This week, Monique chats with Avril Fazel about living in regional, rural, and remote areas as a neurodivergent person. Avril lives on the lands of the Kuungkari, Bidjera and Inningai peoples, between the rural towns of Blackall and Tambo in outback Queensland. She identifies as an intersectional feminist with lived experiences in mental illness and neurodivergence, and her social discourse is influenced by her backgrounds in education, community work, and being a local grazier.

Together, Monique and Avril explore Avril’s journey to an Autism diagnosis at 50, the challenges of accessing services in remote areas, the relationship between neurodivergence and rural living, and the beauty of community and nature. Avril also shares her experiences as a teacher, how she supports neurodivergent learners, and what her current special interests are.

This week we’re speaking to Patricia Gallagher about domestic and family violence. Patricia is a neuro-affirming registered psychologist, EMDR Accredited Practitioner with EMDRAA, and a Board Approved Supervisor, with over 16 years of experience across diverse settings. Patricia’s niche is in working with women affected by domestic violence, family violence, and childhood trauma; supporting them to heal and rise above the ashes of shame and trauma.

In this conversation, we explore what neurodivergence means to Patricia, the definitions and forms of abuse including covert abuse and coercive control, the cycle of abuse, barriers to leaving, and the shark cage exercise for boundary building. Patricia also shares her approach to supporting recovery and offers practical tips and resources for those currently experiencing abuse.

This week, Monique welcomes Arnikka de Kort to the podcast to chat about breastfeeding and infant sleep. Arnikka is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Neonatal Nurse and Founder of SuckleBubs – a space that reimagines how women and babies are supported in the early weeks of newborn life. She’s also the creator of In Bloom, a postpartum and breastfeeding mentorship program guiding mothers through their transition to motherhood, from pregnancy and into postpartum.

Drawing from both clinical expertise and her lived experience as a neurodivergent mother, Arnikka brings a deeply compassionate approach to maternal and infant care. This episode is full of knowledge gems, including her reflections on neurodivergence, infant sleep needs, sensory needs, feeding challenges, D-MER, and how neurodivergent mums can prepare for the postpartum period.

In this week’s episode, Monique chats with two amazing guests, Specialist GP Dr Megan Thomas (she/they) and Clinical Psychologist Bianca Comfort (she/her), about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS).

Megan is a queer, disabled, neurodivergent GP with lived experience of EDS, POTS, and MCAS, and a founding director of Connected Health Alliance. Bianca is a neurodivergent Clinical Psychologist, Vice President of the Australian Psychological Society, and Director of Comfort Psychology.

Together they explore what neurodivergence means to them, how EDS, POTS, and MCAS are diagnosed, why they co-occur so frequently, their relationship to Autism and ADHD, the triple empathy problem, navigating co-occurring conditions, types of support people may need, and how to access help.

This week we’re chatting to Jessica Horner about neurodivergent stories. Jessica is a proudly AuDHD and disabled woman who works as a policy advisor with People With Disability Australia. She previously worked as a journalist at the ABC, where she focused on the experiences of late diagnosed Autistic adults across Australia and wrote a long form feature article called “A Rich New Lens”. She was later nominated as a finalist for this article, alongside her producer, for the Media Diversity Australia Award issued by the Walkley Foundation in 2023.

In this episode, we deep dive into how neurodivergent stories are told, by whom, and for what purpose, and unpack the impact of this on the neurodivergent community—including how power shows up in storytelling, the role of trauma-informed practice, and what true representation looks like.

This week, Monique chats with Sienna Macalister (they/them), known by their Instagram handle @sienna.stims, about being an Autistic person with high support needs. Sienna is a non-binary, ‘unreliably speaking’ Autistic advocate diagnosed with Autism Level 3. They are multiply neurodivergent and have several co-occurring health conditions, including Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), and Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1).

Together, Monique and Sienna explore what ‘unreliably speaking’ means, the broader definition of neurodivergence beyond Autism and ADHD, Sienna’s early diagnosis experiences, the evolution of their neurodivergent identity, using mobility and communication supports, affirming versus non-affirming therapies, the impact of lateral violence and internalised ableism, suggestions for greater inclusion, and Sienna’s current special interest: budgie breeding.

On today’s episode we are deeply honoured to have Dr Michelle Garnett speaking with us about neurodivergence in the teen years, as well as her own life experience as a neurodivergent woman.

Dr Garnett is a clinical psychologist, author, and late-diagnosed AuDHDer, and she has worked in the autistic community for over 30 years. Listeners would likely know her as the co-founder of Attwood & Garnett Events, with Professor Tony Attwood. Dr Garnett is a leading voice in neuro-affirming care, research, and advocacy.

We talk about what neurodivergence means to Michelle, her experience of anxiety, why the teen years can be so hard, identity formation, emotional overwhelm in parents, what to watch for when a teen is struggling, how to support them, and her five messages for neurodivergent young people.

We’re super excited to bring you this week’s episode with Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist, Simone Mangelsdorf-Collett (she/her). We chat with Simone about Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), or as Simone puts it, “the most common disorder you’ve never heard of”.

In this episode, we cover what Functional Neurological Disorder is and how it differs from other neurological disorders, what the term ‘functional’ means in this context, the historical context and evolution of our understanding of FND, some of the known mechanisms and triggers behind FND, the overlap between FND, neurodivergence, and gender, treatment options, and Simone’s work in FND advocacy and education.

In this episode, Monique explores the intersection of neurodivergence and Chinese culture with Sharen Lui. Sharen is a neurodivergent Educational and Developmental Psychologist, and the Director of Sprout Psychology Melbourne. Together, they discuss what neurodivergence means to Sharen and the driving force behind establishing Sprout Psychology, Sharen’s path to discovering her own neurodivergence, and the role of her cultural identity in this process.

They explore the impact of words and language on the perception of neurodivergence in Chinese culture, the importance of meeting CALD families ‘where they are at’, and how Chinese cultural norms interact with neurodivergence, including filial piety, gendered expectations, and behavioural norms. Sharen also shares insights on masking, barriers to accessing culturally competent care, and working with CALD groups.