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Eleva8 Mentoring, Newcastle (2026)

28/04/2026

🚨 CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IS NOT JUST PHYSICAL ABUSE 🚨

Many people think trauma only means being hit or physically harmed.

That is not true.

Trauma can be being ignored.
Trauma can be being shamed.
Trauma can be living in fear.
Trauma can be never feeling emotionally safe.

Childhood trauma can include:

• Emotional abuse 💔
• Neglect 🧩
• Rejection or abandonment 😞
• Domestic violence exposure 🚨
• Sexual abuse or boundary violations ⛔
• Bullying 😔
• Growing up with addiction or mental illness in the home 🏠
• Parentification (children carrying adult burdens) ⚖️
• Chronic criticism, shame or humiliation 🗣️
• Living in survival mode every day 😟

Sometimes trauma is not what happened to a child…

It is what didn’t happen.

No comfort.
No protection.
No emotional safety.
No one coming when they were scared.

And these experiences can shape the nervous system, relationships, self-worth and behaviour well into adulthood.

What looks like anger may be fear.
What looks like control may be hypervigilance.
What looks like withdrawal may be protection.

Let’s stop asking:
“What’s wrong with them?”

And start asking:
“What happened to them?” ❤️

Understanding trauma changes everything.

BehaviourSupport HealingJourney ParentingSupport EmotionalRegulation TraumaRecovery DevelopmentalTrauma AdverseChildhoodExperiences SupportNotShame 🙏💙

23/04/2026

🐍 Things I do for my clients… honestly, this job keeps escalating 😂

Today I found myself holding a Burmese python… yes, an actual Burmese python… and let me be clear, I was absolutely PETRIFIED. 😳

As a Behaviour Support Practitioner, I thought my role involved functional assessments, de-escalation strategies, stakeholder meetings and capacity building…

Apparently it also includes exposure therapy with giant snakes. 🐍💀

My client was calm.
The snake was calm.
I was not calm. 😂

There I was trying to model regulation while internally negotiating with God, my nervous system, and my life choices.

At one point I thought:
“After this session… I may need my own Behaviour Support Practitioner.” 🤣

But in all seriousness, this is what real support can look like — stepping into a participant’s interests, building trust through shared experiences, and sometimes doing things wildly outside your comfort zone to strengthen connection.

Connection before intervention…
Even if connection occasionally comes wrapped in scales. 😅

If anyone needs me, I’ll be doing a risk assessment on reptiles and updating my snake-related restrictive practices. 📝🐍

SnakeHandlingHazardPay ConnectionForProgress SupportWorkStories TraumaInformedPractice BurmesePython FearFactor NeedMyOwnBSP FunnyNDISPost 😂🐍👏

22/04/2026

🚨 Important Conversation We Need To Be Having 🚨

Instead of cutting supports and punishing innocent people living with disability, why isn’t the focus on stopping fraud and recovering the money stolen from the system?

If people have engaged in fraud, investigate it properly. Seize assets where lawful, pursue repayments, and hold those responsible accountable. That is where wasted funding should be recovered — not from participants who rely on supports to live safely, build skills and participate in the community.

When funding is reduced for genuine participants, the impact is not abstract. It affects therapies, support workers, behaviour support, mental health, housing stability and everyday quality of life. It places more pressure on families, carers and frontline services.

A society should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. Australia can do better than balancing the books on the backs of people with disability.

The government should be focused on protecting the integrity of the system while protecting the people the system was designed for. Fraud should be targeted. Participants should not be collateral damage.

People with disability deserve dignity, not disadvantage. 💙

MentalHealthMatters BehaviourSupport NDISFunding SupportNotCuts InclusionMatters AustralianPolitics DisabilityJustice StandUpForDisability ♿💙🔥

20/04/2026

🚨🧠 WHY KIDS LEARN TO LIE (AND IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK) 🧠🚨

Most kids are not “natural liars”… they’re trained into it.

In the early years, your child is constantly testing one thing:
👉 “Is it safe to tell the truth?”

If a child tells the truth and gets:
❌ yelled at
❌ punished immediately
❌ shamed or made to feel “bad”

Their brain learns very quickly:
“Truth = danger.”

So what do they do next time?

They lie.

Not because they’re manipulative…
Not because they’re “bad”…
But because they’re trying to protect themselves.

🧠 This is a safety response, not a character flaw.

If this pattern repeats, your child stops coming to you with honesty.
They start telling you what they think will keep them safe.

That’s when the real problem begins.

As a parent, your job in those early years is simple (but not always easy):

Create emotional safety around truth.

