Here You Grow

I’ve been putting this post off… so many feelings! 😭

The end of 2024 marked the end of my work in solo practice early intervention and disability inclusion. I’ve spent the holidays wrapping up a few loose ends with my families, and preparing to head back to full time employment in a school-based role in 2025.

Almost two years of establishing and running my little biz and gosh I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved. As it turns out, I’m just not cut out for working on my own. I have missed being part of a school community and everything that comes with being on a team. I had to make the decision to either take the plunge and expand to create my own little team, or return to school-based employment. With the busy-ness of my own little fam, it’s probably not the time to build an empire, so back to school I go.

I have landed a dream role in wellbeing and inclusion at one of our local primary schools, and cannot wait to take everything I’ve learned back to helping make education and school life inclusive for all.

I’m going to keep my account open for now, so please stick around for content more directly related to inclusive education and wellbeing.

Thanks for being part of my journey 🥰🥰🥰

Switching off for a much-needed two-week break! ☀️ My first proper leave since starting my little biz!

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone when I return ❤️

I find myself saying this to the parents I work with a lot. Sometimes, the only way through a challenging time is to get through it. There are no tricks, strategies or resources that will dramatically change things and we just have to ride it out.

I’m going to share an example. Read on for an Argento family tale 📚

For as long as I can remember, our eldest son has slept in our room. It has been years since he has (briefly) slept alone. We initially tried all the things to encourage and support him to sleep in his own room, Ross Greene-style Plan B addressing his concerns (darkness, worry about baddies) and sharing ours (not enough room, disrupted sleep). Simultaneously seeing a psychologist, ongoing OT, spending a fortune at Adairs to set up a cosy bed (he loves linen!), night lights, the works!

We finally landed on Plan C… buying him a bed that fitted in our room. We completely let go of the expectation that he sleep in a separate room. Cue the freedom that comes with radical acceptance 🎉

That was almost two years ago. On Sunday, he declared he was moving to another room. He curled up and went to sleep in his old bed that night and every night since.

Just like that, the era is over. For now, anyway!

Sometimes, the only way through it is through it ❤️

Today marks one year since I launched my little biz! 🎉

One year of meeting the most beautiful kids, supporting incredible families and working alongside so many skilled and dedicated professionals along the way.

It’s such an honour to be invited into the lives of children and families, particularly when times are tough which is so often the case in this line of work.

It’s super fitting that today I’ve had sessions with my two very first families 🥰

Feeling proud, lucky, excited for the future … all the feels!

Thanks for supporting me ❤️

Listen in this morning as I chat with the lovely Georgia Stynes on ABC Radio Canberra! 🎤

We’re talking all things travel and neurodiversity ✈️🧳

Going to air after the 10am news. I’ll pop a live link in my stories 👆🏼 and share the full interview later!

If you follow the headlines, you may have heard this week about changes coming to the way Victorian government schools are mandated to teach reading.

HALLELUJAH! 🎉🎉🎉

I’m going to give some context for those who have never had to dive down this rabbit hole.

Essentially there are two main approaches to teaching children to read:

1. A balanced approach, where phonic knowledge is taught alongside other strategies such as looking at the picture for a clue, using the first sound to have a good guess, thinking about what would make sense in the sentence, etc. Sight words (high-frequency words) are learned by rote. The general idea here is that if we immerse children in quality texts, they will learn to read when they are taught these strategies.

2. A structured and systematic approach, where phonic knowledge is explicitly taught according to a developmental sequence. This approach also focuses on phonemic awareness (hearing sounds in words), vocabulary and oral language skills as key contributors to developing reading fluency and comprehension.

They both sound pretty reasonable, right? The problem is, only one of these approaches is supported by scientific research into how the brain learns to read. Hint: it’s not the first one 🙅🏻‍♀️

Balanced literacy works for a lot of kids, especially those with strong language skills. But it doesn’t work for all. And we need all kids to learn to read. So an approach that has been PROVEN to be effective seems like the most sensible choice.

Unfortunately most pre-service teacher training is geared towards a balanced approach. This is where I started, and I feel horrible thinking of the kids I failed when I knew no better.

