Secret Agent Society - Solving the Mystery of Social Encounters

01/10/2026

The "well-behaved" child in your classroom or clinic may be working harder than anyone realises.

Masking is hard to see, and a child who seems calm, compliant, or "coping fine" at school may be expending enormous energy to hold it together, only to unravel once they feel safe at home.

For clinicians and educators, this has real implications:

🔍 Behavioural observations alone may not capture a child's true internal experience
🔍 "High-functioning" presentations can mask significant distress or unmet need
🔍 Building trust and psychological safety is essential before masking will reduce enough to see a fuller picture

At Secret Agent Society HQ, we encourage service providers to create spaces where children don't have to mask to participate — where differences are expected, respected, and worked with rather than around.

How do you factor masking into your assessments or classroom observations?

"But they're fine at school." 💭 If you've heard this and then watched your child melt down when they get home, they could be masking.

Many neurodivergent kids learn, often without even realising it, to hold in their feelings, mimic peers, and push through discomfort just to get through the school day. It takes enormous effort, and it often shows in spaces where they finally feel safe enough to let their feelings out. 💛

At Secret Agent Society HQ, we encourage teachers and clinicians to create spaces that help kids feel safe to be who they are, not who they think they need to be to fit in.

Image description: A child with long brown hair sits cross-legged looking up attentively, near a tablet in a yellow case on a table. Another person sits behind them.

25/09/2026

We're excited to share that Kathleen Davey is part of the Committee for the Neurodivergence Wellbeing Conference, From Insight to Impact: Cultivating the Future of Neurodivergent Wellbeing.

Lasting change for neurodivergent kids and their families happens when research, lived experience, and everyday practice come together. That's what this conference is built for: bringing clinicians, educators, and families together to turn insight into real-world impact.

If you support neurodivergent children in your practice, classroom, or clinic, then come along to RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast on the 28th - 29th of September for new perspectives and practical strategies.

🔗 anzmh.asn.au/nwc

Use code KATHLEEN10 for 10% off your registration.

18/09/2026

Evidence-based shouldn't just be a buzzword.

When you're choosing a program to support your child's social and emotional growth, it's fair to ask: does this work, and how do we know?

Secret Agent Society was developed through clinical research and has been studied in independent, peer-reviewed trials. That means the new social-emotional tools your child is gaining are grounded in evidence, not guesswork.

We believe families and professionals alike deserve transparency about what's behind the programs they trust. 💛

Have questions about the research behind SAS? Drop them below; we're happy to share more.

Image description: Children and an adult high-five across a table with tablets, books, and toys, in a room with a timber wall and TV screen.

15/09/2026

What does "progress" really look like?

For many families, progress isn't a straight line. That's exactly why goal setting in the Secret Agent Society Small Group Program is personal, flexible, and collaborative.

We start by asking: What matters most to this child and family right now? From there, SAS Facilitators help set goals that are realistic, meaningful, and revisited often. Because kids grow, circumstances shift, and goals should too.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, or clinician walking alongside a child, we believe the best goals are the ones built with them, not just for them.

👉 What's one goal you're currently working toward with a child in your life?

Image description: 3D animated characters in grey and purple "Secret Agent Society" uniforms stand outdoors near trees. One raises their hand, smiling; the others hold small devices nearby.

09/09/2026

Every child in the Secret Agent Society program works toward their personal goals. These aren't generic to-do lists, but things that matter to their world 🕵️‍♀️

Maybe it's:
🌟 Joining a game at recess
🌟 Asking for a break before feeling overwhelmed
🌟 Handling changes in plans and staying calm

Trained SAS Facilitators work with families to set goals that feel achievable, are practised in real life, and get celebrated every step of the way. Progress doesn't have to be huge to be meaningful.

What's a "small win" your child has had recently? We'd love to celebrate it with you in the comments. 💬👇

Image description: A young child with short blonde hair, wearing a purple shirt with a character graphic, sits pointing at a tablet screen. They're in front of wooden bench seating.

07/09/2026

Choosing the right support for your child can feel overwhelming, especially with so many programs claiming to be "evidence-based." Here are a few questions worth asking your provider:

🔎 Has this program been studied in peer-reviewed research?
🔎 Who was it developed for, and does that match my child's needs?
🔎 How is progress measured throughout the program?
🔎 Will skills transfer to school, home, and social settings, not just the therapy room?
🔎 What training do facilitators receive to deliver it well?

Secret Agent Society was built on clinical research and is delivered by trained facilitators worldwide, because your child deserves support that's been tested in the real world.

Save this post for your next appointment. 📌

Image description: Someone holds up a tablet showing the Secret Agent Society platform on-screen with animated characters, in a classroom with students in the background.

02/09/2026

Full whiteboards, cold coffee, and ideas everywhere! This is what planning season looks like for the team behind Secret Agent Society.

Once a year, our Social Science Translated team steps back from the day-to-day to reflect on the milestones of the past twelve months, including the families reached, the facilitators trained, and the kids who felt more understood.

This year's catch-up was full of big questions: How to reach more children, in more communities, in more corners of the world? The team explored how to make the program more accessible, without losing what makes it work, and left feeling even more energised for the year ahead.

31/08/2026

Meet the Social Science Translated team behind Secret Agent Society, and discover the "why" behind the name.

Social science research holds incredible insight into how children think, feel, and connect. But research papers often don't reach classrooms. Clinical studies aren't spoken about at the family dinner table. Somewhere between the science and the everyday, something gets lost in translation... and that's the gap we exist to close.

Our job is to take evidence-based research on social-emotional learning and translate it into something real: programs, resources, and support that clinicians can trust and families can actually use.

Because the best science in the world only matters if it reaches the people who need it!

Image description: Three people stand talking near a flip chart reading "Social Science Translated," with a large window overlooking water and hills behind them.

29/08/2026

In Secret Agent Society, goal setting isn't a form that parents and clinicians fill out on behalf of the child. It's a collaborative process built around each child's own motivations, strengths, and everyday context.

Rather than imposing generic goals, SAS Facilitators work with children, families, and educators to identify goals that are:

✔️ Meaningful: Tied to what matters to the child.
✔️ Measurable: So progress can be monitored by the child and their support team.
✔️ Generalisable: Can be practised across home, school, and community settings, not just the therapy room.

How do you practise goal setting with your child? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Image description: A child and their grandmother, wearing red-framed glasses, look closely together at a smartphone that they are both holding.

28/08/2026

Every learner has the right to feel safe and included. That's one of the reasons why we include the kids' Bully Guard Body Armour activity in Secret Agent Society. It helps them feel confident, stay calm, and know how to seek support from a trusted adult when they're facing bullying. Parents, teachers, and mentors also learn about these techniques, so they can watch out for the signs of bullying, offer support, and create a safer environment.

Learning tools like this can make a big difference in how children feel, online and offline!

Every learner has the right to feel safe and included, online and offline.

Yet learners with disabilities are up to 1.5 times more likely to experience bullying, creating barriers to their well-being, participation and education.

UNESCO works with schools, teachers and governments to prevent and respond to violence and bullying, including by strengthening teachers' capacity to recognise and address harm and helping learners navigate digital spaces safely.

Creating safer learning environments means ensuring that no learner is left without protection.

Learn more: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/against-school-violence-and-bullying