Alyv

20/06/2025

🧠 NDIS Changes & Therapy Supports; Let’s Check In 💬

Hey everyone 👋

There have been a lot of changes recently to the NDIS, especially around therapy supports, and we know it’s left many people feeling confused, overwhelmed, or unsure about what comes next.

We want to check in with you.

💭 Have these changes affected your supports or services?
😕 Are you finding it hard to make sense of what’s changed?
🤝 Would it help to chat to someone or get a bit of extra guidance?

You're not alone, and there’s support available.

Here are some great places to start:

📞 Developmental Disability WA (DDWA)
Phone: (08) 9420 7203
Website: www.ddwa.org.au

📞 Carers WA
Phone: 1300 227 377
Website: www.carerswa.asn.au

📚 The Growing Space – Resources & Advocacy
Website: www.thegrowingspace.com.au

📰 Team DSC – NDIS News & Updates
Website: www.teamdsc.com.au

And of course, if we can help connect you with someone or if you just want a friendly chat to make sense of it all, feel free to message us 💛

Let’s keep looking out for each other, always.

(Image is exactly what we looked like earlier this week!)

18/06/2025

🌈✨ Autistic Pride Day ✨🌈
June 18 is not just a date – it’s a declaration. A reminder that autistic people don’t need fixing, masking, or moulding to fit into a world that was never built with us in mind.

At Alyv, we work with incredible neurodivergent humans every day, and let us tell you, the magic doesn’t come from pretending to be “typical.” It comes from unmasking, from being seen, and from being supported to show up as you are.

💬 One of our team members shared:

“For the longest time, I thought I had to be quiet, neat, agreeable – someone else entirely. Turns out, I’m actually brilliant when I’m just being me.”

Autistic Pride Day is a celebration of neurology, not pathology. It’s not about tolerating difference, it’s about embracing it. Loudly. Proudly. Colourfully.

Whether you’re unmasking for the first time, still figuring out what that means, or supporting someone else on their journey, we see you. You belong here. You don’t have to perform your worth.

💖 Pride in your neurotype is powerful. Let’s keep building a world where it’s safe to show up unmasked.

17/06/2025

🌿 We’re Hiring Experienced Support Workers | Mandurah and Rockingham 🌿

Are you an experienced support worker looking for a workplace that truly values and supports you? Join Alyv, a neurodivergent-owned and led organisation providing personalised, holistic supports for the neurodivergent community.

We are currently welcoming compassionate, committed support workers in the Mandurah and Rockingham areas who want to make a meaningful impact while being part of a values-driven team.

💚 At Alyv, we live our values every day:
Respect – for you, our clients and our community
Integrity – being honest, upfront and dependable in all we do
Courage – to speak up, try new things and meet challenges with strength
Collaboration – working together and learning from each other
Innovation – growing and finding better ways forward
Affirmation – celebrating each person for who they are

💚 Why Work With Alyv?
✨ You choose your clients and meet them before your first shift, with a full understanding of their support needs
✨ Regular check-ins, mentoring and ongoing support
✨ Online and in-person training and career progression through upskilling
✨ Supportive team culture, team building and fun staff events
✨ Drop-in staff office, Nintendo Switch competitions and a festive Christmas party
✨ Weekly and monthly awards and recognition to celebrate your efforts
✨ Access to Employee Assistance Program and tech that keeps you connected and confident on shift

At Alyv, you’re not just part of a team, you’re part of a community that honours your strengths and supports your growth every step of the way.

📩 Ready to join a workplace that truly gets it? Apply now or tag someone who should.

Apply Here: https://forms.clickup.com/9016744010/f/8cq162a-19896/14LKJNNOHEA8MFC2NS

Alyv offers bespoke support packages led by neurodivergent experts. With autism-specific training, trauma-informed approaches, and neuroaffirming practices, we’re revolutionizing disability support while being an employer of choice for the ND community.

16/06/2025

It's here, the new price guide has dropped. If the APR and the Independent Comittee Pricing Report were confusing, dont worry you aren't alone.

The new PAPL is now live and represents the recomendations from these reports that can be implemented in such a short time frame.

The PAPL also outlines additional emphasis on providers avoiding conflicts of interest and where they can't be avoided guides them on how to manage these.

These changes take effect across the nation on July 1st 2025

09/06/2025

🎭 Behind the Mask – Men’s Health Week Edition 👨‍🦱
This Men’s Health Week (June 9th - 15th), we’re lifting the lid on something rarely talked about — masking in men.

We know the pressures. Be stoic. Be capable. Be fine. Be strong.
And if you’re neurodivergent, there’s often an extra layer: blend in, keep it together, don’t stand out.

