You Can Grow Your Own Way

While receiving a diagnosis is incredible for helping to explain why your child may have felt a bit like a fish out of water in a neurotypically organised world, it can be just the beginning of your journey.
It can seem incredibly daunting if you make the decision to tell family and friends about your child’s diagnosis. Where do you start? What do you say? And how do you ensure they see your child as the individual that they are, not just the diagnosis?
We chat to Holly Karten, a disability activist and artist with lived experience, about navigating complex and emotional conversations with positivity and advocacy for your child.

The terms Regulation and Co-regulation are used often when discussing how parents and carers can help the emotional state of their neurodivergent children. But what exactly do these terms mean? And what is the difference between them?
If we are to co-regulate our children, how do we look after ourselves to ensure we’re in an emotional state that is healthy for us both? How do we make sure we can access the best parts of our brain and respond in the most appropriate way?
And does regulated equate to calm? Should our children always be calm?
We chat to Diana Silva, founder of the Keywell app that helps parents better understand their neurodivergent child.

As many of our ND kidlets are heading to a brand new year of school, this felt like the perfect time to discuss navigating school for our children. So much of our time with and for our children is spent navigating all things school - teacher meetings, funding applications, independent learning plans, early pick ups, modified timetables... So our first episode for this season and for this year is with the incredible Kristie Miller, former small school principal and now Creative Arts Therapist, discussing the impact of busy classrooms, identifying the individual in the child and what an equitable and fair education should look like for all our children. Buckle up, this is one thought provoking conversation! Be sure to follow and subscribe to not miss an episode.

People with a neurodivergence often appear to have aversions and reactions to (or to seek out) certain sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures. What is this? Why does it happen? And how do we support our children in navigating the world so that they are not overwhelmed by these experiences? What is the difference between Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS)?
 
We chat with Stephanie Van Velzen, Practice Director and Occupational Therapist at Uplift Therapy Ballarat, about all things sensory!

The Hidden Disability Sunflower Program started in London 8 years ago but has been rapidly gaining momentum in the last few years. What is it? How can it help your ND person? And how do you access it?
We interrupt our Definitions episodes of S1 to bring you this discussion with Justin Bruce, the Director of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Australia and New Zealand to see how the program is changing experiences for people with hidden disabilities.

Developmental trauma has a huge impact on the lives of those that experience it but its consequences are broadly misunderstood. So what IS Developmental Trauma? How is it caused? How does it display? How do you identify it at different ages and stages of life? How can it be challenging for someone who has experienced Developmental Trauma?
We chat with Chelle Taylor, Clinical Psychologist who specialises in supporting infants and young children.

FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) is frequently misunderstood and lacks the education and awareness of many other neurodivergences. However current data shows that FASD is as prevalent as Autism. So what IS FASD? How does it display? How do you identify it at different ages and stages of life? How can it be challenging for someone who has FASD? What are FASD’s hidden strengths? And how do we de-stigmatise FASD for parents to enable them to support their child?
 
We talk with Prue Walker who is a clinical social worker specialising in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and has worked in the out of home care space for over 20 years. She is a fierce and passionate advocate for children with FASD.

What is a Motor Disorder? Let’s talk Tourette’s, Dyspraxia and other motor disorders. How do we define these disorders? What myths do we need to bust about them? How can we identify them? What are the different signs at different ages? What are their challenges and superpowers? Let's dive in!
 
We speak with Dr Amanda Maxwell, Clinical Psychologist, who specialises in supporting people with motor disorders.