Resources
Below are some resources that are related to neurodivergence. I’m only listing things that I have read, purchased, attended myself and feel they are positive resources to refer to.
Most of the books are freely available from the Gold Coast City Library in either hardcopy or eBook format.
How can VCP make therapy sessions better for me? Please download this therapy accomodations guide and email it through prior to any appointment or bring it along with you.
Medicine shortage database Department of Health Therapeutic Goods Administration
Psychology Board Code of Conduct Effective 1 December 2025
Medical related resources
- GP Guide to hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos
- Ehlers-Danlos Society https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/
- Do you have an invisible illness and want to better understand your health? Active Health Clinic’s Questionnaire (not a diagnostic tool)
- Research in Long COVID, POTS, fibromyalgia and other areas by Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Adelaide researcher, Dr Marie-Claire Seeley (RN, PhD) and Gold Coast based GP, Dr Graham Exelby
Why I do NOT use the ADOS
- Tony Attwood and Michelle Garnett blog article, Exploring Myths: Use of the ADOS and Diagnosis of Autism
- Kaufman NK. Rethinking “gold standards” and “best practices” in the assessment of autism. Appl Neuropsychol Child. 2022 Jul-Sep;11(3):529-540. doi: 10.1080/21622965.2020.1809414. Epub 2020 Aug 27. PMID: 32847428. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32847428/
My favourites
- Dino the Lonely Dinosaur children’s book authored by an Australian 13-year-old AuADHDer
- Yellow Lady Bugs
What is…?
- Neurodiversity explained on the ND Woman Podcast Episode 1
- Neurodiversity Some basic definitions by Nick Walker, PhD
- What is autism? a Tedx video by Jac den Houting
- could I have ADHD? The ND Woman Podcast Season 3 Episode on co-occuring Autism & ADHD
- ADHD resources from AADPA
Autobiographies by Australian Autistic authors
- For older adolescents & young adults: Chloé Hayden’s Different, Not Less
- Clem Bastow’s Late Bloomer: How an autism diagnosis changed my life
- Hannah Gadsby’s Ten Steps to Nanette definately targetted to adults
Parenting focussed readings
- Dr Naomi Fisher, Low Demand Parenting
- Eliza Fricker’s books (author and illustrator)
- Raising Human Beings by Ross Greene and Collaborative Proactive Solutions approach to parenting
- Raising a Secure Child by Kent Hoffman
- The APS website has some parent resources and information about psychologists in schools
Other great books
- Unmasking Autism: The power of embracing our hidden neurodiversity by Devon Price
- Spectrum Women: Walking to the beat of Autism eds. Barb Cook & Michelle Garnett
Online groups to check out
- Yellow Ladybugs (mostly online meetups)
- Distractd at HoTA , first Wednesdays of the month
Awesome Australian ND businesses
- Patrick Saunders A non-speaking Autistic Speller – it’s a Blog, but also Patrick’s source of income, check it out!!
- Kaiko Fidgets . Based in Melbourne. Co-founded by Kai, now in his teens, who is both autistic & dyslexic and his OT Mum, Jo. Lots of great products suitable for adults and kids of all and any genders.
Listen to (more awesome Australian content)
- The Neurodivergent Woman Podcast hosted by clinical psychologist Monique Mitchelson and clinical neuropsychologist Dr Michelle Livock (seventh and final season in 2025)
- Princess and the Pea Podcast with Autism advocate Annie Crowe
Other great neuroaffirming neurodivergent resources
- Onwards and Upwards: Sandhya’s books for children, great list of resources, and parenting courses on demand
- hEDS hypermobility diagnostic criteria
- St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst, Sydney Genomic Testing for difficult to diagnose challenges often faced by neurodivergent individuals
- Talking to your child about their autism diagnosis – the earlier the better (a paid resource)
- Autism and Adults – what next? Marie Camin’s Epic Infodump (version 2 coming soon) paid resource
- Mental Health and autism including co-occuring difficulties with eating and online training
- Stimming explained video
- Meltdowns and Shutdowns explained, and the autistic experience of overwhelm, and what can carers do?
- ARFID restrictive eating disorder and NEDC guidelines
- Your 8 senses
- Interoception explained by OT Kelly Mahler
School and Workplace adjustments
- Reasonable Adjustments explained: Autism
- No diagnosis necessary: Imputed Disability and the NCCD
- Disability Discrimination Act – it applies to everyone! Know Your rights and Responsibilities.
- In Qld – AARA accessing arrangements and reasonable adjustments in school
Follow Me
- @iamthestoryspeller Patrick Saunders
- @LivedExperienceEducator Sonny Jane Wise
- @sockdrawerheroes Gender expression shop, Sydney
- @neurowild_ Em Hammond (I’ve pre-ordered Em’s new book and I am super excited!!)
- @occuplaytional Kelsie Olds (just finished Kelsie’s book Autistic God, which I loved so much for so so many reasons)
Self-Help / Mental Health Resources (mostly free, some paid)
- Sonny Jane Wise DBT skills handbook second edition
- Getting Fed, a quick guide for AuDHDers freebie
Parenting Resources
- Circle of security https://www.circleofsecurityinternational.com/
- Collaborative Proactive Solutions http://www.livesinthebalance.org/
- Practical tips from https://drdansiegel.com/book/the-whole-brain-child/ and https://www.thepathway2success.com/
If you have the means, these are great trainings that I have completed
- The Autism & Neurodiversity MasterClass
- Onwards & Upwards parenting support on demand Autism and ADHD (separate) workshops
- and if you’re a parent in need of some tips for Writing Affirming IEP Goals (individual learning plans at school) the video and the resources are worthwhile
Fact Checking
You may have heard the “statistic” that ADHDers receive up to 10,000 criticisms or negative comments more than their neurotypical peers by the age of 10 years. Here is a link to the original opinion piece from 2010 (that’s a long time ago!!) as to how this number came into pop-culture. While there is a likely truth to it, this is not a researched number! Jellinek’s original article
“It’s not too much of a stretch to assume that such a child might receive a negative or corrective comment from the teacher, say, three times an hour […] In school alone, a child with ADHD could receive 20,000 corrective or negative comments by the time he or she is age 10.”
This page was last updated July 2026, so links may have broken since then. But I will try to check this out at least annually 🙂