Chelsea Luker - Connect Us Psychology

17/11/2025

Neurodiversity-affirming practice means nothing if it isn’t also anti-racist, culturally humble, and intersectional.

Through my own learning and unlearning - and the guidance of incredible advocates and colleagues - I’ve realised that being affirming isn’t enough. We need to ask: Who’s centred in this story? and Who’s missing from the table?

Intersectionality reminds us that our identities don’t exist in silos. Culture, race, gender, language, and neurotype weave together to shape how we experience support and safety.

To my fellow professionals: curiosity is the foundation of safety.

To parents and ND adults: you deserve spaces that see all of you - not just parts.

💬 What are you learning about intersectionality?

💬 Who are you learning from?

16/11/2025

You were never the problem.
The world wasn’t designed with your sensory system, your communication style, your pacing, or your body in mind - and yet you’ve been told to adapt, mask, and mould yourself to fit.

Neurodiversity means difference, not disorder.
But difference gets pathologised when systems only recognise one “right” way to exist.

If you’ve ever been called lazy, dramatic, or unreliable - when you were actually dysregulated, exhausted, or overstimulated - that’s not a personal failing. That’s the cost of surviving in a world that confuses access needs with choices.

Your needs aren’t too much - they’re information.

They point to what keeps you steady, safe, and connected.

And when we talk about environments that don’t fit, we’re not just talking about sensory overload or workplace expectations.

We’re talking about systems shaped by ableism, racism, sexism, transphobia, classism, and colonialism - structures that decide whose comfort is prioritised, whose behaviour is “professional,” and whose bodies are “too much.”

Building a life that fits isn’t about self-improvement. It’s about self-return.

It’s listening to your body, trusting what you find there, and unlearning the belief that you have to earn ease.

You’re not broken. You’re responding exactly as a human body does when it’s asked to survive environments that were never designed for it.

Save this for when you start to question yourself again.

Share it if you’re ready to stop calling your survival “a flaw.”

13/11/2025

The next chapter of my work is taking shape - slower, sparklier, and designed for real humans with real nervous systems.

Behind the scenes, I’m creating a new online space where allied health professionals can keep growing together - through community, gentle learning, and reflection.

It’s not a course or a clinic. It’s a space to build a life (or a practice) that fits.
Stay tuned for early peeks of what’s coming in 2026.

💬 What would a life (or practice) built just for you look like?

11/11/2025

We heal in community, not isolation.

Neurodivergent joy is rarely a solo project - and neither is sustainable practice.

The next phase of my work will centre collective care: spaces where professionals and lived-experience voices learn with each other, not at each other.

🌿 Because when we stop pretending independence is the goal, interdependence becomes possible.

💬 Tag someone who helps you feel steady.

09/11/2025

Today I’m speaking at the QLD Perinatal Mental Health Conference about Autistic Burnout, anxiety, and depression in the perinatal period.

I’m so grateful that this conversation is finally being given space.

Because for many Autistic and ADHD parents, the perinatal period - pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood - can be one of the most vulnerable times in our lives.

Our systems are already running close to capacity, and then we’re met with:
– Huge transitions and unpredictable change
– Hormonal shifts that amplify sensory and emotional intensity
– Chronic sleep deprivation
– A constant loss of autonomy and alone time
– Little access to our usual routines or regulation tools
It’s the perfect storm for Autistic Burnout.

And too often, it gets misread as “postnatal depression,” “anxiety,” or even “attachment difficulties,” when in reality - it’s a nervous system saying: I need something different.

Burnout isn’t failure or fragility. It’s a physiological, emotional, and sensory overload that deserves understanding, not judgment.
Autistic and ADHD parents deserve environments that adapt to them - not the other way around.

This means sensory-aware birth spaces, flexible expectations, and clinicians who see difference as something to honour, not fix.

If you’ve experienced Autistic Burnout in the perinatal period - or suspect you might have - you’re not alone. There’s language for what you lived through, and there’s hope in recovery.

Did you experience Autistic Burnout in the perinatal period? What helped you start to rebuild?

🩷✨Let’s keep this conversation going.

