Autism Actually is a consultancy and advocacy business based in Victoria, Australia that provides workshops and presentations on Autism in Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary settings. We consist of a small team that combines insights from personal, professional, and personal experience as Autistic adults. We aim to instill a positive Neurodiversity mindset in students, Autistic individuals, parents, and staff members about Autism through accepting and embracing the difference and empowering Autistic individuals to follow their passions.

Disability discrimination is when a person with a disability is treated less favourably than a person without the disability in the same or similar circumstances. The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) makes it against the law to treat people unfairly because of a disability. The Disability Standards for Education (the Standards) came into effect on 18 August 2005. The Standards seek to ensure that students with disability can access and participate in education on the same basis as other students.

The best advisors for your Autistic child are autistic adults. One thing that may confuse you, however, is their intense dislike of ABA therapy, which stands for applied behavior analysis– something which may have been heavily recommended to you for your child. Chances are after a diagnosis, your child will be recommended for some kind of therapy. With all the confusion, which ones are safe and will help, and which ones are harmful? Who should you listen to? What aspects of therapy are wrong? Please watch this video with transcript.

As leaders in the diverse field of ADHD, our mission is to promote evidence-based research, diagnosis, treatment and management of ADHD for the benefit of individuals with ADHD and their families across Australia. AADPA is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with a diverse membership of inter-disciplinary professionals across Australia and New Zealand. Formed in November 2016, AADPA is committed to working towards enhanced lifetime outcomes for individuals with ADHD and their families.

Commonly known as the ‘queen of common sense’, Maggie Dent has become one of Australia’s favourite parenting authors and educators. She has a particular interest in the early years, adolescence and resilience, and is an undisputed ‘boy champion’. Maggie’s experience includes teaching, counselling, and working in palliative care/funeral services and suicide prevention. Maggie is an advocate for the healthy, common-sense raising of children in order to strengthen families and communities. She is a passionate, positive voice for children of all ages. Maggie's episode on Square Peg Round Whole can be found on the website here.

The long-term impacts of SDAs can also be severe. Research has demonstrated that students who have been subject to SDAs can go on to experience poorer mental health, prolonged unemployment, increased stigma and feelings of rejection and an increased likelihood of becoming involved in crime (Graham, 2020). These risks are especially high for low-income or single-parent families with limited supports. Recent investment in Positive Behavioural Intervention Supports (PBIS) by the Department is welcome and may well result in a decrease in overall numbers of SDAs in Queensland state schools, however it alone will not address the overrepresentation of students with backgrounds of disadvantage in those statistics. We therefore need to better understand why particular students are being disproportionately excluded from schools. The collection of nuanced data around SDAs is integral to this, because without sophisticated data analysis, effective policies that successfully reduce the prevalence of SDAs will remain elusive.

At Hobart ADHD Consultants we are passionate about people with ADHD reaching their full potential. We want people with ADHD to have life-long skills that enable them to manage challenges and make the most of their strengths. We want them to feel happy with who they are, and believe in themselves. We want their loved ones to feel confident in understanding and supporting them, and for home to be a happy haven where everyone has a strong sense of wellbeing.

Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) is the evidence-based model of care that helps caregivers focus on identifying the problems that are causing concerning behaviors in kids and solving those problems collaboratively and proactively. The model is a departure from approaches emphasizing the use of consequences to modify concerning behaviors. In families, general and special education schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, the CPS model has a track record of dramatically improving behavior and dramatically reducing or eliminating discipline referrals, detentions, suspensions, restraints, and seclusions. The CPS model is non-punitive, non-exclusionary, trauma-informed, transdiagnostic, and transcultural. And this website is the hub of free resources on the CPS model.

Our vision is a world in which the Autistic community is supported by its families and allies to achieve genuine acceptance, inclusion, and active citizenship, and in which Autistic culture and identity is celebrated and nurtured. At Reframing Autism, we want to change the narrative to fit a strengths-based neurodiversity view. Ultimately, our goal is to improve long-term Autistic mental health and wellbeing for both our current and future generations

Our goal is to educate and support schools, teachers, parents, carers, families and individuals who are Neurodivergent themselves, teach and support Neurodivergent students or just seek a better understanding of Neurodiversity. This will be achieved through a strength-based, Talent Development Model. All of our teachers have educational qualifications and specialise in Neurodivergent students and are Neurodivergent themselves since as DuBois said, “Children learn more from what you are than what you teach”.

