Tanya Hicks - The Misfit Matriarch

12/03/2026

Am I really that strange to most people that caring about a participant’s dignity, autonomy and wellbeing feels more important to me than just protecting the validity of a study?

Or maybe this is another thing I am standing alone in - full sparkly alien on display!

There are still so many things in this world that do not make sense to me and still squish my heart.

But if I had a choice I think I would rather feel that than stop caring. Not easy, but real all the same.

11/03/2026

If only the little sparkly alien could see this now… that a piece of her is going to Hollywood to be gifted to some of the people she has adored for years.

I’m trying to be totally cool and normal about the fact that Authenticity & Action - the book I wrote a chapter for last year - will be included in exclusive gift bags presented to nominees at the 98th Academy Awards, taking place on 15 March 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Which means my chapter, alongside those written by an extraordinary group of women, will be shared with some of the world’s most celebrated storytellers and recognisable faces.

It’s a little surreal to think that the stories of this incredible group of women - many of whom I had the privilege of travelling through Europe with last year - are now heading to one of the biggest storytelling stages in the world.

Stories written by women.
Now shared on the world stage.

And of course, I’m being completely calm about all of this.

Absolutely not crying right now.
Don’t be silly.

Authenticity & Action features the voices of:
Abbey Dyer-Amonette, Amy Hall, Anila Bukhari, Anna Abesadze, Begum Astra, Christie Nicholas, Chandra Chomicki, Dr Danielle Camer, Emma Weaver, Hayley Boswell, Hayley Van Loon, Karen Weaver, Marisa Monteiro Borsboom, Nouna Chugg, Rudi Landmann, Sara Knight, Tanya Hicks, Wendy Shew and Yona Signo.

You can order your copy here:
https://wcwpress.com/authenticity-action-2/

I only can’t thanks enough. How is this our amazing life??

10/03/2026

05/03/2026

This trip to Paris just became even more special.

I’m honoured to be named a Finalist in the 2026 Women Changing the World Awards, selected from more than 1,500 nominations across 97 countries worldwide. These awards recognise women creating meaningful impact across communities, industries, and countries around the world.

I’m deeply grateful to be part of this global community of changemakers.

My Finalist Categories:
• Big Idea
• Thought Leader of the Year
• Innovation
• Human Rights (oh, my heart!!)
• Disability Inclusion Impact
• Woman in Therapy & Counselling Services
• Woman in Education
• Rising Star

And the best part of all as a Mum…

My baby has also been named a Finalist in the Under 16 category.

Which means this journey to Paris will be something we get to share together as BOTH being Finalists in separate categories to each other. 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Thank you to all of the judges The Women Changing the World. As I continue to ask, how is this our amazing life???

04/03/2026

27/02/2026

The nervous system was never primitive.
The hierarchy was.

For years, autistic people were measured against a ladder.
And we were told we were failing it.

Eye contact? Top rung.
Warm voice? Top rung.
Expressive face? Top rung.
Smooth back-and-forth conversation? Most evolved state.

Movement to regulate? You’ve dropped.
Looking away? You’ve dropped.
Flat tone? Ventral vagal offline.
Leaving the room because it’s too loud? Shutdown. Bottom rung.

They looked at how we survive overwhelming environments and called it deficit.

They looked at how autistic kids regulate and said the goal was to move them up.

More eye contact.
More prosody.
More social engagement system activation.

Because that was framed as the most evolved state.

Autistic traits were described as reduced function in that circuit.
Sensory overwhelm was described as faulty neuroception.
Autonomic inflexibility. Chronic defensive state.

Measured against a top rung defined as biologically superior.

And now?

Thirty-nine experts in vagus nerve physiology just published a paper arguing that the evolutionary hierarchy underneath that ladder does not hold up.

The anatomy isn’t as uniquely layered as it was presented.
The “most evolved” circuitry isn’t exclusive in the way the story suggested.
The ranking collapses.

And when the ranking collapses, so does the biological justification for scoring some nervous system states as more evolved than others.

