24 Tips for Empowering Sunshine Coast’s Neurodivergent Families - Highlights from the Sunshine Coast’s Neurodivergent Conference at Meridan Community Centre
A day that set out to empower personal and personal carers of neurodivergent young people turned into a gathering of hope, understanding, and community for parents of neurodivergent children. With the incredible support of a passionate team, we created an atmosphere where families could come together to learn, share, and connect on their journeys.
As a photographer, my heart is deeply invested in celebrating the unique stories of families. I believe that every individual deserves to be seen and embraced just as they are. My sessions are designed to provide a safe, supportive space where kids can express themselves freely. It’s about capturing genuine moments that reflect their true selves—a laughter shared, a tender countenance, or a cherished bond. I strive to create an environment where the focus is on authenticity, encouraging families to be themselves, to feel a sense of belonging, and to trust that their story is worth sharing.
This is evident in my life beyond photography too. In my work as a nurse, as well as the support I provide the incredible young people in my local church as their youth leader. To see my people, my community, thrive is where this passion project “Big Hearts and Epic Minds” conference was birthed from.
Event Highlights: Practical Insights and Tools from Our Speakers
We were fortunate to have several expert speakers who generously shared at Meridian Community Centre, their valuable insights and practical tips tailored for parents navigating the complexities of supporting neurodivergent children. Here’s what they had to say:
Ash Cargill, The Stillness Collective
Meet Ash, mindfulness meditation teacher, Reiki practitioner and the beautiful soul behind the Stillness Collective. Ash landed us in the space together for a big day of learning and connection with a grounding mindfulness mediation workshop; before leaving us with this beautiful tip. Taking just three minutes in your day to drop back into your body, by reconnecting with your breath. Taking gentle, slow breathes, noticing the inhalation & the exhalation can reconnect you back to the present moment & help move you out of overwhelm.
Jamine Gardner and Delia Weston, More Than Able Therapy
Meet More Than Able Therapy’s co-directors, Jamine and Delia.
Jamine, an occupational therapist who shared with us her wisdom around neurobiology and cognitive development.
Jamine’s 5 top tips:
Prioritise understanding your child’s sensory needs and preferences with empathy. Advocate these needs at school and socially to foster positive development.
Priorities regulation - reduce emotional and sensory overwhelm to develop self-regulation abilities from the ground up. Prevent escalation before it occurs.
Follow developmental cues - meet your child at their functional and communication level. Don’t expect skills beyond their capability. Knowledge of milestone helps to guide expectations.
Embrace neuroplasticity - the brain and behaviour are changeable. Therapeutic techniques applied when neural circuits are receptive strengthen adaptive skills.
Support don’t control - your child’s growth relies more on collaborative guidance, not rigid control. Build capabilities by motivating interests while remaining flexible to their needs. Scaffold gently within their zone of development and window of tolerance.
Delia, a physiotherapist, shared incredible insights into physical development and movements’ impact on brain development.
Delia’s 4 Top Tips:
Encourage active play - Movement is the foundation of a child’s emerging sensory, motor, cognitive and emotional systems. Active play encourages meaningful movement through laying down neuroplastic pathways in the brain for motor patterns
Celebrate progress not perfection- each child develops at their own pace. Celebrate every achievement, no matter how small. Focus on effort and improvement over perfection or comparison.
Consider the whole child - each child’s body, mind and sensory needs are unique, and that is something to celebrate. Adapt activities to suit your child’s unique composition. Incorporate movement, mind, and sensory breaks, adapt communication styles, consider your environment (light, sound, texture, etc), it’s ok to reduce expectations. These adaptions need to be collaborative with the parent, child, and other therapists involved.
Understand your child’s body -every child’s body is unique and made especially for them. Pay attention to how your child moves and plays, consider physical composition and provide tailored recommendations to support their physical development, manage fatigue and reduce risk of injury.
