.

“My new goal was turning ‘I hate maths’ into ‘I love this game—and therefore maths.’” Jon explained.

Jon’s journey toward creating BrainySpinach Maths started in 2022. After working as a SEND teaching assistant and recognizing how many children struggled with maths anxiety, Jon became determined to create a positive learning experience for these students. He had also noticed that many of his students were highly engaged with Roblox, so he decided to combine his passion for teaching with the gaming platform.

“I discovered Roblox wasn’t just a discount Minecraft. It had so much more potential for engaging students, and I knew I could build something exciting around it,” Jon explained.

Watch: How the Roblox Game works

Challenges and Overcoming Them

Jon faced several challenges along the way. One of the biggest was convincing parents that gaming could be educational. “A lot of parents thought gaming was a waste of time, and I had to show them that learning could happen in unexpected ways,” Jon said. As part of his approach to overcoming this scepticism, he offered parents two free classes. This allowed them to see firsthand how their children engaged with the lessons through gaming, without a significant financial commitment.

“Once they saw their children having fun and learning maths at the same time, it changed their perspective,” Jon explained.

The UK Home Education Landscape

Jon has also noticed a growing trend among parents choosing to home-educate their neurodivergent children, particularly in the UK. “There’s been a significant rise in parents choosing to home-educate, largely because traditional schools struggle to provide the flexibility that neurodivergent children need,” Jon explained. Parents are often driven to homeschool their children due to bullying, inadequate support for special educational needs, or issues related to mental health.

For these families, BrainySpinach Maths provides a valuable alternative. “We offer home-educated students a way to learn maths at their own pace, in a way that resonates with them, and it also gives them the opportunity to connect with peers across the UK,” Jon said. This blend of flexibility, social engagement, and gamified learning has made BrainySpinach Maths an essential tool for many home educating families.

Creative Solutions and Innovations

At the heart of BrainySpinach Maths is Jon's ability to make maths enjoyable through gamification. “I use Roblox to create fun and interactive maths games where kids progress by solving maths problems. It turns maths into something they want to do, not something they have to do,” Jon explained.

He uses hundreds of different maths games on the platform, but his pride and joy is undoubtedly the Math Obby series he's developed. It is a progressive maths game where students have to solve problems to move forward. The game includes different stages, with varying levels of difficulty. The game has gone through several iterations, and Jon is currently working on The Math Obby 3, which is in alpha testing. “It’s already better than the first two versions, and I’m excited to see how it helps even more students,” Jon shared.

In addition to gaming, Jon also incorporates active play and movement into his lessons, for those students who enjoy this. “Sometimes, I have students doing Just Dance videos as part of their maths lessons. It’s a way to get them moving and make learning less rigid,” he said. Jon even allows students to access the maths games for free outside of class. “In my game, the only way to progress is through math. There’s no pay-to-win model like in many Roblox games. This makes sure that every student has a level playing field, regardless of their financial situation,” Jon explained.

Success Stories: From Maths Anxiety to Confidence

One of the most inspiring success stories from BrainySpinach Maths is that of Zakaria, a young boy who struggled with severe maths anxiety and extreme shyness. Zakaria’s parents had tried several tutors, but none of them were able to connect with him. “He wouldn’t speak or turn his camera on. But I told him that was fine. He could communicate through the chat, or just play,” Jon recalled.

By the end of the first session, Zakaria was actively engaging with Jon and his classmates through the chat function. “It was a breakthrough moment. He was excited to return, and over time, his confidence in both maths and social interactions blossomed,” Jon shared.

A year later, Zakaria is not only excelling in maths but also in other subjects like English and science. He now speaks in class, and his teacher has noted his growing confidence. “He’s the highest-ranking player in The Math Obby 2, and his times tables are as fast as mine,” Jon proudly stated. Jon has seen similar transformations in other students as well. “I had one student who refused to engage with maths at all. The very word ‘maths’ was toxic in their household. But now, after a few classes, they’re asking to come back and are actually enjoying maths,” Jon said.