When your child tells the truth:
✔ stay calm
✔ regulate yourself first
✔ thank them for being honest
✔ then teach the lesson

Discipline without emotional safety creates fear.
Guidance with emotional safety builds trust.

And trust is what keeps communication open into the teenage years and beyond.

If your child feels safe with you…
They won’t need to lie to you.

childdevelopment gentleparenting trust connectionovercorrection mentalhealth secureattachment

15/04/2026

TIMELESS PHILOSOPHY. REAL WORLD STRENGTH. 🧠🔥

We forget how powerful the words of great philosophers really are.

In a world full of noise, opinions, and pressure… their teachings cut straight through it.

They remind us:
We don’t need to react to everything
We don’t need to prove ourselves to everyone
We don’t need to carry what isn’t ours

Whether it’s in life or in the work we do every day, especially when things feel tense, unfair, or misunderstood… these principles keep us grounded, clear, and in control.

Less reaction. More awareness. Stronger presence.

That’s where real strength sits. 💭🔥🧠⚖️

personaldevelopment emotionalintelligence stressmanagement anxiety leadership ndis behavioursupport mentalstrength

14/04/2026

🔥 THE FIRST 2000 DAYS WILL DEFINE YOUR CHILD’S FUTURE 🔥

Not just behaviour…
Not just milestones…

But how they see themselves, others, and the world.

In Attachment Theory, this period is critical because your child is building their internal blueprint for life.

From birth to around 5.5 years old, your child is asking one core question:

“Am I safe?”

When a caregiver consistently provides:
✔️ comfort
✔️ predictability
✔️ emotional safety
✔️ attunement

A child develops secure attachment.

This leads to:
🧠 Strong emotional regulation
💬 Healthy communication
❤️ Safe relationships
🧍 Confidence and independence

But when care is inconsistent, unpredictable, or emotionally unavailable…

The child adapts.

Not because they are “difficult”
But because their brain is trying to survive.

You may see:
⚡ anxiety
🧊 avoidance
🔥 reactivity

And this becomes their baseline… unless supported later.

Here’s the truth:

You don’t need to be perfect.

You need to be emotionally available.

The first 2000 days isn’t about perfection
It’s about being safe, consistent, and present.

Because before a child learns how to behave…

They learn how to feel.

And that comes from you.

ChildDevelopment TraumaInformed BehaviourSupport ParentingTips RaiseSecureKids MentalHealthAwareness ELEVA8

01/04/2026

🚨 YOUR CHILD CANNOT THINK WHEN THEY ARE IN A MELTDOWN 🚨

Parents and caregivers… this is where most people get it wrong 👇

When your child is escalated, overwhelmed, or in a meltdown… they are NOT in their thinking brain.

They are operating from the emotional brain (back of the brain) — the survival system.

👉 Fight
👉 Flight
👉 Freeze

In this state, the frontal lobe (executive functioning) is essentially OFFLINE.

That means:
❌ No reasoning
❌ No logic
❌ No learning
❌ No explaining their feelings
❌ No accountability in that moment

So when we say things like:
“Why did you do that?”
“Calm down and talk to me”
“Explain yourself”

👉 We are asking a brain that is offline… to perform a task it literally cannot do.

And what happens?
➡️ Escalation increases
➡️ Frustration builds
➡️ The meltdown lasts longer

💡 Here’s the shift:

Your job in that moment is NOT to correct the behaviour.
Your job is to help regulate the nervous system.

✔️ Stay calm
✔️ Reduce demands
✔️ Give space or co-regulate
✔️ Keep language minimal

THEN… and only then…

When your child has returned to baseline and their frontal lobe is back ONLINE…
👉 That’s when the learning happens

⚠️ And here’s the part most people don’t realise:
Sometimes this doesn’t happen in 10 minutes…
Sometimes it takes HOURS…
Sometimes even a couple of DAYS

And that’s okay.

Because real learning doesn’t happen in chaos —
It happens in safety.

🧠 Regulate first
🧠 Teach second

If you remember anything, remember this:
You can’t access the thinking brain through an overwhelmed nervous system.

ParentingSupport MeltdownSupport TraumaInformed ExecutiveFunctioning CoRegulation PositiveParenting Neurodiversity ParentingTools RaisingKids Eleva8BehaviourSupport

31/03/2026

🚨🚨🚨Unlocking Minds: Understanding Theory of Mind 🌟

Are you a professional working with young people or adults with autism? Or do you have autism yourself? Dive deep into the world of **Theory of Mind**! Understanding this concept can transform interactions and relationships, fostering empathy and connection. 🌈✨

📚 Learn how to:
- Recognize others’ perspectives 🧠
- Improve social interactions 🤝
- Enhance communication skills 🗣️

Join me in exploring this vital tool for better understanding and supporting each other.

