Annie in wonderland

https://open.spotify.com/show/2dLRtagYg0ZQqizcjvvrgY?si=fa2a6dffbeca4c46   When people talk about the NDIS, the conversation often begins with change. A new announcement, a new policy, a new review, or a new headline appears and suddenly thousands of people are trying to work out what it means for them, their families, their supports, and their future. But the reality of the NDIS is much bigger than any single announcement. Behind every change are real people trying to navigate a system that affects their everyday lives. There are participants trying to understand what their options are. There are families supporting loved ones through uncertainty. There are support workers helping people achieve their goals. There are support coordinators working every day to help people understand not just what is happening, but why it is happening. This is where conversations become important. Because knowing that something has changed is very different from understanding the impact of that chan...

Difficulty, Not Discrimination: Literacy, Critical Thinking and Learning to Question What We Think We Know Why difficult conversations matter One thing I have been thinking about a lot lately is literacy, media literacy, and the importance of critical thinking — especially within disability and support conversations. We live in a time where people are surrounded by information constantly. Headlines. Short-form videos. Social media debates. Opinion pieces. Algorithms deciding what we see. Outrage cycles designed to get attention. In this environment, one of the most important skills we can develop is not knowing everything. It is knowing how to think. Critical thinking does not mean automatically agreeing with someone. It also does not mean automatically rejecting someone. It means listening. Questioning. Researching. Comparing information. Looking at evidence. Understanding context. And then deciding where you personally stand. That applies to everyone. Disabled people. Non-disabled pe...

From Locked Gates to Community Belonging: How Disability Support Changed from Control to Choice Disability support did not appear overnight. The systems, ideas, and expectations we have today were shaped by centuries of beliefs about disability — from fear and misunderstanding, through institutions and segregation, to rights, choice, independence, and belonging. When we talk about disability support, we are not just talking about funding packages, services, workers, or policies. We are talking about a much bigger question: What do we believe disabled people deserve? Do we see people as problems to be fixed? Do we see them as people to be protected? Or do we see them as individuals with their own goals, preferences, strengths, risks, and right to participate fully in life? The answer has changed over time, but the history matters because old ideas do not disappear overnight. Sometimes they remain hidden in the way systems are designed, the way media portrays disability, or the way peopl...

This is a deeply personal post, and I want to start by saying thank you. To my friends, my family, my support team—you’ve shown up for me with grace and dignity, and I don’t take that lightly. Whether it’s through practical help, quiet encouragement, or just being a consistent presence, your support has helped me face something hard: the reality that I’m not functioning as highly as I once believed. Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m still high-functioning in a lot of ways. But one of my conditions, Sjögren’s syndrome , is progressing. And that’s hard. It’s a quiet, relentless reminder that I do live with disability and chronic illness, and that pretending otherwise doesn’t help me anymore. I’m working with all the right professionals—my doctors , pharmacist , and now a dietitian , too. (Pharmacists, by the way, are wildly underrated. They’ve helped me make sense of side effects and medication changes in ways that actually make sense in day-to-day life.) But even with all this support, ther...

This is a post I've been delaying, but here are my thoughts on the NDIS changes. My thoughts are many and varied, but the reforms are a very mixed bag. People need to understand that the reforms came through for a reason, and that reason is the misuse of the system and instances of fraud. What's been amusing to me is seeing the “advocates” coming out of the woodwork—people I’ve never heard of—claiming to be allies with us. There are some amazing advocates out there, both on the internet and worldwide, but some of these newcomers are blogging on LinkedIn about “foundational support.” I admit, I misunderstood at first, but they were talking about non-NDIS support. The big question is: where is the money coming from if it's for people who don’t qualify for the NDIS? Is it going to come from the state or federal government? The NDIS was supposed to level the playing field, and that involves having barriers to entry. We need to differentiate between a health condition and a disa...

  Alright, folks, let's dive into a topic that's long overdue for some real talk: paying disabled content creators fairly. Yep, you heard me right. Disabled creators are out here grinding, just like everyone else, and shockingly enough, we have bills to pay too. Now, let's address the elephant in the room: that classic "shocked Pikachu face" people make when they find out disabled creators expect fair compensation for their work. Picture it: you tell someone you're disabled and creating content for a living, and suddenly they look like Pikachu just got hit by a bolt of lightning. Seriously, it's not a cute look. It's not endearing. It's just plain insulting. But wait, here comes the next blow: "But your content is so niche." Ah, yes, the old "niche" argument. Funny how suddenly our content is "niche" when it comes time to talk about fair compensation, but it's "inspiring" enough for everyone to share on t...