Play and Beyond - Therapy and Support

🌸 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘. 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄. 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖. — 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐃

This Spring, we're making private therapeutic support a little more accessible for local children, teens and families.

💙 PLAY THERAPY — COMMUNITY ACCESS PROGRAM
Selected Play Therapy places for eligible private clients at just $110 per session — saving up to $80 per session.
Not sure whether your family may be eligible? Simply reach out and have a chat with us.

💜 CREATIVE ARTS — SPRING PACKAGE
Our Creative Arts Spring Package includes 10 sessions + FREE intake + FREE end-of-program update, saving families up to $190.

📍 Spring availability: Places currently available in Maryborough, with limited availability in Hervey Bay.

To find out more or enquire about a place:
📞 0478 252 097
✉️ [email protected]

𝐸𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠. 𝑇𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦. 𝑂𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤.

💙 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝟒 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 ... (seriously, how are we at Term 4 already?! 😳)

We are currently welcoming 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐒 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 at Play and Beyond!

We provide evidence-based, child-centred support for children, teens and families, including:

💜 Therapeutic Play Therapy
🩵 Early Intervention Support
💙 Creative Arts Therapy
🧡 Counselling & Family Support

📍 Hervey Bay & Maryborough

We also have limited places available through our Community Access Program, offering eligible private families savings of up to $80 per session.

If your child or teen could use a little extra support heading into Term 4, we'd love to hear from you. 💙

📞 0478 252 097
📧 [email protected]

💙 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐆𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎...

𝑀𝑌 𝑃𝐿𝐴𝑌 𝐴𝑁𝐷 𝐵𝐸𝑌𝑂𝑁𝐷 𝑇𝐸𝐴𝑀! 💙

And let me explain why they have well and truly earned it ...

When we’re pushed outside that good old window of tolerance, our nervous systems can respond in different ways.

Fight. Flight. Freeze. Fawn.

Some people might tend towards one response more than another.

But then there’s me ... !!!

Apparently my AuDHD brain looked at the entire selection and thought:

“𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛?” 😂

As recently proven, when one particular situation pushes me outside my window of tolerance, I can apparently switch between them at the click of a finger ... sometimes daily, sometimes hourly, and occasionally before anyone else has even caught up with the last version of me!

And here I was saying I can’t multitask anymore...

Apparently I’ve just found a new way! 😂

Anyway, the past week has been a particularly impressive demonstration, I must say.

Basically...

FIGHT:
“𝐎𝐊... 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐔𝐓!”

I have THOUGHTS and apparently everyone needs to hear them ... and NOW!

FLIGHT:
“𝑁𝑜𝑝𝑒. 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒. 𝐼’𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑡.”

FREEZE:
Brain has left the building. Please try again later.

And then there’s FAWN ...

Fawn doesn’t really take a turn.

Fawn oversees the entire operation. 💙

𝐼𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦? 𝐷𝑖𝑑 𝐼 𝑢𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒? 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘? 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦? 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 ...

So while fight, flight and freeze are causing absolute chaos ...

Fawn is in the background conducting a full stakeholder consultation!

Then I can be completely shut down and absolutely ... NOPE. NO MORE.

Until...

💡 A random thought appears and suddenly:

“𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓!!! 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐔𝐓...”

And we’re back!!!

The people who have had front-row seats to this little AuDHD spectacular lately?

My amazing Play and Beyond team. 💙

At this point, I suspect they may be forming a support group.

𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬.

“𝐻𝑖, 𝑚𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ______, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 14 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑜𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦.”

Group: “𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒. 𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.” 😂

Anyway, thoughts and prayers for the Play and Beyond team.

They’re good people. 💙

But in the interests of full transparency...

𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑡!!!

💙 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 ...

Well... here it is!

The reflection I promised last week about whether we might be unintentionally creating an "𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦" between neurodivergent and neurotypical people.

💭 𝐴𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝐴𝑢𝐷𝐻𝐷 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 — 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑠, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛!

💙 ✦ 💜

✨ 𝐒𝐨... 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠...

Is there an "us and them" developing between neurodivergent and neurotypical people?

Honestly?

I have no idea.

And I'm pretty sure everyone will have a different opinion on this one!

But sometimes I reflect on conversations I've had, things I've read, articles that pop up and social media comments ... and I wonder. 💭

𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔?

And then my brain goes down another rabbit hole ...

𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡?

Now THIS is where I will try to be really careful with my words.

There are very real challenges and support needs that can come with being neurodivergent, and sometimes understanding and reasonable adjustments are absolutely necessary.

