The Happy Giraffe

28/08/2025

Shops Open Today :)

27/08/2025

We love Tania :) When My Brain Is Messy Tania has such a talent for writing from the heart and the lived experience of her family.

Her book 'When my Brain is Messy' is one of our faves and 'I've always had a voice' follows suit as a fantastic neuroaffirming book supporting, celebrating and encouraging our little ones. :)

Always in store and in our online shop alongside lots of other amazing books written by ND authors! :)

27/08/2025

23/08/2025

So cool!

21/08/2025

If you're an ADHD family in Albany or surrounding areas- Here's a great opportunity for you to get together with other families in a fun, safe (enclosed) space!!

21/08/2025

If you need an order or products urgently, please pop an order in online today and click on free local pick up at payment. (www.thehappygiraffe.com.au)

We will leave your order at the Business Centre for you to pick up between 9-4.30pm on Friday.

For those who are not aware. This is a service we offer at any time during the week for those who need things urgently or cannot come in on the days we are open.

Simply pop an order in online, click free local pick up and send us a message to arrange to pick up at the Business Center during the week.

Many Thanks,
Claire

21/08/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19actp5Xyv/

Yellow Ladybugs is a fantastic organisation supporting and advocating for Autistic Girls. Pop over to their fb page and check them out if you have not already.

18/08/2025

🌟 Gillian couldn’t sit still.
At just seven years old, she was always on the move — restless, distracted, her mind flying elsewhere.

In school, her teachers scolded her.
They punished her for not listening.
They rewarded the rare moments she stayed quiet — but mostly, she was misunderstood.

At home, things weren’t easier.
Her mother, unsure how to help, resorted to discipline.
Gillian wasn’t just failing at school… she felt like she was failing at life.

📚 One day, her mother was called in for a meeting. The teachers were concerned.
“She’s not normal,” they said.
“She might need help… medication, maybe.”

But then — an older teacher stepped in.
He knew Gillian.
He asked everyone — teachers, mother — to step into an adjacent room and watch the little girl through a window.

Before leaving, he quietly turned on the radio.

🎵 And what they saw next would change Gillian’s life forever:
As the music filled the room, Gillian immediately stood up and began to move.
She danced.
Not fidgeted.
Not acted out.
She danced — with rhythm, with soul, with joy.

The old teacher turned and said with a knowing smile:

“Gillian isn’t sick. She’s a dancer.”

He suggested dance school.
He encouraged her teachers to let her move.

And that changed everything.

🩰 Gillian started dance classes — and she blossomed.
When she got home after the first lesson, she told her mother,

“Everyone there is like me — no one can sit still!”

Years later, Gillian Lynne would go on to become one of the world’s most celebrated choreographers — best known for bringing Cats and The Phantom of the Opera to life.

She wasn’t broken.
She didn’t need fixing.
She just needed someone to see her differently.

❤️ This is for every child who feels “too much” or “not enough.”
And for every adult who dares to look past the struggle… and see the gift.

“EVERYONE IS A GENIUS.
BUT IF YOU JUDGE A FISH BY ITS ABILITY TO CLIMB A TREE,
IT WILL LIVE ITS WHOLE LIFE BELIEVING IT’S STUPID.”
— Albert Einstein

🌹 May every unique child meet someone who sees what makes them shine.
Not for what they lack — but for what they are.

14/08/2025

I’m definitely guilty of this too, especially when I’m excited about something!

Even as an adult, it can be hard to wait and not interrupt. Thoughts can vanish into thin air and enthusiasm can take over!

It's important to keep this in mind when kids, whether our own or in the classroom, interrupt. They’re often scolded for interrupting when adults are talking, but it’s crucial that we support them and help them feel heard.

Thanks Coby Watts for your awesome insightful posts!

❤️❤️

14/08/2025

Yes!!! 100%!! I feel strongly about this too- We all live in the real world.

As adults, we have the autonomy to choose what works best for us, how we take care of ourselves and to find our own rhythm.

Thankyou Em from NeuroWild for all your advocacy and sharing such great insights.

If your not familiar with Neurowild, I definately recomend popping over to check them out.

There are also great links to classroom and home content Em has created that you can download for use in the classroom and home.

Our kids deserve to be authentic and safe.
They deserve to be accommodated.

They should not be taught to accept mistreatment or ableist biases from others. Like yeah- we can’t necessarily change the harmful attitudes of everyone (I’m gonna try). But we don’t have to teach our kids that those attitudes are ok, either.

I don’t think I’m being extreme about this.
Feels reasonable to me.

Em 🤷🏼‍♂️