Movement is regulation.
Gaze aversion can be safety.
Flat tone can be load management.
Withdrawal can be sensory protection.

Those weren’t drops down a ladder.

Those were adaptations to conditions that weren’t built for us.

The nervous system was never primitive.
The hierarchy was.

And we are still waiting for the field to say it out loud.

We ranked difference.
And we shouldn’t have.

23/02/2026

Different Brains. Same Room. Real Talk.

What a morning.

Massive shout out to Susan - an absolute legend in my eyes - VP of the Caloundra Arts Centre, who invited me to be guest speaker at their AGM today.

And not just any talk.

A conversation about non-typical brains…
led by someone who has one.

And in case isn't clear so far, that someone was me ;)

We didn’t sit politely and nod.
We pulled it apart.

What changes when the person in front of you processes sound, light, language, tone and social expectations differently?
What looks like disengagement but is actually overload?
What feels like “difficult” but is actually effort you can’t see?

Phones came out.
We made it interactive.
We experienced - even briefly - what extra processing layers can feel like.

And here’s what matters most:

A room full of volunteers.
Giving their time.
Choosing to understand people better.

That is how inclusion actually happens. Not through policies. Through curiosity.

Susan, thank you for leading that kind of room.

Loved every minute of it 💛

Make sure you support the Caloundra Arts Centre if you have the opportunity to do so!

22/02/2026

This morning I hit send. One less thing on my ever expanding to do list.

My chapter is on its way to the Publishing Coordinator at Women Changing The World Press.

I am deeply honoured to be included in the Resilience and Reinvention anthology, launching in Paris this April.

This one was different.

It asked me to sit inside my own story instead of building around someone else’s. That’s not where I’m most comfortable.

But it’s where the truth was.

These are the quotes I wrote that are still lingering in my head, long after I closed the email with chapter link down.

17/02/2026

So, for full transparency I wrote this for myself... my own personal journal entries preparing for the Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse...

And I am sure those who know me well will be nodding along with a, 'yup - 100%', on every slide.

Cheeky buggers. I digress...

But I also have a sneaky suspicion that I am not the only one.

No need for the whip this year my sparkly ones.

The skin has been shed, now we just have to hang on to those reigns and stay in control. {Not let it get away from us!}

You have got this!

Big love xx

14/02/2026

Happy Love Day. 🤍

Today was quietly beautiful.

This morning I had the privilege of delivering a love-themed yoga session to our community. We softened the room. Slowed the breath. For those who wanted to, we introduced fun partner poses. Nothing performative. Just shared balance. Shared laughter. Shared steadiness.

And I kept weaving one question through the practice:

What would love do?

Not the Instagram version.
Not the martyr version.
Not the hustle dressed up as devotion.

Just love.

The kind that listens.
The kind that adjusts.
The kind that does not demand you override your own body to earn belonging.

Then I was back at The Nest for our kids and teens sessions.

Movement.
Regulation.
Conversations that matter.
Team members who care.
Young people who do not need to be “managed” when the conditions fit.

And somewhere in between the practicalities, the debriefs, the laughter, the quiet one-on-ones, it hit me:

When you cut away the noise…
The busyness.
The constant mental to-do list.
The proving.

I am living the life I was aspiring to live all those years ago.

Not perfectly.
Not effortlessly.
But truthfully.

Rooms built for nervous systems.
Community without performance.
Work that does not ask me to fracture myself to sustain it.

There was a time this felt impossible.
There was a time I was just trying to survive systems that did not fit.
There was a time I could feel the shape of something better but had no evidence it could exist.

Today was evidence.

Love is not abstract.
It is architectural.

It looks like designing environments that reduce harm.
It looks like asking better questions.
It looks like building things that outlast you.
It looks like holding space without fixing.
It looks like choosing fit over force.

So if you need the reminder tonight:

What would love do?

It might rest.
It might say no.
It might build something new.
It might protect what is already sacred.

Happy Love Day.

May you find yourself living closer to the life you once quietly hoped for. 💛