Outspoken SP

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Dianella, WA
Outspoken SP

speech pathology services for individuals who think, communicate, and live differently Hi!

I'm Cicely Binford MSPA CPSP (she/her), and I provide speech pathology services for gender-affirming voice training and neuro-affirming communication support.

11/11/2025

I'm here at , not for sport or music, but for the inaugural PDA Conference Australia. Here are some perspectives of my conference experience as an AuDHD PDAer.

In true PDA style, I arrived just in time for the first break (10am), because I didn't want to come at the set registration time (7:30 - 8:30?) when hundreds of people would be checking in. Crowds, no thanks - I become rather helpless, and I feel myself slipping into freeze. The chatter, the movement of streams of people and then the blockages where people cram in together like cattle - Anxiety City, even with Loops in and fidgets in hand.

There are 3 streams of presentations in different rooms, and being someone who prefers certainty, I landed in room 2 and stayed there.

There are people I know here - some I work with, and some whose kids I support. In this different context, with lots of uncertainty, my social skills have fallen almost completely away, and I can't have the same types of highly masked conversations that I am able to have when I'm working.

There are beanbags, cushions, and fidgets at the back of the room, but they've been claimed since the morning (people's bags functioning as flags planted) so I've found myself sitting on the floor up against the wall, away from other bodies, bum slowly numbing.

I'm a little disappointed that if we need to leave the room during a presentation, we have to wait until the presentation is finished before we can come back in.

I haven't visited the sensory room.

Ultimately, I really wish I had the executive function capacity to go into research. This conference is a good start, but the gap in research and consensus practice standards around PDA couldn't be spanned by the Matagarup bridge.

03/09/2025

Restocking the essentials

27/08/2025

This is from 's official statement about Mark Butler's Thriving Kids announcement. SPA is clear in its replication of his speech's wording of 'mild to moderate developmental delay or autism' (for instances of this (or a variant of it) in the transcript of his speech available on the web.

This is different from what I've seen across many social media posts from autism advocacy groups and allied health professionals etc. quoting him as saying "mild to moderate autism". I call attention to this distinction because I think it does change the intent of the messaging very slightly in a way that my autistic, grammar-and-semantics-attuned brain wants to hold onto.

I don't know what "mild or moderate developmental delay" means in real, clinical terms though, so I'm on board with the overall sense of confusion, indignation, and betrayal that has been expressed by leaders in my ND community (clinicians, advocates, parents, and peers).

My neurokin are under-serviced (myself included) -- not over-serviced -- and fighting for inclusion, understanding, acknowledgement, acceptance, support, and healing to become not just thriving kids, but thriving adults. I'm hoping that SPA goes to the bat for us, not only for the people we service, but for us autistic SPs.

26/08/2025

Feeling the love and appreciation for Speech Pathology Week here at Colour My World ❤️🎉😍💐🌏 Thank you for these beautiful blooms!

21/07/2025

Time for an update :)

After an intense period of burnout/shutdown and medical and mental health challenges, I am slowly gaining momentum and reemerging from the cocoon of recovery. My aim is to be better at managing my capacities as I enter this next phase of my practice, which means learning to say 'no' a lot more often. I'm learning how to do it from the amazing kids I've been working with, who self-advocate so readily and boldly. Their 'nos' are a big YES for me.

I'm settling into my second week at Colour My World Therapy Services in Osborne Park, where you can find me Mon-Tue-Weds :) I'm so happy to have joined a truly ND-affirming and ND-led team in a space that's easy on my nervous system (friendly acoustics, adjustable natural lighting, room to move, comfy seating, PLUS a therapy dog?!) and less than 10 minutes from home. Pinch me, I'm dreaming.

I'm still seeing clients via Outspoken SP on Thu-Fri, but for those folks whose optimal therapy context and funding needs are best suited to sessions in clinic or for those who prefer a multidisciplinary team approach for their supports, get in touch with Colour My World - OT, psych and now SP (me) all under one roof.

And finally, I'm halfway through the UWA Graduate Certificate in Autism Diagnosis course, so I'll be able to offer this service in the very near future!

See you around? :)
Cicely

27/03/2025

Being a speechie can be such a big adventure!

Growing up, I never played video games because they filled me with deep anxiety. The visuals and sounds were over-stimulating, I couldn't co-ordinate my hands and fingers quickly enough, and the added pressure of being watched (and teased) by others who were better at games than me was just too much for my young brain and nervous system to handle safely.

It wasn't until I became a speechie and started working with kids that I started to see the potential benefits of incorporating video games into therapy, and that gave me exactly the intrinsic motivation I needed to face my fears, buy a PS5, and learn how to play.

I still get overwhelmed by combat (button-masher), but I've made huge progress with platformers because I've gotten better at failing and trying again, having patience with myself, preparing myself mentally and physically to do a difficult run, and ultimately getting to that incredible whole-body joy and pride when I master a sequence and move on/level up/complete.

As an ADHDer, achieving these goals, big and small, in a systematic, linear way is quite different from how my brain usually operates. It's nice to have the road plotted and set out for me for a change, and it makes my autistic need for completion and thoroughness happy.

As a PDAer, although the goals are dictated by the game, they are not dictated by another human person who has the potential to pass judgement on my performance. It's my choice to go along with the game's preset goals/achievements, and playing by myself makes it a lot easier to learn what to do, in my own way and at my own pace, so that maybe, when I'm ready, I might feel good enough to play alongside someone else.

And now I feel good enough about my skills to play alongside my clients, and I have enough brain space to embed the targeted speech and language practice to boot! 👢 🤠 🎮

Address

Dianella, WA
6065

Website

http://outspokentherapy.com.au/

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