What’s an explosive child A child who responds to routine problems with extreme frustration crying, screaming, swearing, kicking, hitting, biting, spitting, destroying property, and worse. A child whose frequent, severe outbursts leave his or her parents feeling frustrated, scared, worried, and desperate for help. Most of these parents have tried everything-reasoning, explaining, punishing, sticker charts, therapy, medication but to no avail. They can’t figure out why their child acts the way he or she does; they wonder why the strategies that work for other kids don’t work for theirs; and they don’t know what to do instead. Dr. Ross Greene, a distinguished clinician and pioneer in the treatment of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, has worked with thousands of explosive children, and he has good news: these kids aren’t attention-seeking, manipulative, or unmotivated, and their parents aren’t passive, permissive pushovers. Rather, explosive kids are lacking some crucial skills in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem solving, and they require a different approach to parenting. Throughout this compassionate, insightful, and practical book, Dr. Greene provides a new conceptual framework for understanding their difficulties, based on research in the neurosciences. He explains why traditional parenting and treatment often don’t work with these children, and he describes what to do instead. Instead of relying on rewarding and punishing, Dr. Greene’s Collaborative Problem Solving model promotes working with explosive children to solve the problems that precipitate explosive episodes, and teaching these kids the skills they lack.

Just because a child is gifted doesn't mean they don't have other types of neurodivergence, like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and more. Conversely, even children with one of these diagnoses can be cognitively gifted. Raising Twice-Exceptional Children provides you with a roadmap to understand the complex makeup of your "gifted-plus," or twice-exceptional, child or teen. The book helps you understand your child's diagnosis, meet their social-emotional needs, build self-regulation skills and goal setting, and teach self-advocacy. It also shows you effective ways to collaborate with teachers and school staff, and it offers advice on finding strength-based strategies that support development at home. For too long, these kids have fallen through the cracks. This book provides key information on how to best support neurodivergent children by leveraging their strengths while supporting their struggles.

Family Advocacy supports families to advocate with and on behalf of a family member with disability. We recognise that families striving for a socially valued life for their family member does and will create a richer society whereby people with disability are seen as valuable societal contributors. The need for advocacy by families often springs from a vision of what the family want to eventuate for their child’s future and barriers that exist that may inhibit this vision. We believe that families are most likely to take up the role of advocacy for their family member with disability over the long term and act in the person’s best interests. We consider that families hold a natural authority in the lives of their family member with disability, while also acknowledging that this may not be the case for all families as a conflict of interest can occur between what is best for the family versus what is best for the person with disability.

We believe the traditional one-size-fits all model of education is outdated and broken. We believe our future is directly tied to the next generation of learners. We believe in the power of networking all education stakeholders. Our mission is to support the design of future-ready learning environments that are equitable, beneficial, and meaningful for all learners.

Jonathan Mooney blends anecdote, expertise, and memoir to present a new mode of thinking about how we live and learn—individually, uniquely, and with advantages and upshots to every type of brain and body. As a neuro-diverse kid diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD who didn't learn to read until he was twelve, the realization that that he wasn’t the problem—the system and the concept of normal were—saved Mooney’s life and fundamentally changed his outlook. Here he explores the toll that being not normal takes on kids and adults when they’re trapped in environments that label them, shame them, and tell them, even in subtle ways, that they are the problem. But, he argues, if we can reorient the ways in which we think about diversity, abilities, and disabilities, we can start a revolution.

At Bridges Learning System, we are passionate about creating connections and belonging within a neurodiverse world. Our flagship curriculum uses neurodiversity-affirming outcomes to build confidence in students and their instructors!

Although Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift are well known speakers and advocates within the disability rights community, they prefer to think of themselves as modern day storytellers, continuing the long held tradition of using humour and narrative to initiate self-reflection and social change.

Gifted students with disabilities, also referred to as twice-exceptional children, need the strategies in "Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children: Understanding, Teaching, and Counseling Gifted Students" in order to find success in the regular classroom. By offering a thorough discussion of twice-exceptional students based on research into how gifted students with disabilities learn, the author helps teachers and education professionals develop a broad understanding of the complex issues associated with gifted students who have disabilities. This comprehensive text provides an overview of who these students are, how teachers can tap into their strengths and weaknesses, and what educational strategies should be implemented to help these students succeed in school and beyond. The book will guide a collaborative team step-by-step through the process of identifying students' needs, selecting modifications and accommodations, and developing a comprehensive plan to meet the diverse needs of twice-exceptional children. By implementing the strategies suggested in this book, teachers of twice-exceptional gifted students can ensure these students do not just survive in the classroom, but thrive.