I’m now a passionate advocate for evidence-based literacy instruction and have been lucky enough to train in some of the highest quality programs. I’ve seen the results and they speak for themselves! ⭐️

This is a huge win for our Victorian kids! 🥳🥳🥳

My DMs are always open if you would like to chat about anything literacy-related!

This one has been a LONG time coming!

I had a request earlier in the year to create and share content on travelling with neurodivergent kids. I cannot tell you how many of the families I speak to have described holidays that almost ended in divorce 🤯 so please know this is a very common challenge! I will always remember a trip to Sydney with our then 2yo. We got in the car at the airport and my husband said ‘That was the WORST and most expensive trip I’ve ever been on!’… He was not wrong!

We’ve come a long way from expecting our spirited child to dine in trendy Bondi restaurants, not pull apart hotel rooms and sit ‘nicely’ on a plane ✈️

I hope these tips give you a few things to think about if you are planning any upcoming travel 🌴

If you’re a seasoned traveller, I would love to hear what has been successful for your family ❤️

🌻 More info on the Sunflower Lanyard initiative can be found via Hidden Disabilities Sunflower

I’m feeling pretty special to have my story featured in today! 🤩 Thank you to Sarah and the GT team, and Verity of for the combined effort to shine a spotlight on a journey that is so familiar to many.

It’s not an easy road, but I love being able to bring my lived experience to the work I do with families and kids ❤️

New year, new toys! 🎉🎉

Super excited to receive this beautiful package from , featuring some games and activities I’ve had my eye on for awhile! Boxing Day sales look a little different these days 🤪

And my own mini toy testers were super excited to put them through their paces. The gorgeous miniature bricks from are going to be a huge hit with some of my kiddos. Creativity and fine motor play in abundance! 🏠

Now let’s see if I can get enough peace to get this morning’s session notes done! 🤞🏼

Goodies from:

Happy New Year to my friends, families and followers! 🎆

The school holidays have really got me good, so this is my Christmas, end of 2023 and start of 2024 post all rolled into one!

2023: The year it all began! I have finished the year on such a high, with a lot to celebrate. Launching on July 31, in five months my little biz has grown slowly and organically, just the way I hoped.

In summary:

⭐ I have worked with 7 beautiful families, with children ranging from 4-8 years

⭐ I have attended kinders and schools and supported educators to understand and accommodate these learners in their education and care settings

⭐ I have written letters and produced documents to help families secure much-needed NDIS funding and improved educational outcomes

⭐ I have undertaken further professional learning in language delay (), DIRFloortime 101, and I’m mid-way through 201 ()

⭐ I have connected with other professionals working in the therapy space in Geelong… I’m hoping to do more of this in 2024!

With so many plans and aspirations, I’m excited to see what 2024 brings!

Thank you all for being here to support me along the way! 💕My socials definitely don’t get the love I would like to give them, but I hope to share a little more this year. No promises, but a girl can dream!

A big thank you to those of you who recommend me to others. The majority of my families have come through word of mouth referrals. This is the biggest compliment, and I’m incredibly grateful!

Wishing everyone peace, fun and good health for the year ahead ✨

I’ve been quiet on the socials recently… lots happening at HYG! 💕 New families, a little media coverage (watch this space!) and a 14-week training adventure in the fabulous therapeutic intervention known as DIRFloortime! 🤩

I am incredibly selective about what programs, approaches and interventions I incorporate into my practice. Evidence-based practice is huge for me, and that includes stakeholder evidence. I listen to adult autistic voices and consider whether an approach is truly respectful of neurodivergent individuals, or whether it is directly or subtly geared at making our kids appear more neurotypical.

I am super excited to have completed my initial training in DIRFloortime through and I’m currently working through my full certification 😍 Swipe through to read more about what it is, but essentially I love that it reflects everything I’m about and truly meets our kids where they are at… with fun, play and authentic interaction! 🌈🥰

I still have a little bit of capacity for this year, and will open up another day in 2024. Reach out if you would like to chat about how I can support you and your little one to build regulation, communication and engagement through play ⭐️

Love these wise words from NeuroWild about building a positive identity through diagnosis!

It doesn’t matter how good your intentions are.

We need to know what kind of brain we have so we can learn to take care of it. Otherwise we are likely to keep doing more of the same, wilting, and wondering what on earth we’re doing wrong.

We need to know.
And we deserve to feel good about it.

Em