AutismAwareness intellectualdisabilitiescommunity MentalHealthMatters DisabilityAdvocacy IndividualizedCare PositiveOutcomes Empowerment parents kids eleva8mentoring mum instagram facebook dad

Feel free to share your experiences and insights below! ⬇️

🧩🌍

26/03/2026

If I could go back to when I was 21 and became a father to my daughters 👣❤️

With the clinical insight I now have as a behaviour support practitioner I would approach parenting very differently.

At 21 years of age you are still developing emotionally neurologically and psychologically 🧠
You are often still learning regulation identity boundaries and decision making ⚖️
The reality is you are trying to shape a child’s development while your own development is still unfolding 🌱

I would place far greater importance on being present and emotionally available 🤝❤️
I would choose connection and stability over partying and living a chaotic lifestyle 🎉🚫
I would consistently put their needs first and prioritise quality time and attunement ⏳👨‍👧

I would educate myself earlier about attachment parenting trauma mental health and behaviour 📚🧩
I would focus on creating an environment that felt physically safe emotionally predictable and mentally secure 🏡🛡️🧠
I would work harder on regulating my own reactions instead of responding impulsively or with frustration 😮‍💨➡️😌

I would use positive reinforcement daily to build their confidence resilience and self worth ⭐👏
I would celebrate effort progress and small wins 🎯✨
I would help them understand behaviour is communication and always seek to understand before correcting 🔍💬

I would make sure they knew they could tell me anything without fear of punishment shame or rejection 🗣️❤️
I would actively teach them to stand up for themselves set boundaries and move through life with confidence 💪🚶‍♀️

Parenting is not about being perfect ❌
It is about reflection growth and learning to respond in healthier ways over time 🔄🌱

If you are a young parent right now this is your reminder
Your presence your consistency and your emotional regulation are some of the most powerful protective factors you can provide ❤️🛡️

traumainformedcare youngparents childdevelopment familywellbeing reflectiveparenting growthmindset mentalhealthawareness connectionovercorrection

24/03/2026

🚨Parenting tip Think like a scuba diver 🤿

When your child shares something or you ask how they are feeling you will often get a one word answer like good fine or ok. That is just the surface 🌊

Your role as the parent is to gently dive deeper. Each time they answer go one level further with an open question.

If they say I am good
Try asking What does good feel like for you
Or What has made today feel good

These small follow up questions help children feel heard understood and safe to open up 💬

Over time you are teaching emotional awareness confidence and connection ❤️

secureattachment parentingadvice connectionbeforecorrection eleva8behavioursupport

23/03/2026

🧠 Autistic burnout is real
And it affects both children 👧🧒 and adults 👩👨 more than many people realise.

🚫 It is not laziness
🚫 It is not defiance
🚫 It is not a lack of motivation

🔥 Autistic burnout is a state of deep physical emotional and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress masking sensory overload and constant daily demands.

🏃‍♂️ For many autistic people life can feel like running a marathon every single day without enough recovery time. Over time the nervous system becomes overwhelmed and the person may experience increased anxiety shutdown withdrawal loss of skills irritability or aggression.

What autistic burnout can look like
😰 Increased anxiety or emotional sensitivity
🙈 Withdrawal from social interaction
⚡ Reduced tolerance to everyday demands
🥱 Extreme fatigue or sleep changes
🧩 Loss of previously mastered skills
💥 More frequent meltdowns or shutdowns

How you can support someone experiencing autistic burnout
🤝 Reduce demands and expectations temporarily
🕯 Create calm predictable low sensory environments
⏳ Allow time for recovery without pressure or punishment
🗣 Use simple clear communication and visual supports
🌿 Encourage regulation strategies such as movement quiet time sensory tools or time in nature
❤️ Focus on connection safety and understanding rather than compliance

🌅 Recovery from burnout takes time.
When we prioritise emotional safety and nervous system regulation we give autistic children and adults the best chance to regain capacity confidence and wellbeing.

✨ Support before crisis always matters.

parentingautism behavioursupport mentalhealth sensoryprocessing executivefunction inclusion disabilityawareness traumainformed connectionbeforecorrect

Eleva8 Mentoring

28/04/2026

23/04/2026

22/04/2026

20/04/2026

15/04/2026

14/04/2026

01/04/2026

31/03/2026

26/03/2026

24/03/2026

23/03/2026

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