This report presents compelling ‘real world’ data outlining critical gaps and inconsistencies in the capacity of schools to support the learning, social and emotional needs of many students with ADHD. It is a great resource for parent and teacher advocacy towards improved outcomes for students with ADHD in Australian schools.

Twice-Exceptional is a term used to describe students who have two exceptionalities; the first exceptionality being their giftedness, the second being their learning disability. The co-occurrence of giftedness with a learning disability is not a new concept. In fact, Hollingworth (1923) deliberated on the needs of this group almost 100 years ago. It is highly plausible that a private music teacher will teach 2E children within their teaching career. Rogers (2010) found that a total of 14% of gifted children in her research presented with some form of twice-exceptionality. Indeed, ‘a high IQ is protective against nothing but a low one’ (Barnes, 2015). Often the greatest challenge for teachers of 2E children lay in engaging their minds at an intellectual level, whilst accommodating and catering for their learning disabilities. Abramo (2015) reflects: “Twice-exceptional children are a misidentified, misunderstood, and underserved population. Often their needs are not met because 2E students differ from students with disabilities, students with average intelligence and gifted-alone peers”. Reis and Renzulli (2004) stated that “gifted students with learning disabilities often were misunderstood because their giftedness could mask their disabilities and their disabilities could camouflage their talents”.

Parents for ADHD Advocacy Australia began in January 2018, evolving from exploratory conversations within Facebook ADHD support groups on the challenges of supporting young people with ADHD. It became clear that the shared struggles faced by families living with ADHD were having a huge emotional, financial and mental health impact, so a small group of passionate parents decided to form an advocacy group in order to shape a better outcomes for their children.

CAST's mission is to transform education design and practice until learning has no limits. CAST is a nonprofit education research and development organization that created the Universal Design for Learning framework and UDL Guidelines, now used the world over to make learning more inclusive. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

Direction and guidance on providing positive, inclusive, and safe practices for supporting positive student behaviour in NSW public schools. These documents become active as part of the Department’s operational policies in Term 2, 2022.

Being a valued contributing member of the school community is important for every student. Students with disabilities can and do make deep friendships with fellow students, but often building friendship and belonging takes intentional planning by educators and families, as well as making sure ‘old ideas’ or practices do not get in the way. Feeling heard, ‘having a voice’ in decision making, and knowing parents and school staff care if things aren’t going well, is extremely important to every child. 1.Strategies for Encouraging Friendships 2.Valued Roles 3.Supports Around 'Behaviour' 4.Building Emotional Well-Being

Lou is happy to provide a copy of the toolkit to patreon members and at the same time, discuss their needs so that she may help families when advocating at school. Learning together is a toolkit for students with disability and their families in NSW. If you are a student, this toolkit will help you to get the reasonable adjustments you need so that you can succeed in mainstream education. If you are a parent or carer, this toolkit will help you to advocate for your child so that they can get the reasonable adjustments they need to succeed in mainstream education. This toolkit provides advocacy tips, and legal information. This information has been gathered from the experience of advocates, parents, students and educators.

Why do emotions feel automatic and uncontrollable? Does rational thought really control emotion? How does emotion affect disease? How can you make your children more emotionally intelligent? How Emotions Are Made answers these questions and many more, revealing the latest research and intriguing practical applications of the new science of emotion, mind, and brain. Today, the science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology — and this paradigm shift has immense implications for us all. Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose theory of emotion is driving a deeper understanding of the mind and brain and sheds new light on what it means to be human. Her research overturns the widely held belief that emotions live in distinct parts of the brain and are universally expressed and recognized. Instead, she has shown that emotion is constructed in the moment, by core systems that interact across the whole brain, aided by a lifetime of learning. This new theory means that you play a much greater role in your emotional life than you ever thought. Its repercussions are already shaking the foundations not only of psychology but also of medicine, the legal system, child-rearing, meditation, and even airport security.

Though SRV was developed as a theory by Dr Wolf Wolfensberger in the early 1980s and based on his highly relevant work in the preceding decades, SRV still has many practical implications and so is used as a practice framework as well as a guiding theory. It is also helpful in both the design and in the analysis of support arrangements. The theory rests on a deep understanding of social devaluation and its impacts, a societal dynamic that explains why it is that certain groups in our society are likely to experience significant marginalisation and prejudice.

The Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented (AAEGT) is a national organisation committed to furthering the education and wellbeing of gifted students. Through evidence-based leadership, advocacy, collaboration, education and communication, the AAEGT strives for the vision that all gifted students across the nation be recognised and have their intellectual and affective needs met through appropriate educational provision.

Placing a student on the autism spectrum in a busy classroom with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and an aide to deal with the inevitable meltdowns is often done in the name of "inclusion", but this is integration and not inclusive. How can teachers and schools create genuinely inclusive classrooms that meet the needs of every student? Research evidence indicates that the strategies that make schools inclusive for students with disability, benefit all students. Yet many schools are still operating under twentieth-century models that disadvantage students, especially those with disability. Inclusive Education for the 21st Century provides a rigorous overview of the foundational principles of inclusive education, and the barriers to access and participation. It explores evidence-based strategies to support diverse learners, including specific changes in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices, and the use of data. It addresses the needs of children with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities, as well as those with complex learning profiles, including mental health issues.

This resource costs $10 - $25 It is a great tool to take with you to meetings with school to support teachers to provide adjustments to students with ADHD.

An overview of current and significant research provides a clear narrative about the evidence base "for" PBS, including what the research tells us about how "not to do" PBS. The themes that are explored in this state of the nation report are also pulled together in a proposed logic model for PBS in a UK context to guide future research and practice. As in 2013, the aim is to provide clarity around key issues in relation to PBS, especially those that have arisen in the past eight years, to reflect on PBS in the 2020s in the UK, and to prompt debate about the direction of future service design and delivery models, research and further thinking on PBS.

The NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with disability. The NCCD enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school.

Future Schools is a community of innovative educational leaders collaborating to evolve and transform their school communities so that all learners are enabled to explore their holistic potential. Each schools journey is unique but common to all members is a desire to explore transformation; a change in the form, nature, appearance, feel or purpose of their educational setting. Each term we hold a series professional learning for leadership teams, live online events for all school staff, and a state-based school tour. All events whether online or in person are designed to support your innovation journey and be the catalyst for conversation of the future of schooling.

Recommended by Dr Maddi Derrick from Episode 10 - "Tassie Maddi". With 10 percent of the Western world’s children suspected of having Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD, and a growing number of adults self-diagnosing after decades of struggle, the question must be raised: How could Nature make such a “mistake”? In this updated edition of his groundbreaking classic, Thom Hartmann explains that people with ADHD are not abnormal, disordered, or dysfunctional, but simply “hunters in a farmer’s world.” Often highly creative and single-minded in pursuit of a self-chosen goal, those with ADHD symptoms possess a unique mental skill set that would have allowed them to thrive in a hunter-gatherer society. As hunters, they would have been constantly scanning their environment, looking for food or threats (distractibility); they’d have to act without hesitation (impulsivity); and they’d have to love the high-stimulation and risk-filled environment of the hunting field. With our structured public schools, office workplaces, and factories those who inherit a surplus of “hunter skills” are often left frustrated in a world that doesn’t understand or support them. As Hartmann shows, by reframing our view of ADHD, we can begin to see it not as a disorder, but as simply a difference and, in some ways, an advantage. He reveals how some of the world’s most successful people can be labeled as ADHD hunters and offers concrete non-drug methods and practices to help hunters--and their parents, teachers, and managers--embrace their differences, nurture creativity, and find success in school, at work, and at home. Providing a supportive “survival” guide to help fine tune your natural skill set, rather than suppress it, Hartmann shows that each mind--whether hunter, farmer, or somewhere in between--has value and great potential waiting to be tapped.

Not only do I thoroughly enjoy speaking to a large audience, engaging with them face to face is the best part of my job. I enjoy creating and delivering talks that are informative, practical, filled with strategies and real life examples. Providing parent consults and skill building in person (Cranbourne, VIC) or online. There is also a mentoring service. CKC also provide PDs, Workshops & Training.

I’m a late diagnosed Autistic, ADHDer. I followed the path common to many late-diagnosed adults. I noticed my own neurodivergence after my child was identified as Autistic. When my child was identified, my ideas about autism were all wrong. My head was full of stereotypes. What I’d learned about autism during my medical degree was pitifully brief, and focused on deficits. Then I found a blog by Julia Bascom about the joy of autism. It resonated. She wrote about noticing visual details in the world and how they made her feel like she was “sparkling”. Just like when I see a new flower in my garden. For the first time, I saw the beauty in being Autistic. Maybe I didn’t need to worry that my child was so captivated by symmetrical, silvery beads on a curtain rope - maybe I should feel sorry for people who don’t sparkle for that! Like a butterfly effect, that blog set me on a path of blooming ideas on neurodiversity. I plunged into information seeking. I now know passionate interests and deep-dives into research are part of my neurodivergent skill-set, and that this is what led me to my own Autistic self-identification.

