21/03/2026
PSSSSSST!........ You're doing great. 🫶
Hi! 👋
As a mum of special needs kiddos, someone who has disabilities herself, and the director of a steadily growing company whose primary focus is assisting those living with a disability, I understand how difficult it is and can be, for you, the primary caregiver.
I'm about to get a bit personal, but it's simply to show you that you aren't alone.
My son was diagnosed with ADHD at 8 years old, but I knew there was more. I fought and advocated and didn't shut up, for 7 whole years, until finally someone saw me, and saw my son. Truly saw us, listened to me, spent time with my son, and didn't dismiss our concerns. At 15 he received a diagnosis of autism. My son will be 20 this year, and despite missing out on early intervention, he makes me proud every day. Previously holding down 2 jobs, and now living in Weipa and soon to start a new adventure with a well known global company.
All thanks to the strong support from his family, his plethora of therapists and medical professionals involved in his care, his support workers, and most importantly, his own strength and resilience.
My daughter has also been diagnosed with ADHD, and ASD assessments are soon to begin. No matter the outcome and diagnosis, this isn't a life sentence, it is a chance to learn, understand, support and advocate for her better.
My newest addition, baby Calliope, who some of you know, was born with a chronic airway condition that causes sudden, involuntary tightening of the vocal cords, briefly blocking the airway.
All of these, along with my own disabilities, have allowed me to grow and learn, and thrive in this industry as it has provided me with real life experience. Not just the hands on experience of dealing with disability, but also the stigma surrounding disability, the gas lighting from medical professionals, the less than inclusive practices and mentalities of some (not all) who should know better, and it has also given me the experience of carrying heavy burdens and having to learn what is mine to carry and what I need to put down.
It has given me valuable insight into how being a caregiver for someone with a disability really does affect you globally, and how we often say "it takes a village to raise a child" without realising the village is for us just as much as it is for our child.
It has given me a deeper appreciation for those far and few between, who stop to say, "Hey! You're doing great." Because sometimes, "you're doing great" is what pushes us through to the next day, because it restores something in us, something that we'd forgotten about, but the other person could clearly see.
As a caregiver, there are often times when we go through life feeling absolutely defeated and thinking this is impossible, or that is impossible. However, we keep going, and before we know it, we've done what we once though was impossible. Now, that's pretty amazing in my opinion!
So this is from me, to you.
I see you, I hear you, and you are doing GREAT! ☺️
Until next time,
Shona.
Director.
Kura Support.
