Spot Therapy Hub

Spot Therapy Hub Spot Therapy Hub is a Neurodiversity Affirming Speech Pathology & Occupational Therapy practice.

02/09/2026

One of the biggest PDA demands your child is responding to, might be the one they placed on themselves.

Their ideas, plans and expectations.
Something they have decided they really want to do.

And when executive functioning challenges, anxiety, overwhelm and a strong drive for autonomy collide, parenting these kids becomes COMPLEX

Understanding PDA needs to go much deeper than simply “reducing demands.”

We’re unpacking this tomorrow in the NeuroWay PDA Parent Workshop.

📅 Thursday 3 September 2026
⏰ 12:00–1:30pm AEST
💻 Online
▶️ Attend live or watch the recording later

Can’t make it at lunchtime? Register anyway and the recording will be available afterwards.

Register via the link in bio.

30/08/2026

“Mum, get off your phone. You’re always sending emails.”

One of my neurodivergent kids said this to me this morning before we left the house.

So I explained:

“I’m not emailing my friends. And I’m not working. I’m emailing your teachers.

The reason I send so many emails in the morning is because there aren’t many mornings where all of you head off to school without something I need to communicate to help your teachers understand how you’re going and what you might need that day.

So on the mornings when none of you have anything you’re worried about, nothing has happened, and nobody needs me to tell their teacher anything, I won’t send an email.

This is called advocacy.

I don’t do it for fun.

I do it because I love you.”

They looked at me, nodded and said:

“You’re fine. Finish your email.”

😂

Sharing this for every parent who feels like they have already completed half a day’s work before school drop-off.

The emails. The explaining. The anticipating. The remembering. The checking in. The making sure the right person knows the right thing before your child walks through the gate.

Advocacy is work.

And so much of that work is completely invisible.

If you’re doing it this morning too, I see you. ❤️

30/08/2026

Wondering how best to describe your child is important.

Diagnoses can be the key to identity and understanding lived experience.
Diagnoses can bring validation and connection to supportive communities.
And accurate diagnosis should feel affirming and empowering.

To all the parents who’ve ever reached out to ask me this question:

Firstly, thanks on behalf of your child for your attunement and curiosity.

Secondly, I’d like to thank you myself for your trust.

And finally, onto my honest answer:

Anything that you’re curious about, without knowing more about your personal situation, I would be inclined to suggest is likely accurate.

When it comes to neurodivergence, differential diagnosis, in my opinion, is fraught.

A large part of this is because the labels themselves are human constructs that have originated from our best attempt at understanding and describing human lived experience, but they are not absolute truths. If they were, we would not see things changing with each edition of the DSM.

We live in a world with social media and access to the diverse voices of people with lived experience, and I will be very curious to see what is recognised and how things are organised in the next diagnostic manual.

For now, particularly when it comes to PDA, I would seek to remind families that the power comes from understanding your child, and there is no harm in adopting strategies.

Simply put, it’s all about understanding what keeps your child’s nervous system feeling safe.

Questions and comments always welcome.

K xx

28/08/2026

If I’m calling something a hill to die on, I mean it.

Of course I want kids to eat well, brush their teeth, shower, wear the right clothes, do their homework, and communicate, play ‘nicely’ and behave…

But I’m not dying on those hills.

Because kids are kids. Development is messy. Capacity fluctuates. And often, insisting on the thing we think matters means sacrificing the things that matter more.

So what am I willing to die on?

1. Physical safety.

2. Relational safety.

3. Dignity.

Here’s what’s interesting about my three:

None of them are the child’s responsibility.

They’re ours.

It is OUR job to keep children physically safe.

It is OUR job to make sure our relationship remains a safe place, even when behaviour is hard.

And it is OUR job to protect a child’s dignity, especially when they are struggling.

Children don’t need to earn any of these through compliance, calm behaviour, independence or doing what adults expect.

These are the conditions we are responsible for creating.

And from there, we can work on everything else.

28/08/2026

Neurodivergence is very easy to spot in infancy.

Why? Because infants DON’T mask.

Infants communicate their needs. They are wired for survival (feed and sleep) & connection.

When we see infants who are displaying challenges with feeding & sleeping, it tells us about their nervous system. It’s obvious.