-Caroline Kennedy, The Neurodivergent Naturopath
Meet Caroline, Naturopath, author and wonderful practitioner behind The Neurodivergent Naturopath. Caroline explored the relevant biochemistry for the neurodivegent child, and so much more. This was a perfect example of ‘you don’t know, what you don’t know’ being cracked wide open. She graciously left us with this reminder:
“A neurodivergent person is not broken or diseased, we can live very full and amazing lives, some of us even hugely successful ones. Mostly the reason we are struggling are from co-morbidities brought on by the stress of living in this modern world. Picky eaters, chronic constipators, all have this one thing on common; a nervous system which is stuck in “fight and flight”. Sometimes the way back to “rest and digest” is paved with clinical interventions or supportive therapies, and sometimes it can feel long and windy, but when we create neuroaffirming community our children grow up believing in their own power.”
Jacqui Marquis-Conder, Evolve Psychology
Meet Evolve Psychology’s director, Jacqui. Psychologist, registered clinic play therapist and animal assisted therapist. Jacqui took us on a comprehensive journey through the concept of resilience. Such a crucial piece of the puzzle!
Jacqui’s Top Tips:
Resilience in children is fostered through relationships, their own interests/strengths, and a sense of support and belonging.
Building resilience is about enhancing what is already working and making it stronger.
It is ok to challenge your kids to “the edge” of their comfort zone in a supportive way (scaffolding) in order to build their resilience.
A neuroaffirming approach helps a child to build a positive sense of self.
Each neurodiverse child is different and unique and needs a tailored approach- there is no right or wrong.
Dr. Alexandra Bernhardi, Integrative GP and Author
Meet Dr Alex, an integrative GP at Fresh Holistic Health, and author of ‘Charlie the Keen Kid’ - a book for children and their families about healthy lifestyle choices. Alex dived in deep and wide through all the need to know information to confidently support your child. What is IG medicine’s place in this space? How will an IG GP support your child? What are your pathways and options? And so so much more.
Alex’s Top Tips:
Don’t look for the one cause and the one solution. Every child is different.
Always start with the foundations: sleep, fluids, movement/fun/sun, nutrition, avoidance of toxins
Adapt healthy habits as a family - not just for your sensitive child.
Take one step at a time, set priorities, choose your battles - your team of health professional can guide you through this.
Reduce stress, focus on fun and the positive sides.
Julia Williamson, Holistic Voice Coach
Meet Julia, a holistic vocal coach and co-director of Sing to Thrive. Julia dynamically presented insights around music and singing’s impact on our health and neuroplasticity, all while leading us in an interactive workshop.
Julia’s Top Tips:
Sing more happy songs, it physiologically changes our system - sing around home, in the car, in the shower, and so on
Hum or sing to destress, an amazing way to tone the vagus nerve - fill your imagination with positive imagery as you do so
Write down and sing healing mantras - sing with your kids as often as possible
Kylie Martin, Speech Pathologist
Meet Chatter-boxes Therapy Centre’s co-director, Kylie, a well renowned Sunshine Coast speech pathologist. Kylie brings over 2 decades of wisdom, including specialised study and experience in neurodiversity, neuroscience and executive functioning. This was such a game changer session. She equipped parents in collaboration and advocacy for their child in the school setting, and left us with this insightful nugget:
“Young children who's parents read them five or more books a day enter kindergarten having heard more than 1.4 million words more than their peers who's parents don’t read to them every day. Hearing words is the foundation of knowing words, which is the foundation of using words. So it really matters and makes a difference how many words children hear in their early childhood stages!”
Community Impact
The heartfelt feedback from attendees reflected the event's organisation, warmth, and the sense of belonging it fostered. Many parents expressed gratitude for the connections made, emphasising how empowering it was to share experiences and resources with one another.
The handbook I created serves as a neuroaffirming resource directory, enabling families to reference practical tips and local services long after the event. It’s a tool for ongoing support, a reminder that they are not alone in their journeys.
Want to know more?
If you connect with my vision and heart for capturing the essence of families, I invite you to reach out and explore what a session could look like. My goal is to create a comfortable atmosphere where everyone can be themselves, allowing me to capture moments that truly reflect who they are. To view more of my work, ensure you are following my socials for fresh session imagery and upcoming events.
Interested in future gatherings and events like this conference, follow us on Facebook “Big Hearts & Epic Minds”, and Instagram @bighearts_epicminds. Together, let’s create a thriving community where every neurodivergent child is celebrated and cherished, paving the way for them to flourish in their unique ways.
The biggest thank you to the incredible team of passionate individuals who without their support we couldn’t have come along side our community the way we did!