Disability came into my life at the age of 2 years when my brother Mark was born with Down syndrome. I was honoured to be his sister, long-term carer, and strongest and most persistent advocate. Sadly, Mark passed away on the 7th of September, 2016, after fighting his biggest-ever battle with Early Onset Dementia. My mum was heavily involved in the disability sector, and my dad ran a dairy farm in Inman Valley while fighting for Mark's rights on varying councils late into the evenings. This lived experience provides me with a unique perspective, not only as a Sibling but also as a person with a disability. As an Autistic, ADHDer (plus a few more) Practitioner, I am driven to provide and model the safest therapeutic practices that support the well-being of people with disability and actively promote the use of Neurodivergent Affirming practices that take into account the whole person and everything important to us. This is something that I am passionate about, and I work heavily with other like-minded practitioners across Australia and the Globe to push for change and acceptance of all people with disability. My lived family experience and my disability profile allow me to have a different insight and empathy for getting through the battles that parents, siblings and family members face as a family without judgment. My background, education, and disability university qualifications provide me with a unique skill set and understanding that further supports the children, adults, and families that I work for. I am also a specialist representative on the Victor Harbor Disability Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, which Iāve served on for many years. I am a clinical supervisor to many therapists across Australia, hosting a group of over 550 practitioners using safe practice models. When I started AB Consultancy, the accompanying tag was Disability & Education, which was a play on my long career in Education. However, at a glance or without knowing what I stand for, there was an incorrect assumption that my work was aligned with ABA, which I vehemently oppose. So that went straight out the door to our new tag of Neurodiversity and Education because I just love learning! I am registered with the NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission as an Advanced Neurodivergent Affirming Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner! We exist, and we exist to make a change and advocate for a practice change with the NDIS Behaviour Support Framework. I wish to see the removal of punitive and compliance-based methodologies that have been proven to cause harm to many in the Neurodivergent Community from the Scope of Practice for Behaviour Support and replaced with safe and affirming models built on the work of countless Academic Neurodivergent Researchers and the Neurodiversity Community as a collective.
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I hold a Master's of Social Work, a Bachelor's of Special Education, a Graduate Certificate in Cognitive Psychology and Educational Practice, and a Graduate Certificate in Grief, Trauma, Loss, and Counselling from Flinders University. I also hold a Bachelor's of Early Childhood Education from Uni SA and am about to start another Master's in Neuroscience. AB Consultancy provides affordable neurodivergent affirming. Contact our office on 08 7200 2646 for appointments. We do things differently at AB Consultancy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. AB Consultancy will endeavour to authenticate any shared resources and information shared through AB Consultancy's page; however, AB Consultancy remains impartial about any information shared. It is the user's responsibility to assess if a support system or resource is viable and in the best interest of their child. AB Consultancy reserves the right to delete and report any defamatory or abusive posts. AB Consultancy will keep a copy of these posts for you to refer to if you need to.
