Sarah Lovett – Founder & Principal Social Worker
My name is Sarah Lovett, and I am an Accredited Social Worker, specialising in supporting children with PDA and their families. I have a Masters in social work, and undergraduate degrees in paramedicine, and leisure and health. My knowledge and skills are coupled with my lived experience of being a proud autistic woman with a PDA profile, and parenting my 10yr old boy/girl twins, both of whom are awesome autistic PDAers.
Whilst no amount of training can teach you what daily support of a PDA child is like, aside from my tertiary studies and lived experience, I have completed several PDA specific education courses by leaders in this field including the PDA Society UK, Kristy Forbes, Casey Ehlrich, and Bobbi Cook. I have also completed a systematic literature review at the University of South Australia entitled, ‘Pathological/Extreme Demand Avoidance through an Australian social work lens: a review of current literature and future research’.
I understand the confusing looks you get when trying to explain PDA to other parents, teachers, and health professionals. I understand what it is like to not be believed. I understand the difficulties in navigating the education system. I have experienced the ongoing advocacy required to ensure my children’s voices and needs are heard.
My passion is to support families raising children with PDA to thrive, not just survive. This is achieved through understanding, lived experience, education, and support, all underpinned by trauma informed practice.
My focus is to educate parents and carers on PDA, listen to your experiences with your child, and work together to assist you in advocating for their needs. It is about giving the child their voice back. It is about inclusion and acceptance, and the celebrating of diversity, not labelling difference.
As a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), I adhere to the AASW Code of Conduct and maintain a current Working with Children and Vulnerable Person checks and Safe Environments for Children and Young People certification.
Alice Davis – Social Worker
My name is Alice Davis and I am a Social Worker, specialising in supporting families. I have a Masters in Social Work, and an undergraduate degree in International Studies and Arts. My work experience has focused on supporting the safety, wellbeing and development of children, young people and families. I have worked in organisations advocating for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, in youth alcohol and other drug (AOD) rehabilitation, child and family safety, family and domestic violence and parenting.
I am a mother to two girls, aged 6 and 3 years old; my eldest daughter is an awesome autistic PDAer. Like many parents of autistic children, researching my daughter’s neurodivergence led me to discover my own and I am now proudly confirmed as an Autistic ADHDer with a PDA profile.
Parenting a PDA child can be very isolating and uncertain. When we adopted a PDA-friendly parenting style we saw amazing changes for our daughter and our family, but I was even more relieved when I connected with Sarah at Our PDA Kids. Finally, someone understood our experience and had incredible knowledge and support to share. I am so grateful for the opportunity to offer this support to other families and am excited to meet families with diverse experiences but one commonality – the PDA experience.
I am an accredited facilitator for Circle of Security Parenting and Bringing Up Great Kids and have completed PDA training with Our PDA Kids, Kristy Forbes and Casey Ehlrich.
As a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), I adhere to the AASW Code of Conduct and maintain a current Working with Children and Vulnerable Person checks and Safe Environments for Children and Young People certification.
Belinda Marsh – Rehabilitation Counsellor
Hi, I’m Belinda and I am a Rehabilitation Counsellor with full membership with the Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors (ASORC). I have a Graduate Diploma in Rehabilitation Counselling and Undergraduate qualifications in Leisure and Health (Diversional Therapy). In addition to my therapeutic background, I have skills and qualifications in leadership, assessment, auditing, training, productivity, wellbeing and resilience.
My most recent work history includes a decade working in various roles in the National Disability Insurance Agency. Prior to that I worked in Service Development and quality roles, Case Management at not-for-profit organisations across aged care and disability sectors and Post School Options services supporting school leavers with training opportunities for employment.
I have varied lived experience of disability and through these experiences seek to assist others with not only individual supports but also systemic change, continuous improvement and advocacy. My passion is wanting to show others how unique they are, what they can learn and contribute, and how they can embrace curiosity, awareness, ‘ah-ha’ moments and acceptance.
As a member of the Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors (ASORC), I adhere to the ASORC Code of Ethics and also maintain a current National Police Check, Working with Children and Vulnerable Person checks, Aged Care Sector Employment Screening and Safe Environments for Children and Young People certification.
Nat Lippiatt – Therapy Assistant (Level 2)
Hi, I’m Nat, a dedicated parent of three amazing teenagers. My journey through parenthood has been filled with unique challenges and incredible growth, as my family navigates the intricate world of neurodiversity.
Within our family, I embrace the beautiful diversity of neurodivergent profiles. My twin boys, present with distinctive autistic characteristics, including one twin, a talented autistic PDAer. My eldest, my 16yr old daughter, has taught me how varied the PDA presentation can look, having masked heavily most of her childhood. These experiences have given me invaluable insights into the world of parenting and advocating for neurodivergent children.
Our journey has not been without its trials, especially when it came to supporting my son at home and in the school environment. I tirelessly sought guidance from various health professionals, and it was during this time that I discovered the concept of PDA. This revelation transformed the way I approached parenting, leading me to adapt strategies to better suit my son’s needs.
In addition to my personal experiences, I am deeply passionate about women’s empowerment. To me, it means fostering self-worth, enabling parents to make choices that resonate with their true selves, and championing their rights for both themselves and their children.
Keryn Tuck – Therapy Assistant (Level 2)
Hello, my name is Keryn. I am a registered Primary School teacher based in Victoria, solo mum to an incredible 10 year old autistic PDA child and I identify as neurodivergent myself.
My background in education gives me a solid understanding of child development. As a classroom teacher I have had the privilege of working with children and families from diverse backgrounds. I understand the challenges that can arise when accessing education, and I have experience implementing the accommodations required to make education equitable. I encourage families to advocate for their children within the schooling system. My lived experience around “school can’t” both as a classroom teacher and mother to a child who found the demands of a classroom overwhelming give me genuine empathy and invaluable knowledge. I still teach in a classroom now, although my own son is homeschooled.
When my son was struggling at school and diagnosed as Autistic I followed all of the advice provided. We got the schedules, the visual aids, the timers and it just made everything worse. It wasn’t until we learnt about his PDA profile and I upskilled myself in the areas of low demand parenting that I started to see a real difference. As relational safety was reestablished the tension eased in our household and we are both much happier. Psychologist Ross Greene has the principal that children do well when they can, the same goes for parenting. We can not do better until we know better and this is why I believe my work here is valuable.
I strongly believe when we move through the grief associated with life not being what we had pictured in our heads we can design and notice a life that is beautiful and fulfilling in the most delightfully unexpected ways.