Sensibly Speaking

13/03/2026

Yes!!! 🙌🏻

13/03/2026

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13/03/2026

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First, we ask the questions of us:

Are they relationally safe?
- Do they have an anchor adult at school?
- Do they know how to access this adult?
- Do they feel welcome, a sense of belonging, warmth from their adults?

Do they feel safe in their bodies?
- Are they able to move their bodies when they need to?
- Are they free from sensory overload or underload?
- If not, what is their bare minimum list to achieve this with minimum disruption to the class, keeping in mind that when they feel safer in their bodies, there will naturally be less disruptive behaviour and more capacity to engage, learn, regulate.

Then we ask the question of them:

What's one little step you can take? And don't tell me nothing because I know that you are amazing, and brave, and capable. I'm here right beside you to show you how much. I believe in you, even if you don't believe in yourself enough yet.❤️

13/03/2026

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One of the biggest shifts that occurred in childhood happened when some figure of authority created an urban myth that children needed to be more protected in the playgrounds in their schools, their neighbourhoods and their communities.

12/03/2026

One of the toughest ‘adrenal responses’ (fight, flight, freeze, fawn, flop) to explain to parents…

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Many teenagers learn very early that staying safe sometimes means staying agreeable.

If a young person has experienced criticism, unpredictability, conflict, or emotional overwhelm, their brain may learn that the safest option is to keep the peace at all costs. They become the one who says yes, apologises quickly, smooths things over, and puts everyone else’s feelings first.

This is known as the fawn response. It’s one of the brain’s protective responses, where a young person tries to avoid danger or disconnection by pleasing, agreeing, or accommodating others.

To adults it can look like being “easy”, “helpful”, or “very mature”. But underneath, the young person may be carrying a constant pressure to manage everyone else’s emotions while ignoring their own.

When we understand the protective nature of this response, we can help young people learn something incredibly important: their voice matters, their needs matter, and relationships should feel safe even when they disagree.

To SAVE, click on the image, tap the three dots, and choose Save.

12/03/2026

This conversation sounds like the one I often have with parents of children with a PDA-profile…

Just love Dr Becky and her firm but kind approach!

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10/03/2026

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Many children spend their day holding it together — smiling, complying, masking distress to stay ‘okay’. What looks calm can be the effort of survival.

When the mask slips at home, it’s not manipulation — it’s release. It’s safety.
Understanding the difference changes everything.

Explore Masking: The Toolkit for Parents & Educators — your guide to recognising the signs, reducing the strain, and helping a child feel safe enough to be real. Link in comments or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

07/03/2026

Such a big part of my daily work, is supporting clients and their families to get around, whether it be for a trip locally in WA, or international travel - pre-flight arrangements, social stories, visuals for airline staff and best options for communication and regulation while in transit…some of my favourite work!

This will definitely be of huge help in future!

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Feeling anxious about flying? Virgin Australia and Adelaide Airport have launched the ‘Try Before You Fly’ program to make air travel more inclusive and accessible ✈️ This free program offers a practical, hands-on way to experience the airport journey before taking a real trip.

It's open to anyone who finds air travel overwhelming, including autistic and neurodivergent travellers, people with sensory issues, or those who feel anxious about flying.

Find out more via the link in the first comment 🔗

05/03/2026

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For a long time, I thought menopause was mostly about hormones. Estrogen rises and falls. Progesterone shifts. The body adjusts. That was the story I

04/03/2026

🧠 Autism is a *pattern* of differences, and not just one or two things. We often recognize and diagnose kids who externalize their emotions and differences, while missing or underdiagnosing kids who are internalizers. These kids often hide or minimize their traits and “fly under the radar” because they are “good.”

Want to learn more about the patterns of differences associated with Autism? Comment Autism ⤵️ and I’ll send you a FREE list of traits ♾️

👋🏼 If this post describes your child, it does not automatically mean your child is Autistic, because most of these listed aren’t core traits, but are often a result of hiding or masking core traits.

With that said, kids described in this picture would absolutely benefit from clinical evaluation, and support (anxiety and autism or both is the likely diagnosis).

03/03/2026

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21/02/2026

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