00:00If you see a parent struggling with a child, maybe don't make comments, don't judge.
00:06Regional families are calling for more understanding of neurodiversity,
00:11saying everyday outing can quickly become stressful when parents are met with judgment
00:17instead of support. Just because you know one person on the spectrum doesn't mean that the
00:22next person you meet on the spectrum is going to be the same. A neurodivergent person has a brain
00:28that functions and process information differently than what it is considered neurotypical.
00:34Wagga parent Kylie Burns, whose two children have ADHD, said simple compassion from others can go
00:42a long way. One day it was grocery shopping, so a single parent have to take kids grocery shopping
00:47sometimes, and when these two old ladies say something along the lines of, look at those
00:51children running away by themselves, their mother will find them dead in a ditch one day and then
00:56she'll be crying wondering why it happened. Burns is also president of the Wagga Autism Support Group,
01:03which runs activities and events including sensory movie sessions and family fun days.
01:10Parent and author Jenny Neck-Vaddle has twin sons with level 3 autism.
01:17They have an intellectual delay and they're also non-verbal.
01:21Obviously when you're non-verbal it's very difficult to communicate your needs,
01:25so we had to learn how to communicate with them. A big step for Jenny's boys has been recently
01:32moving out. It's really important that families and providers work together and communicate really
01:39well and yeah they're very happily settled in their home. She said it's important for people to know
01:45about neurodiverse conditions like ADHD, autism and dyslexia as they can often be hidden.
01:53It's also sometimes called the invisible disability, so you could be walking down the street and you
01:58could be walking past somebody who is neurodiverse and you don't know. Somebody might need to wear
02:03headphones to block out noise, somebody might need a fidget toy just to help them feel calm. So
02:09just being aware that once again different things will affect different people on the spectrum.
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