09/11/2025

For so long I equated consistency with commitment - believing that changing direction meant letting people down.

Now I know evolving is part of integrity.

We teach what we live.

This transition feels bittersweet but freeing.

I’m not losing what I’ve built - I’m carrying it forward in new ways.

✨ Tag someone who’s navigating their own change with courage.

07/11/2025

Cultural humility is about recognising that our way of seeing the world isn’t the only one. It’s a lifelong commitment to curiosity, reflection, and accountability.

Culture isn’t just about nationality or language - it’s about values, customs, humour, communication, and belonging. Autistic culture, Deaf culture, Q***r culture, Disability culture - these are all rich, valid forms of shared identity.

True cultural humility means being open to perspectives that challenge our own and honouring the diversity of ways people live and express themselves.

Is this a concept you have heard of?

💛How do you practice cultural humility?

06/11/2025

As I help clients transition, I’m also preparing for my own shift - from deep therapeutic work to broader community impact.

Each ending is being held through an attachment-based, trauma-informed lens so transitions feel steady and safe.

To my fellow clinicians: closure is a skill worth practising.

To parents and ND adults: endings can be full of meaning too - not a failure, just another form of growth.

💬 What’s helped you end something with care?

05/11/2025

I’m so excited to be speaking at the QLD Perinatal Infant Mental Health Conference on the Gold Coast this Monday - diving into Autistic Burnout in the Perinatal Period.

This one matters deeply - for Autistic and ADHD parents, for the clinicians who support them, and for anyone trying to make perinatal spaces safer, kinder, and more accessible.

If you can’t make it in person, the conference team has just announced half-price online tickets 🎉

💻 $90 (usually $180)
⏰ Available until midnight tomorrow - 6 Nov @ 11:59pm

It’s a brilliant lineup of speakers and a really valuable chance to connect with others across perinatal and mental health fields - from coast to outback and everywhere in between.

You can register here 👉

10th - 11th November 2025 (Monday and Tuesday) Queensland Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Symposium 2025 Healing Together: Perinatal & Infant Wellness for Every Family Bringing together the best local and national speakers to upskill those interested in perinatal and infant mental health.   Purc...

05/11/2025

Sometimes the biggest changes begin quietly.

After almost ten years of one-on-one therapy, I’m creating more space for teaching, writing, and community - and, honestly, for breathing again.

This isn’t goodbye to therapy; it’s a shift toward sharing what I’ve learned so more people can access neurodiversity-affirming, compassionate care.

To everyone who’s been part of this journey - thank you. Every story has shaped what comes next.

🌿 Here’s to building a life (and a practice) that fits our needs too.

💬 What chapter are you ready to open next?

29/10/2025

I’ve been watching the petrol gauge in my car drop lower and lower all week.

This morning it hit the dreaded nothing-left-at-all zone. You know - when the little line disappears?

No? Just me? 😅

I’ve driven past the petrol station so many times this week. I just… couldn’t stop.

I was tired. It was raining. I was cold.
My executive functioning was not, well… functioning.

It wasn’t a choice.
It wasn’t refusal.
It wasn’t laziness.
It was a can’t, not a won’t.

Today, the car was actually about to give up. So I overrode my capacity and pulled in for petrol - because running out would mean even more steps and even more people (no thank you).

Did I have to reward myself with two chocolate bars (because one just isn’t enough)?

Absolutely yes. 🍫🍫

Did I get it done? Yep.

But it was never a won’t.

And if that’s my experience - as an adult with all the privilege, awareness, and supports I have -
what must it be like for our kiddos?

Next time you see someone “refusing,” “avoiding,” or “not trying,” pause and ask:

Could this won’t actually be a can’t?

And is there something I can do to help make it a can instead? 💛

23/10/2025

Building your Neurodivergent identity isn’t just about labels, it’s about language, safety, and self-compassion.

It’s the process of understanding who you are, unmasking safely (when possible), and creating a life that honours your needs and rhythms.

My upcoming self-paced program will guide you through these steps with practical tools, reflections, and support designed for Autistic and ADHD adults.

💬 Comment 'Self-paced Program' below to register your interest and be the first to know when it’s available!