Neurodivergent Empowered

12/11/2025

I can't find adequate words - just a lot of happy tears right now.

To say this is my favourite recognition post ever is an understatement.

Two of our incredible junior team members, Sprinkle and Kianni, have been nominated for the Autism Queensland Recognition Awards - celebrating exceptional achievements by autistic Queenslanders under 18.

This award honours young people making a difference through sport, art, advocacy, education, and resilience - and both of these legends have been recognised for exactly that (see their images for what they’ve been nominated for!).

We are beyond proud of them - not just for what they’ve achieved, but for who they are. They show up with heart, courage, and spark every single day, and they represent everything our community stands for.

Congratulations, Sprinkle and Kianni - you’re already changing the world just by being you. ♡

12/11/2025

The funny thing about doing my Master’s at 48 with ADHD meds now, compared to “raw-dogging” uni at 18, is… balance.

At 18, I couldn’t focus long enough to finish a paragraph.
At 48, I can focus for hours — which is apparently long enough to injure my lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.

So yes, the executive function is thriving.
The musculoskeletal system? Filing a formal complaint.

11/11/2025

We did it.

It’s an honour to be recognised by in the 22nd annual global Stevie® Awards for Women in Business:

🏆 GOLD STEVIE® WINNER – Organisation of the Year – Government or Non-Profit (10 or Less Employees – In All Other Nations)
✨ Sparkly Aliens Inc. – Nourishing the Nervous System, Reclaiming Authenticity

🥈 SILVER STEVIE® WINNER – Achievement in Diversity & Inclusion (All Other Industries)
✨ From Margins to Mainstream: Building a Global Ecosystem of Authentic Inclusion

🥉 BRONZE STEVIE® WINNER – Most Resilient Women-Owned Business
✨ Neurodivergent Empowered & Sparkly Aliens Inc. – Rebuilding from Betrayal to Global Impact

Massive congratulations to all of the other winners who are out there creating change in their corners of the world: https://stevieawards.com/women/2025-stevie-award-winners

We weren’t able to attend the ceremony in the US - I didn’t feel safe travelling to the US as a neurodivergent woman, let alone with my neurodivergent trans daughter - but this recognition still feels super sweet. It’s proof that impact doesn’t require assimilation, and that you can build something extraordinary on your own terms.

To my Phoenix Fam Team - thank you for levelling up with me through every pivot, audit, restructure, and late-night “how do we survive this?” moment. You’ve stuck with a vision that sometimes feels impossible, and still, we fail forward together.

To our clients - some who’ve been with us from the very start - thank you for trusting us through every qualification, certification, and NDIS hoop we’ve had to jump through to keep your safe space open. You are why we keep fighting to make inclusion real.

With love,
Tan ###

11/11/2025

Some days, doing my Master of Counselling feels heavier than it should.
Not because of the content - well some of the content too as its not trauma informed or neurodivergent affirming - but because of how ableist so much of education still is with a tonne of micro aggressions people don't even seem to realise they are doing.

The irony isn’t lost on me: studying to support people’s mental health inside systems that still ignore accessibility, sensory needs, and neurodivergent realities.

I keep showing up anyway - not because it’s easy, but because I still believe in the possibility of change.
If I can make even a tiny positive difference for our community, maybe that’s enough for today.

It’s a tough slog sometimes. I had a bit of a cry about how it feels like I am constantly "pushing s**t uphill"... but the vision of a world where difference doesn’t have to equal disadvantage keeps me moving.

What about you? Have you found ongoing higher education accessible or disabling?

08/11/2025

Weighted blankets, plushies, stimming, Echolalia… you may not get it, but that’s the point. It’s why we need neurodivergent-affirming safe spaces that allow you to be “free 2b me”.

It’s why I work the hours I do, do the constant qualifications and upgrades that I do, focusing on the continuous improvements that I do… so that I can walk out of my office on a late Saturday afternoon and witness our teens group - all so very different - and yet exist so perfectly together in the Nest.

I’m tired but happy 🤍 this is what keeps me going 🤍

03/11/2025

Considering I completed by Bachelor degrees 30 years ago, I have had quite a few "You are pushing 50 in a couple of years...WTF are you doing?" moments in the last week in the lead up to starting my Masters of Counselling this week.

Imposter syndrome is real and I considered not accepting the Masters placement offer (more than) a few times because AQF9 level feels scary... but... I have my ADHD meds (and don't drink or party any more - boring!) now and a LOT more information about how my neuro-complex brain and body works than I did when I "raw-dogged" not just Uni but life up until the end of last year.

But still, peri-menopause, single Mumma and running a highly regulated NDIS Business thrown into the mix... I have had a few face palms at myself already.

However, the "How far can I take this now that I have a level playing field" project I gave myself when I got my ADHD meds last year continues.

As they say in Puberty Blues, and really showing my age... 'Game on Moles!'.

(lol... said in jest for those who don't understand the reference)

01/11/2025

Beautiful AND needed 🤍

In Wisconsin, Amy Jandrisevits is redefining representation through “A Doll Like Me,” crafting handmade dolls that mirror each child’s unique features, birthmarks, scars, limb differences, and all. A former pediatric social worker, she’s created over 500 dolls since 2015, each one free for families. Her work reminds every child that they are seen, celebrated, and beautifully themselves.

31/10/2025

For everyone who feels too much, sees too far ahead, or carries the weight of what others can’t yet name - you’re not broken.
You’re Sensitive.
And that’s your brilliance.

Sensitives is one word I use to capture an entire constellation - the intelligent, embodied, inclusive, HSPs, Autistics, trauma survivors, hyper-empaths, chronically ill, deeply feeling, pattern-seeing humans with:

- High-capacity nervous systems tuned to nuance, intensity, and emotional data.

- Sensitivity that functions as an intelligence system, not a fragility.

- Minds and bodies that metabolise more input - sensory, social, and moral - and need structures that honour that capacity rather than suppress it.

So here are some Friday night musings from a deep-feeling, highly attuned, hyper-aware, neuro-intuitive Sensitive.

Sending big love,
Tan x

30/10/2025

Massive thanks to all of our advocates for the constant, tirless work they for for our community! Heidi La Paglia Consulting Autistic Self Advocacy Network of Australia & New Zealand Regional Autistic Engagement Network Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association - ANPA

Furious state and territory disability ministers will boycott a planned meeting with their federal counterparts Mark Butler and Jenny McAllister as tensions over NDIS reform erupt.

30/10/2025

🌟 Team Milestone Moment! 🌟

Today we’re celebrating Will Smith’s recent one-year anniversary with us at The Nest!

Will has made a fantastic contribution to our team - bringing creativity, compassion, and a grounded sense of care to every session and every participant. Their dedication to neuroaffirming practice and collaborative support has helped strengthen what makes The Nest so special: our community.

We’re super, super grateful to have you as part of the team, Will.

Here’s to another year of impact, laughter, and making The Nest a place where everyone can truly belong. 💜