Not everything can simply be changed, learnt or overcome ... and I know that very much from my own lived experience. 💙

But I still wonder ... 💭

Could some of the messages our children hear unintentionally start to shift from:

"𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼'𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑠𝑜 𝐼 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠"

to something more like:

"𝐼'𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑠𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒."

Does that happen?

I think sometimes it probably does.

How often? I honestly don't know.

And I'm certainly not suggesting it's the experience or thinking of every neurodivergent person.

But I do wonder whether it's something we need to be mindful of.

Because eventually our neurodivergent children become neurodivergent adults.

They'll have jobs, relationships, friendships and responsibilities. They'll encounter people who don't understand them. They'll find themselves in environments that aren't perfect for them.

Because unfortunately ...

the world isn't perfectly designed for ANY of us. 💙

And that's one of the reasons why early support is so important.

Not to make a neurodivergent child less neurodivergent.

Definitely not to teach them to mask.

But to help them develop self-awareness, communication, coping skills, flexibility and resilience ... things that may help them navigate an imperfect world while still being completely themselves.

And then there's the other side of my brain saying ... 💭

Maybe this isn't even really a neurodivergent versus neurotypical thing?

Because neurotypical people struggle too.

They have to adapt. They compromise. They find themselves in environments that don't suit them. They deal with people they don't understand (and who don't understand them!).

We're ALL trying to navigate a pretty complicated and constantly changing world.

✨ So, I suppose this is what I keep coming back to ...

Is there an "us and them" developing between neurodivergent and neurotypical people?

And if there is, could some of the messages we're giving unintentionally be contributing to it?

Are we sometimes expecting the adapting to become a little too one-sided?

Or is what I'm noticing simply part of neurodivergent people finally having a stronger voice and receiving the understanding they should have had all along?

Maybe there's a little truth in all of it.

Maybe I'm completely overthinking it.

(Entirely possible ... have you met my brain? 😂)

I honestly don't know.

But I do sometimes wonder ... 💭

And maybe that's the point of reflecting — we don't always have to have the answer. 💙💜

Two upcoming Maryborough-Sunrise Rotary events that may be of interest to our families and wider community. 😊

A lovely opportunity to get out, connect and support a local community organisation. 💙

Thanks to Rotary Club of Maryborough - Sunrise for organising these events!

💙 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬... 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

I know I promised my next reflection would be about the growing “us and them” divide ... and I WILL come back to that one!

But a conversation this morning sent my AuDHD brain somewhere else ... as it often does 😂💭

As always...

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑢𝐷𝐻𝐷 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 — 𝑤𝑒'𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡.

💙 ✦ 💜

With NDIS changes already impacting children and families, and Thriving Kids bringing further changes for children with lower-to-moderate support needs, I keep coming back to one question...

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬?

Level 1. Level 2. Level 3.

𝐀 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.

But autism isn't a ladder where a higher number makes someone “more autistic”.

𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭.

What differs is the individual ... and support needs can vary enormously, even for the SAME child depending on their environment, circumstances and capacity.

💙 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 ... 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐱 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧.

And then there's masking.

The child who goes to school, follows instructions, socialises and seemingly “copes”...

until 3pm.

They get into the car or walk through the front door and completely fall apart.

Were they really coping?

Or did they use every bit of nervous-system energy they had just getting through the day?

It's like a bottle of Coke.

Sensory demands. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑒.
Social expectations. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑒.
Noise. Transitions. Changes. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑒.

Then one tiny thing happens.

The lid comes off.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 ... 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭.

💭 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝐶𝐴𝑁 𝑑𝑜 ... 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝐶𝑂𝑆𝑇𝑆 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡?

And this is where my mind goes beyond childhood.

If support is reduced BEFORE children have developed the regulation, strategies and support systems they need, what could that mean later?

Could years of unmet needs, chronic stress and masking make SOME people more vulnerable to:

Mental health difficulties.
School disengagement.
Substance misuse or addiction.
Difficulty maintaining employment.
Housing instability.
Interaction with the justice system.

𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 ... 𝐈'𝐦 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭.

I'm simply wondering whether years of being unsupported could make SOME people more vulnerable.

I know from my own experience what years of appearing to cope while constantly drawing on reserves can eventually cost.

That's MY experience ... not everyone's ... but it does make me wonder about the children doing that very same thing now.

💭 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑎ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑?

Of course funding isn't infinite.

But perhaps the question shouldn't only be...