💬 As one of our support workers shared:

“I spent years pretending I didn’t need support, just so I could feel like a ‘real man’. But behind the mask, I was exhausted.”

Masking isn’t just about fitting in socially. It’s about hiding how you’re really doing. Holding in stims, scripting conversations, pushing through overwhelm, or pretending things are easy when they’re not. It’s not a flaw — it’s adaptation. But it takes a toll.

And unmasking? That takes guts.

At Alyv, we support men to show up as themselves. Not a version shaped by expectations, but their genuine, whole selves. No masks required.

💡 Men’s Health Week is a great time to check in. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.
This year, maybe it’s time to check in on the parts of you that are still masked, and ask if they feel safe to be seen.

👉 Follow along with our campaign as we share real stories, honest reflections, and safe ways to start unmasking.

You’re not the problem. And you’re not alone.

07/06/2025

💬 Men’s mental health, masking, and why it’s time we talked about it.
We just dropped a new blog unpacking how societal pressure to “man up” can leave some men hiding behind masks.

Our team (neurodivergent and neurotypical across the spectrum) shared real words, real feelings, and real insight about how masking shows up for men and what support actually looks like.

✨ If you’ve ever thought “he’s fine” without asking deeper, this one’s worth a read.

👉 Read it here: https://www.alyv.au/blog-posts/mens-mental-health-and-neurodiversity

Men's mental health matters. Unmasking isn’t weakness. Support should meet men where they are, not where society expects them to be.

04/06/2025

Masking and Family — Let’s Talk About It

Unmasking isn’t always this big, freeing moment. Sometimes it’s… awkward. Especially around family.

For lots of late diagnosed autistic adults, our families have only ever known the version of us that masked. The polite, agreeable, people pleasing version. So when we start showing up differently — maybe with boundaries, sensory needs, or just a bit more honesty, it can feel like the rules have changed.

And that can be hard. But here’s the truth:

🫶You are not the problem.
🥹Your mask was never the problem.
🙌This is about safety, trust, and the people around you learning how to meet you where you are.

Unmasking is a vulnerable process. It relies on support, not pressure. Understanding, not resistance. And if someone doesn’t know how to respond to the real you, that’s theirs to work on. Not yours.

02/06/2025

WHY WE MASK.

It’s easy to say “just be yourself.”
But for many neurodivergent humans, that’s not always simple, or safe.

We mask to protect ourselves.
To fit expectations.
To avoid judgement.
To stay employed.
To survive systems that were never built for brains like ours.

In our latest Behind the Mask drop, we’re exploring the why.
Why masking becomes second nature.
Why it’s hard to let go.
And why, for many of us, it’s not about deception, it’s about adaptation.

There are so many reasons people mask.
All of them valid. All of them worth talking about.

This month, we’re holding space for the why and celebrating every person who’s slowly learning they don’t have to hide anymore.

We’ll keep sharing real quotes, real stories, and real reminders that you are never alone in this.

🖤
Here’s what some of our team had to say:

25/05/2025

🖤 MASKING ISN’T JUST A PERSONAL CHOICE.
It’s often a response to the environment around us, to how safe (or unsafe) we feel to just be ourselves.

If you're a parent, carer, partner or friend or ally of a neurodivergent person, and you want to support them to unmask around you: start with trust.

Here’s how to create emotional safety so someone doesn't feel like they need to hide:

24/05/2025

📚 Book We Love: Unmasking Autism by Dr Devon Price

This one’s a must-read.

Unmasking Autism isn’t just informative. It’s empowering, affirming, and incredibly validating. Dr Devon Price blends research, lived experience, and real stories from the autistic community to explore what masking is, why so many of us do it, and what it can look like to finally live more authentically.

It doesn’t sugarcoat anything, but it’s still warm and hopeful. If you’ve ever felt like you were too much, not enough, or like you’ve been living in disguise, this book might be the deep exhale you didn’t know you needed.

Highly recommend for autistic folks, ADHDers, PDAers, support workers, and allies alike.

🖤 Behind The Mask with Alyv

22/05/2025

🖤 Behind the Mask
We’re launching something special.

Masking is something a lot of neurodivergent people do, sometimes without even knowing it. It’s the little things we do to fit in, blend in, get through the day, or just not stand out.

At Alyv, we’ve been having real chats with our team about what masking has looked like in our lives. What it felt like. Why we did it. And what started to change when we slowly began to unmask.

So we’re starting a new blog series: Behind the Mask
Real voices. Real stories. From right here in Perth.

And we’re kicking it off with a powerful piece from Sarah, our founder.
She shares what it was like to grow up undiagnosed, what masking looked like at work, and how she finally started to see it for what it was.

👉 Read the first story here: https://www.alyv.au/blog-posts/i-didnt-know-i-was-masking-until-i-did