Association Members Have your Say

Member issues and stories

What is going well or not going well for you and your family? You can have your say and we will raise it with the Queensland Transition Advisory Group and nationally via Inclusion Australia.

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Parent to Parent Qld

3 hours ago

"A lot of the Autistic people I know have at some point been told by a well-meaning friend or associate that “everyone is a little Autistic.” As an ADHDer, I was once told “we all struggle with memory sometimes, don’t we?” No doubt these statements are intended to be empathetic and make the person feel accepted and understood, but that’s not how it is usually received, let me explain why.Unbeknownst to the people who say it, it is actually a very controversial statement. To people who have experienced being othered and ostracized for their differences it sounds flippant and minimizes our experiences. If everyone was a little Dyslexic, Dyspraxic, Autistic or ADHD then why would neurominorities experience the exclusion that they do? It’s a little bit like saying to someone with chronic cluster migraines that “we all have headaches, don’t we?” And the answer is no, we don’t all have headaches like that. (...)Most of us are familiar with the concept of Autism being a spectrum, although I should be clear that this spectrum is not from low to high as some might think, but actually more of a collection of strengths, struggles and experiential variables that are different for every individual. For all humans, there are a number of different cognitive abilities in which we can excel or lack, we are all somewhere on the spectrum of human capability. Most neurominorities tend to have big differences between the peaks and the troughs, known as the ‘spiky profile’, it’s a defining feature of neurodivergence – diverging from a statistical norm, a diverse profile rather than all average scores. The ‘cut off point’ for how much difference is significant and warrants diagnosis tends to be two standard deviations but this can be blurred by an individual’s background history and environmental factors. It’s something that good Psychologists take a holistic approach to, knowing that sometimes scores can be enhanced by practice and mental training, or depleted by illness, stress and neglect, and that behaviour can be masked or misinterpreted. When broadening this idea out to a general neurodiversity spectrum we can then also start to factor diversity in emotional experience, sensory perception and more.The degree to which neurominority conditions overlap, go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to the holistic approach needed is well explored by Professor Amanda Kirby. It is entirely possible that a person who relates to the concept of everyone being a little Dyslexic, is actually an undiagnosed Dyslexic themselves, or has a similar pattern to their profile without having quite met the threshold of significant difference. (...)A recent piece published by Cardiff University shed even more light on the degree to which Autism may be undiagnosed because we have been too prescriptive with how Autism is diagnosed as it is causing people to slip through the net. There are undoubtedly many undiagnosed and misdiagnosed neurodivergents all around us, they may not have struggled with the exact same difficulties but are still in need of finding their community and understanding themselves better." Thankyou to Spectrumy for this great story... ... See MoreSee Less

Is Everyone A Little Autistic?

www.forbes.com

A lot of the Autistic people I know have at some point been told by a well-meaning friend or associate that “everyone is a little Autistic.”

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Parent to Parent Qld

20 hours ago

Thanks so much to Bendigo Bank branch manager Yvonne for supporting us in the use of their meeting room. Welcome (back) to Woombye!Woombye & Districts Community Bank Branch[Image descriptions: two women, Yvonne and Jodi, standing in front of a whiteboard, looking at the camera.] ... See MoreSee Less

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Parent to Parent Qld

1 day ago

2021 school holidays, public holidays and important dates.. ... See MoreSee Less

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Parent to Parent Qld

2 days ago

www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-18/mustering-sheep-all-in-a-days-work-for-boy-with-cerebral-palsy/130... ... See MoreSee Less

Born with cerebral palsy, Lucas is thriving after discovering a passion for sheep mustering

www.abc.net.au

Nine-year-old Lucas loves life on the land and has developed a talent for sheep mustering. He also has cerebral palsy and his zest for farming is inspiring others.

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Parent to Parent Qld

3 days ago

Down Syndrome Queensland has a few places left for their music programs this year. Get in touch to find out about availability!Well the DSQ year is off to a busy start and we're excited to let you know that we have some spaces available in Continued Education Program (CEP) and Music Playgroup! CEP has students participate in structured learning activities in a classroom environment of no more than 12 students. The program runs one day per week, during school terms and has key elements developed to support a wide range of student goals. We have the following places available: - 4 places available on Wednesdays- 2 places available on Thursdays- waiting list for FridaysMusic Playgroup for age Birth to 6 years old is on Mondays – 9:15am (younger group) and 10:15am (older group)We have spaces available in both groups, starting Monday 1 February. If you would like more information please call the Program Manager on (07)3356 6655 or email programs@downsyndromeqld.org.au ... See MoreSee Less

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