18/10/2025
Presenting at the Royal Children’s Hospital today for Beyond The Bedside: inaugural conference, was a complete full circle moment for me 🥹
Presenting on supporting children with complex medical needs, as a former long term patient of RCH was a career highlight for sure! And one little Jem, would surely be proud of 🫶🏼
Today was the first time I shared publicly about my diagnosis of Hemihypertrophy (aka hemihyplasia) a rare genetic condition. Due to my high risk of developing childhood cancers, in addition to the impacts of my condition itself, this meant a lot of interaction with the medical system, from ongoing blood tests and scans (ultrasounds, CT, X-rays, bone density etc) every 3-6months from 4months of age, to regular appts with a Paediatrician, Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon, Occupational Therapist and more!
Today I spoke about the importance of a trauma-informed model called PACE (developed by a Clinical Psychologist named Dan Hughes), that can be utilised not just in allied health settings, but also schools and homes!
PACE’s four core principles are: Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. And if you take nothing else, I hope it’s those 4 themes, because they’re incredibly digestible and accessible, and they can be transformative in action.
My connection to RCH made today even more special, and it was a privilege to share my story to an audience of allied health professionals, teachers + caregivers. A huge thanks to Sarah and Grace for inviting me to be part of today!
Thanks also to my emotional support human today 🤣 my incredible colleague .bloomwellbeing
Thanks for feeding and hydrating me and for accomodating my need for low stimulation spaces (the not so glamorous side to presenting as an AuDHDer.)
A very special day for sure 💚