Individuals with ADHD deserve to receive the treatment and support they require in order to develop their strengths and abilities to their full potential, successfully navigate the multiple challenges of busy modern life, and – not just survive – but thrive! For this reason Thriving with ADHD is committed to increasing awareness and understanding around ADHD in the community.

Autism therapy typically focuses on ridding individuals of "autistic" symptoms such as difficulties interacting socially, problems in communicating, sensory challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. Now Dr. Barry M. Prizant offers a new and compelling paradigm: the most successful approaches to autism don't aim at fixing a person by eliminating symptoms, but rather seeking to understand the individual's experience and what underlies the behavior. "A must-read for anyone touched by autism... Dr. Prizant's Uniquely Human is a crucial step in promoting better understanding and a more humane approach" (Associated Press). Instead of classifying "autistic" behaviors as signs of pathology, Dr. Prizant sees them as part of a range of strategies to cope with a world that feels chaotic and overwhelming. Rather than curb these behaviors, it's better to enhance abilities, build on strengths, and offer supports that will lead to more desirable behavior and a better quality of life.

To Be Gifted and Learning Disabled is one of the most popular resources available on identifying and meeting the needs of twice-exceptional students. This updated third edition provides a comprehensive look at the complex world of students with remarkable gifts, talents, and interests, who simultaneously face learning, attention, or social challenges from LD, ADHD, ASD, and other disorders. Through case studies and years of research, the authors present a rationale for using a strength-based, talent-focused approach to meeting the needs of this special population. From a thorough description of twice-exceptionality and the unique learning patterns of these students, to strategies for identification, comprehensive programming, talent development, and instructional strategies, this book explores the distinguishing strengths (yellows) and complex challenges (blues) that these students face. In painting, green is a mix of yellows and blues. Because of their individual characteristics, twice-exceptional students come in a remarkable range of greens.

Inclusive Schools Australia was born from our combined passion to see all young people reach their full potential and for all young people to have access to quality learning opportunities at school. We believe that inclusive schools welcome and respond to the diverse needs of all young people and their families. Our mission is to support each and every child to access and achieve from the same curriculum and to uphold their rights to an inclusive education under UNESCO’s Article 24 and the Disability Standards for Education, 2005. We do this by working with schools to design inclusive learning programs and assessment processes; and by providing advocacy for parents and young people with disability. The Universal Design for Learning framework is a key feature of our work.

A comprehensive list of parenting support documents that were discussed during Lou's episode on Square Peg Round Whole podcast, including "The 5 Cs" and "Listening with Empathy"

Dr Mona Delahooke is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 30 years of experience caring for children and their families. The book discusses a paradigm shift from traditional methods of a "one size fits all" approach to a new context that aims to understand behavioural challenges and offers a road map for making decisions based on each child's brain and body. The book's three sections show how to deconstruct behaviour challenges to discover their causes and triggers for each child. Part One defines the problem and issues to be aware of inorder to help children. Part Two describes what we do with this knowledge and how to apply it. Part Three focuses on particular populations.

School discpline is broken. Too often the kids who need our help the most are viewed as disrespectful, out of control, and beyond help, and are often the recipients of our most ineffective, most punitive interventions. These students - and their parents, teachers, and administrators - are frustrated and desperate for answers. Dr Ross W Greene, author of the acclaimed book The Explosive Child, offers educators and parents a different framework for understanding challenging behaviour. Dr Greene's Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach helps adults focus on the true factors contributing to challenging classroom behaviours, empowering educators to address these factors and create helping relationships with their most at-risk kids.

I CAN CEO Chris Varney recently spoke at the Illume Inclusive Education conference in 2021. Lou has a summary of his presentation to share with patreon members and to assist them in using this information when advocating for inclusive practices within their school. I CAN Network is Australia’s largest provider of Autistic-led group mentoring programs, training and consultancy. We have a 50% difference: half of our staff are Autistic. Our school and online mentoring programs empower 8-22-year-old young people with an ‘I CAN’ attitude. I CAN offer school mentoring, online mentoring, Professional Development and more.