The Team Behind BrainySpinach Maths

While Jon is the face of BrainySpinach Maths, the success of the platform would not have been possible without his dedicated team. Neo, Jon’s French bulldog, serves as both an emotional support mascot and a feature in the game. “Neo is all over The Math Obby 3—there are statues of him, secret rooms if you scratch his nose, and the kids love it,” Jon said with a smile.

Jon’s development team consists of several talented individuals, including ReturnString, the lead developer, Giraffe, the modeler, and Katsu, a UI designer. “Many of my developers are younger, and that’s a huge advantage because they’re still playing Roblox. They understand what works and what doesn’t for our target audience,” Jon explained. The marketing side of the business is handled by Marina, whom Jon describes as “a godsend in these hectic times,” and Manu, who does a great job of handling the website. Jon’s video content is managed by Andrija, an brilliant editor Jon hired to enhance the quality of his YouTube videos.

Tips for Other Tutoring Businesses

Jon advises other entrepreneurs to build a supportive team early. "Get yourself a team as soon as you can, even if everyone's part-time. They don't even have to have had direct work experience – you’d be surprised how many people have the perfect set of transferable skills," he said. Some of Jon’s earliest marketing team hires were interns interested in transitioning into marketing. Two of those interns are now irreplaceable part-time staff members, helping manage BrainySpinach Maths’ growing operations.

Another important piece of advice Jon offers is to not procrastinate. "Don’t put things off. Some of my biggest anxiety points were because I left something too late. If I had done it months ago, I could have avoided a crisis," he shared.

How Lessonspace Helped in Achieving Success

Jon credits Lessonspace with providing the tools that have enabled him to create a successful online learning environment. “I use Lessonspace’s virtual classrooms every day to teach maths. The whiteboard, breakout rooms, and screen-sharing tools have made a huge difference.” Jon said. “Lessonspace is absolutely fantastic for facilitating a fun and engaging environment for my students to flourish.”

One of Jon’s challenges was helping students who were shy or had difficulties engaging in group settings. Jon recently discovered how breakout rooms in Lessonspace could help neurodivergent students who struggle in group settings, and especially those with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). "I didn't realize it at first, but breakout rooms are a fantastic way to help nervous or shy students who are overwhelmed by other students in the classroom to regulate themselves better. I've just had one student with PDA who this worked very well with. So it has a great use for helping SEND kids with online classes!" This tool has proven valuable in making online learning more accessible and comfortable for children with special educational needs. “It allowed them to work in a quieter space and helped them engage without feeling overwhelmed,” Jon explained.

Additionally, the ability to integrate YouTube videos directly into the lesson has been a game-changer. “Before, I had to share the screen. Now, I can pull the video directly into the lesson, and it runs smoothly. This has been especially helpful for students who benefit from visual learning.” Jon also highlighted how Lessonspace’s reliability has helped his business. “I’ve used other platforms that crashed or were glitchy. Lessonspace has been reliable, and if there’s ever an issue, it’s fixed quickly. It's been more reliable than sometimes even Discord! That’s important when you’re teaching kids who need consistency,” Jon noted.

Conclusion

BrainySpinach Maths has transformed the way neurodivergent children approach math. By turning maths into a fun, interactive game, Jon has helped hundreds of students overcome their anxiety and develop a newfound love for learning. His innovative use of Roblox, combined with the flexibility of Lessonspace, has created an engaging and accessible learning environment for children who have struggled in traditional settings. With plans to expand internationally and continue developing new games, BrainySpinach Maths is poised to reach even more students and help them succeed in math—and beyond.

Special Offer from Jon: Refer a Friend and Get a Free Class! 🚀

Jon has a special offer for you! If you’d like to try BrainySpinach Maths classes, use the code BSM100 to get 100% off your first two classes.To learn more, follow BrainySpinach on LinkedIn and YouTube.