Often we link challenges in these domains to things like allergies (CMPI) or , but those sensitivities also originate in the nervous system.

, or slightly later milestones due to lower muscle tone? Another expression of neurodivergence.

Parents have reported that doctors have told them their baby ‘just doesn’t like’ milk - or sleep! What?? That’s like saying babies don’t like breathing. We’re ignoring clear signs that a baby has a different nervous system & is experiencing the world differently.

Sleep training inpatient programs - Every family I meet has been and ‘failed.’ With no further insight or understanding of where to go next. These services should be our earliest screening centres (in effect, they are, except nobody who works there is communicating with families).

And…CONNECTION. Do you have a baby who can’t even be held by their other biological parent? Who screams like boiling water is being poured over their body (to quote a client) when you stand too close to strangers. This is not just, ‘they’re sensitive and will outgrow it,” or “Maybe they’ll be shy.” These babies are neurodivergent.

So what can we do? I believe the reason people don’t ‘see’ this, is because is still stigmatised. There is a view that it would be harmful to suggest that a parent’s baby was in some way imperfect.

I believe nothing could be further from the truth. I meet parents who fully accept & embrace their child’s identity. Parents feel let down. They can accurately recount every single appointment they have had with professionals who should have known.

If we can create a truly inclusive world; A world where we understand that identities such as autism are a difference, not a disorder, we can begin having therapeutic conversations.

CAN YOU IMAGINE a world in which autistic people devel

28/08/2026

Communication creates possibilities. 💙

To grow.
To connect.
To choose.
To learn.
To thrive.
To flourish.
To experience joy.
To have autonomy.

Because communication is about so much more than words.

It is about connection, participation, agency, belonging and being understood.

This Speech Pathology Week, we’re celebrating communication in all its forms, and the possibilities that open up when every person has a way to express who they are, what they need, what they think and what matters to them.

And, of course, we’re celebrating our incredible Spot Speech Pathologists who help create those possibilities every day. 💙

28/08/2026

Sometimes PDA doesn’t look like demand avoidance at all.

Sometimes, it looks like a child asking you to do more with them.

“Come with me while I get dressed.”
“Can you come and get my toy with me?”
“Can you pour my water?”

Even when you know they have the skills to do those things independently.

Because with PDA, the demand isn’t always simply the task itself.

It might be the anticipation of a demand.
The perception of a demand.
The accumulation of demands.
Or even the experience of being perceived while navigating one.

And sometimes, what looks like “I need you to do this for me” is really:

“I need to borrow your nervous system while I do this.”

For children with a PDA nervous system, co-regulation, safety and trusted relationships can make an enormous difference to their capacity to navigate demands.

And understanding PDA through this nervous system lens helps explain something else that can be confusing: why the very same child can respond so differently from one day, person or situation to the next.

If you’re parenting a child with a PDA neurotype, I’d love you to join me for NeuroWay’s PDA Parent Workshop.

📅 Thursday 3 September
⏰ 12:00–1:30pm AEST
💻 Online
🔗 Register via the link in bio

27/08/2026

When you experience the world differently, you learn pretty quickly that not every person or environment is safe.

And I don’t just mean obvious threats, like bullying or discrimination.

Sometimes the threat is much harder to spot.

Ableism can exist in kind, caring, very well-meaning people.

So for many neurodivergent and disabled people, there can be a constant process of assessing:

Who is attuned and likely to understand my needs without me having to explain everything?

Who doesn’t understand yet, but feels safe enough to learn?

Who would be easier to mask around than take the chance?

And who will I need to manage with a firm boundary, knowing that boundary itself might damage the relationship?

Parents of neurodivergent, sensitive and disabled kids often find themselves doing the same thing.

And sometimes they’re judged for their “strong sense of social justice”, their advocacy, or their unwillingness to just let something go.

But make no mistake: they aren’t having fun advocating.

It’s draining.

It’s heartbreaking.

And repeatedly having to determine whether the people and environments around you are safe can itself become deeply distressing. It’s trama, by the true definition of the word…living with a nervous system that can’t rest.

Imagine moving through the world without having to think so hard about the values of every person you meet.

For many neurodivergent and disabled people, and the people who love and advocate for them, that would be an extraordinary privilege.

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