Embrace Neurodiversity

14/08/2025

Thank you! I’m so grateful for the support of our community 🌈✨

After presenting our work embracing lived experience voices in mental health and autism research, The Feelings Program Team were honoured to be awarded the Australian Consumer Partnerships in Research 2025 Award for Excellence in Consumer Partnerships in Non-Commercial Research presented by AccessCR. 👏

It’s been a privilege to amplify lived experience voices in research in a role that is the first of its kind in public health, years in the making, and shaped through the long-standing consumer partnerships that make our work possible.

- Frances
🙏🌈✨

Alt Text: A glass award is displayed on a wooden table with green plants in the background. The inscription reads: Congratulations The Feelings Program Team Judge’s Choice Award Winner A: Excellence in Consumer Partnerships in Non-Commercial Research ACCESSCR AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER PARTNERSHIPS IN RESEARCH AWARDS 2025

28/07/2025

The Feelings Program team are finalists in the 2025 Australian Consumer Partnerships in Research Awards! 👏

Thank you to everyone who voted and supported our work.

The existence of this award speaks to the ongoing work of countless consumer advocates who care deeply about making research useful to the communities it's meant to serve.

We believe that research is better when we do it together. A belief that is reflected in our genuine partnership between Autistic people, families, and researchers. It has been a privilege to contribute as NSW Health's first Autistic Peer Researcher, alongside colleagues who value lived experience.

Congratulations to my team and to the young people and families whose voices lead the way.

This recognition belongs to all of us.

Alt text: Graphic announcing that The Feelings Program Team is a finalist in the 2025 Australian Consumer Partnerships in Research Awards, Category A: Excellence in Consumer Partnership in Non-Commercial Research, presented by AccessCR.

18/06/2025

🌈 June 18th is Autistic Pride Day! ♾️

Did you know Autistic Pride Day was started by Autistic people, for Autistic people?
Unlike many awareness campaigns often led by outsiders, today is about celebrating neurodivergent identity on our own terms.
What Autistic people want is simple:
✔️ To be accepted
✔️ To be heard
✔️ To be supported in ways that respect how we think, feel, move, and connect

We don’t need to be “fixed”, we need to be understood.
Not just acceptance, but appreciation for Autistic people.

05/06/2025

So happy to represent the Embrace Neurodiversity team at the Yellow Ladybugs 2025 Conference, an event dedicated to the happiness, success, and celebration of Autistic girls, students, and gender-diverse individuals 💛

03/06/2025

Today, Frances spoke on a panel, hosted by Gidget Foundation and Commonwealth Bank. She was joined by Eliza Hull (writer, musician and disability advocate) and Nastasia Campanella (ABC's National Disability Affairs Reporter) where they discussed parenting with disability.

The conversation centred on their lived experiences, and the need for systems to better recognise and support parents, especially during pregnancy and early parenthood, a period where many neurodivergent parents are still missed and unable to access support.

It was a privilege for Frances to stand alongside change-makers working towards better mental health outcomes for parents who are disabled or living with disability.

Thank you to the families we support for your flexibility this week. Your understanding helps make this work possible.

🌈♾️

[Alt Text]
Image 1: Frances McCafferty, wearing a pink suit and glasses, speaks into a microphone while seated on stage beside Eliza Hull, in a dark green suit, and Nas Campanella, in a yellow top and dark pants. A screen behind them displays their names and the Gidget Foundation logo.

Image 2: Frances, wearing a pink suit and glasses, stands smiling with Eliza, in a dark green velvet suit, and Nas, in a navy blazer with gold buttons and a yellow top. They're standing in front of a Gidget Foundation Australia backdrop.

28/05/2025

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stall at The University of Newcastle, Australia Allied Health Expo yesterday! It was such a pleasure to meet future clinicians, connect with other providers, and share more about Embrace Neurodiversity.

We came away inspired by so many thoughtful conversations with neurodivergent staff, students, and their allies, and by the genuine curiosity around neurodiversity-affirming practice. We can't wait to do it all again!

If you'd like to learn more about us, or if you're interested in working together, head to
🔗 embracend.com/join-our-team

04/05/2025

🌈 Looking for a calm, experienced support worker?

Meet Beth, a future teacher and experienced disability support worker with a passion for inclusive education.

Beth has a background as an Assistant in Nursing (AIN) and a teacher's assistant within a School for Specific Purposes (SSP).

She brings:
✅ A trauma-informed, strengths-based approach
✅ Hands-on experience with sensory tools & AAC
✅ Cert III in Individual Support
✅ A calm, outdoors-loving personality

♾️ We're neurodivergent-owned & neurodiversity-affirming.

📍 Now supporting participants in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & Hunter Valley region.

💬 DM us or request Beth at https://embracend.com/intake-form

Embrace Neurodiversity is an occupational therapy and disability support service based in the beautiful city of Newcastle NSW, committed to embracing neurodiversity and providing personalised care. Find our intake form here.

04/05/2025

🌈 Meet Maya, Allied Health Assistant working under supervision of our Director and Occupational Therapist, Frances.

2nd-year OT student, netballer & gym-goer with a knack for engaging young clients outdoors.

Supports therapy goals with empathy, energy & experience.

📍 Now taking new clients in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & Hunter Valley region
✅ Kids, teens & young adults
🐶 Animal lover & sensory play enthusiast

💬 Call or DM us to book your first session
🔗 https://embracend.com/intake-form

Embrace Neurodiversity is an occupational therapy and disability support service based in the beautiful city of Newcastle NSW, committed to embracing neurodiversity and providing personalised care. Find our intake form here.

15/04/2025

Our director and occupational therapist Frances, will be speaking at the Asia Pacific Autism Conference (APAC) 2025! 🎤🌈

Last year, she accepted a pioneering role as Autistic Peer Researcher at NSW Health, working as part of the Feelings Program team at Westmead Children’s Hospital.

Their presentation, “Beyond Consultation: Autistic leadership and lived experience perspectives in public health research”, was selected from a huge number of submissions across 20 countries.

Our hope is that this important work encourages and inspires others to continue to welcome Autistic colleagues onto their autism research teams.



[Alt text] Night view of Perth city skyline with reflections on the water. Text reads: “APAC Asia Pacific Autism Conference, 13–15 November 2025, Perth Australia. APAC is coming to Perth! Proudly hosted by Autism Association of Western Australia.”

31/03/2025

Frances our OT was honoured to guest lecture third-year Occupational Therapy students at the University of Newcastle about neurodiversity-affirming practice.

The students brought so many thoughtful questions and she was especially touched when an Autistic student shared that this was the first time they felt their lived-experience was recognised and reflected in course content.

A special thanks to Dr Karen Ray for creating a space for Autistic voices and mutual learning.

10/03/2025

Frances delivered their first lecture at the The University of Newcastle, Australia 🌈♾️

Thank you Samantha Ashby for inviting her to speak as a guest lecturer to your 4th year research and program design students on strengths-based goal setting and neurodiversity-affirming practice.

By exploring Autistic culture, monotropic interests, and the Double Empathy Problem, she challenged deficit-based models to embrace neurodiversity-affirming approaches.

Embrace Neurodiversity is grateful to have had the opportunity to share these perspectives with our future occupational therapists.



Alt text: A person in a light pink sleeveless top stands at a university lectern, delivering a lecture. A PowerPoint slide behind her discusses language use in autism, including APA style and identity-first language. A small Pride flag is on the lectern, and a screen shows a live projection of the lecture.