I always knew that I was different, but I never knew how or why.
At the age of six I was told I had a learning disorder. But the teachers in my environment were not understanding or supportive. I struggled all the way through school, feeling like a misfit. I was bullied. Teachers treated me differently. It felt like I was a nuisance because I needed things to be explained to me differently.
It wasn’t until I turned thirty that I was finally diagnosed as autistic. I cannot tell you the relief I felt to discover that not only was there a logical explanation for why I had struggled all these years, but also to discover that I wasn’t alone. And there are millions of people out there like me.
My biggest passion is to help young children avoid the pain and struggle I went through. I want them to feel fully supported and celebrated for who they are. I feel a duty to help push the boundaries around how we think children ‘should’ be and to move us into a culture where all children and different learning styles are accepted without question.
Because I’m so passionate about early learning and helping all children to build a strong foundation, I was drawn to becoming an early childhood teacher. I love working with children, however I began to see how often children were struggling and they weren’t given the support they needed. I knew I wanted to be part of the change to make things better.
I founded Thriving minds education in December 2017. It began as educational classes for parents to learn how to raise confident, thriving and mentally healthy babies and children. The classes were held in an early learning environment that was filled with unique and quality toys, books and educational resources for the parents, babies and children to play with.
Throughout 2018, I attended many markets around Perth with a small selection of the educational toys, books and resources used in the classes. Through attending markets, I was able to connect with many parents, carers, teachers and early childhood educators who also understood the importance of creating strong foundations for our children and they wanted to know how they could create a confident, thriving and mentally healthy generation. The range of toys, books and educational resources has continued to grow and the Thriving Minds community is now global!
Learn how you can create the next generation of confident, thriving children by clicking here.