Atypical Life

We are back from a big week in Perth, recapping the Spectrum Space Symposium 2026 — a 10-year anniversary event that was the most attended in its history. Carol shares what it was like to present in a new location, how she pivoted her presentation on the spot when other speakers covered similar content, and why the neuro-affirming culture of this conference makes it her favourite annual event. The...

Carol shares her brand new children's book My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open — a story about Sam, a boy with a busy brain, inspired by her own kids and the families she works with every day. It's a book about feeling seen, understood, and finally having the language to describe what's going on inside. They also unpack the GROW Framework — Carols neuro-affirming behaviour support model that's the fir...

In this episode of A Typical Life, Carol sits down with her 11-year-old son Lincoln for a candid, funny, and surprisingly deep conversation about growing up neurodivergent. Lincoln opens up about being autistic, ADHD, and gifted — and what that actually feels like from the inside. They talk about his passion project Happy Hub (an after-school gaming club he founded), his love of coding, piano, and...

After an unexpected break, we're back! In this episode, we get real about what happens when your full-time support worker needs surgery — and there's no one to step in. We dive deep into the current wave of NDIS reforms and Thriving Kids changes, sharing what it feels like to be navigating these shifts as both a family and a provider. We talk about the very real fear of losing supports, the commun...

Episode 4: Setting Our Neurodivergent Kids Up for Success at School Join us as we dive into the complex world of school advocacy for neurodivergent children. We're a few weeks into the new term, and the novelty has worn off—so we're sharing our 8-year journey navigating mainstream education with our autistic and ADHD kiddos. In this episode, we discuss: - Building trust with teachers and school st...

Atypical Live Podcast - Episode 3: Choosing the right "Support" for your family: accepting help, trust and consistency In this episode, hosts Carol and Chelsea discuss the journey of accepting help as a neurodivergent family. Chelsea, who has been supporting Carol's family for 8 years (starting at age 12!), shares her unique perspective as a support worker and the evolution of their relationship....

Navigating Autism Diagnosis 10 years ago and now - for both children and adults.