RESUME | Honeycomb Educatio 1

Lived Experience

My Story & Experience

My work in education advocacy is deeply personal.
I didn’t arrive here by accident - I arrived here by lived experience, persistence, and a long history of watching children and families fall through the cracks.

I went through my own schooling and university years as an undiagnosed autistic and ADHD student. I was the child who sat quietly in the background, compliant, capable, and unnoticed. I didn’t make waves. I went under the radar - something that was praised at the time, but meant my needs were never seen or supported.

My younger brother’s experience was very different.

He was repeatedly labelled “naughty” - a familiar story for many children in the 1990s school system. I watched teacher after teacher write him off, lower expectations, and respond to his behaviour rather than his needs.
But there was one teacher who changed everything.

She became his advocate.
She adjusted her classroom, her teaching style, and her expectations. She refused to see him as a problem to manage and instead saw a child with potential who needed support. Because of her, my brother accessed learning in a way that worked for him that he carried into university - and today, he has truly reached his potential achieving his dream of being a lawyer.

That experience stayed with me.

Education and Early Career

I completed high school in Sydney in 2008, before commencing a Bachelor of Music, graduating in 2012. Alongside this, I completed a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education, which gave me an early understanding of development, regulation, and the importance of relational safety in learning.

I later completed a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education, and in 2014 I started working in a mainstream boys’ high school in NSW.

This was where my purpose became clear.

Working closely with students with ADHD, autism, ODD and other additional needs, I saw the same patterns I had lived through - students misunderstood, behaviour-focused responses, and families being pushed to “prove” their child deserved support. I regularly advocated for students within my own classroom, worked to implement adjustments, and supported families navigating school resistance and pushback.

I came to understand, firsthand, how exhausting and isolating that process can be for parents

Broadening Advocacy and Disengaged Youth

After leaving NSW, I relocated to Queensland, where I began working at an independent school in Redcliffe designed to support disengaged young people. You can find more about that work here.

Here, my advocacy expanded beyond individual classrooms to whole-school systems. My time spent at this school re-shaped everything I knew about education and changed how I view the world. It was profoundly impactful.

I worked closely with students who had experienced trauma, exclusion, and repeated educational failure - and continued advocating for meaningful adjustments, dignity, and access to learning that worked for them.

This work reinforced what I already knew but saw first hand in action:
when schools change the environment instead of trying to “fix” the child, outcomes change.

Ongoing Learning and Trauma Informed Practice

In 2024, I completed a Certificate in Understanding Early Childhood Trauma, deepening my trauma-informed lens and strengthening my ability to support children whose behaviours are often misunderstood as “defiance” rather than communication.

Why I Advocate

Today, I bring together:

Lived experience as an autistic and ADHD adult (as well as a parent with 3 children-2 who have complex learning needs)
Professional experience across NSW and QLD education systems
A deep understanding of trauma, disengagement, and functional impact
Firsthand knowledge of how hard parents have to fight to be heard

I understand the language schools use -and the fear parents feel when they don’t know what to ask for, how to push back, or how to ensure their child is truly supported.

I do this work because I was the quiet child who was missed.
Because my brother was the “naughty” child who was nearly written off.
And because every child deserves at least one adult who will advocate for them - without apology