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?”

Perhaps we should also ask...

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭?”

I don't know the answers.

I'm simply watching these changes unfold and wondering whether we're looking far enough into the future.

And I keep coming back to this...

💙 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭?

Just my perspective.

Just Rochelle reflecting. 💙

𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛... 𝑡ℎ𝑒 “𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚” 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 — 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐼 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛! 😂💭

💜 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬.

We know that for some families, accessing the right support for their child can feel financially out of reach.

That’s why we’ve introduced our Community Access Program — offering significantly reduced private fees for eligible families accessing Child-Centred Play Therapy and selected Early Intervention Support services.

Through the program, eligible families may save $50–$80 off selected private fees.

Importantly, this is not a change to the quality of support provided. It is simply our way of trying to make therapeutic support more accessible to children and families within our community. 💙

📍 Limited places across Maryborough & Hervey Bay
💜 Weekly or fortnightly appointments
💙 Individual applications assessed
💜 Evidence-based, child-focused support

Want to know more?
Please contact us directly for further information about the program, including fees, eligibility and available appointments.

📞 0478 252 097
📧 [email protected]

Because every child deserves the opportunity to access the support they need to thrive. 💜

𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑-𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑆𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠. 𝐸𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠 & 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦. 𝐿𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚.

💙 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 ...

💭 Before I reflect...

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑢𝐷𝐻𝐷 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛—𝑚𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠, 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒.

💙 ✦ 💜

✨ 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲...

We talk so much about understanding and supporting neurodivergent children.

And rightly so. 💙

But what happens when those children grow up?

Because neurodivergence doesn't magically disappear at eighteen.

Those children become neurodivergent adults.

For many of us diagnosed later in life, we grew up without the understanding and support we're now trying so hard to give children.

So we adapted.

We masked.
We people-pleased.
We pushed through.
And we became incredibly bloody good at appearing "okay."

"𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙!"

Maybe.

Or maybe we became experts at surviving.

And surviving isn't the same as thriving.

I'm beginning to understand the cost of that myself.

My once impressive ability to multitask?

Gone. 😂

My window of tolerance?

Maybe it hasn't changed as much as I thought—I just used to mask it better.

Those very close to me know the Rochelle you see publicly isn't always the Rochelle who walks through the front door.

For years, I could hold it together in public and let the mask drop at home.

These days?

I simply don't have the same capacity to keep hiding it.

The overwhelm shows.
The frustration shows.
Apparently, so does the AuDHD. 😂

And my biggest concern?

What if I lose my sense of humour?! 😳

Because humour has probably been one of my greatest masks.

If the sarcasm ever disappears...

THEN we should probably worry. 😂

But beneath the humour is my real reflection...

We're getting better at understanding and supporting neurodivergent children.

Are we remembering to extend that same understanding to neurodivergent adults—especially those who never received it as children?

Because understanding neurodivergence shouldn't have an expiry date. 💙💜

💭 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧...

𝐼𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛 "𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚"?

💚𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭?

Compassionate, Wholistic and Individualised Nutrition Care Feed Your Future Dietetics is now welcoming new clients!

With many years of experience supporting:Neurodivergent individuals (children and adults)Individuals with eating disorders including ARFID Consultations available via:

Virtual • Telehealth • Zoom Learn more about my approach and NDIS information:

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.feedyourfuturedietetics.com

🎨 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 — 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡

We’re excited to introduce our new 6-week small group Therapeutic Creative Arts Program, facilitated by our Creative Arts Practitioner, Bella. 💚

This is more than simply an art group. Creative Minds Club is a therapeutic, intentionally small-group program where creative arts are used purposefully to support children's emotional wellbeing and development. Through carefully planned experiences, children are supported to explore emotions, build confidence, develop self-expression and social connection, strengthen their sense of self and discover their individual strengths — all within a safe, relaxed and supportive environment.

Bella holds a degree in Psychology and Criminology, with experience in trauma support, youth work and supporting children through creative arts, along with additional training in creative arts practice.

🌿 Maximum 4 children
🎨 Ages 6–12
📍 Play and Beyond Creative Arts Studio — Maryborough
🗓️ Friday after-school sessions — commencement dependent on minimum enrolment numbers
🎁 Small take-home art pack included at program completion
💙 NDIS & private clients welcome

Places are very limited. Contact us for further information, including program fees, or to register your child’s interest.

📞 0478 252 097
📧 [email protected]

Minimum enrolment numbers and terms & conditions apply.