Yellow Ladybugs

15/10/2026

We often hear from autistic and ADHD women about how hard it is to get support during separation particularly when there is family violence involved.

There can be so much to work through while you’re already exhausted and trying to care for yourself and your children. Advice to “call a lawyer” or “open a bank account” can leave out all the steps involved, the energy it takes and the safety concerns that might come with it.

An AuDHD parent in our community has shared what this was like for her, including the financial abuse she experienced, how her diagnosis was used against her, and what she wishes people supporting her had understood.

Thank you to our guest writer for trusting us with your story. We know there will be others in our community who recognise parts of their own experience in it.

Content note: family violence, coercive control and financial abuse. This is one person’s experience, and what is safe for each person will be different.

Read our new blog
https://yellowladybugs.com.au/news/view?newsId=57
or go to www.yellowladybugs.com.au and click on the News page.

13/10/2026

New Podcast episode: We’ve teamed up with School Can’t Australia for another important conversation. In this episode, Katie and Natasha join Leisa to talk about something that can be incredibly difficult for our families to navigate, and even harder to talk about openly: self-harm and suicidal thoughts in our young people.
We know that for many autistic girls and gender diverse young people, particularly those who mask their struggles, distress isn’t always visible. And when that distress turns inwards, it can be frightening and overwhelming for everyone involved.
Katie, Natasha and Leisa speak openly from their own experiences as parents, including the constant worry, the guilt, the exhaustion and the difficult decisions that come with supporting a young person through these experiences.
They also explore why our instinct to reassure or fix things isn’t always what our young people need, the importance of listening and responding rather than reacting, and how families can navigate safety planning and seeking additional support.
There are no easy answers, and this conversation doesn’t pretend otherwise. But we hope it helps other families feel a little less alone and encourages more open conversations about something that is too often kept behind closed doors.
This is the second of two special collaborative episodes, made possible through funding from the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Grant.
Content warning: This episode discusses self-harm and suicidal ideation in young people. Please take care when listening.
If you or your young person are in immediate danger, call 000. For support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14.
Watch or listen to Episode 75 of the School Can’t Experience podcast or our own podcast link in bio.

Link in bio and comments.

12/10/2026

Today we were invited to take part in an Australian Government consultation about proposed changes to how people are assessed for NDIS access.

As you can imagine (!!) we made our position super clear. We oppose all these recent changes because we’re deeply concerned about people losing essential supports. But it’s important to know that even though we don’t agree with these changes, we know the reforms are progressing and decisions are still being made about how they’ll work. So we feel it’s important to be part of these discussions and influence what we can, particularly when it comes to protecting and advocating for our YLB community.

Just to keep you all in the loop, we raised concerns about how functional capacity will be measured, particularly for people who mask, internalise their difficulties or rely on significant support behind the scenes.

And what does it actually cost someone to get through everyday life? They might manage work, school or an appointment, but what happens afterwards? How much energy has that taken?

We also spoke about how support needs can be consistent, fluctuate or evolve across the lifespan. Someone’s needs at 8, 18, 35 or 65 can look very different.

We raised the importance of gender-responsive assessments, including for trans and gender-diverse people, and the dangers of labels like ‘low support needs’.

And we spoke about what happens without adequate support. Burnout, deteriorating health, hospital admissions, loss of capacity and the impact on families and carers.

One of our biggest worries is that people who’ve finally found stability through the NDIS could lose the very supports that helped them get there. And then what happens?

There’s only so much we can influence, and ultimately these decisions sit with government. We really hope our concerns and the experiences our community has trusted us with are taken seriously.

We’ll be providing further written feedback and continuing to advocate for our community. 💛

11/10/2026

Who’s been to PAX Melbourne this weekend? PAX is the largest gaming culture festival in the Southern Hemisphere, celebrating video games, tabletop games, and digital art! We’ve loved seeing so many people out and about dressed up!

09/10/2026

💛 We’re proud to have made a submission to the Australian Senate Select Committee on Women’s Health, bringing the experiences of autistic women, girls and gender-diverse people into this national inquiry.

The inquiry is examining pain, medical misogyny, pregnancy and postpartum care, fertility treatment, healthcare accessibility and medical-device safety.

As an autistic-led organisation, we know (oh how we know) how difficult it can be to explain what’s happening in our bodies, particularly when our concerns aren’t heard or our support needs are misunderstood!!! So drawing on your experiences, our healthcare resources and ongoing advocacy, we raised concerns about:

💛 Pain and physical symptoms being dismissed as anxiety, and how differences in pain expression, masking and outward presentation can mean our internal experiences are overlooked.

💛 Autistic distress being misunderstood as aggression in health settings,emergency departments, without considering pain, sensory overload or communication needs.

💛 Misgendering, deadnaming and assumptions about gender and identity in healthcare.

💛 Barriers to reproductive and hormonal healthcare, including PMDD, endometriosis, perimenopause, menopause and fertility concerns, particularly when other health needs overlap.

💛 Pregnancy and postpartum care that better recognises autistic parents’ needs.

We’re calling for better training, appropriate investigation of symptoms, accessible and affordable care, practical adjustments and stronger accountability, backed by funding and measurable improvements.

We recognise the many healthcare professionals working hard to provide inclusive care and hope this inquiry helps support meaningful improvements. Thank you to everyone who has trusted us with their experiences over the years. Your voices continue to shape our resources, advocacy and recommendations to government. We hope autistic women, girls and gender-diverse people are heard and considered in the decisions that shape our healthcare. 💛

08/10/2026

Content note: self-harm, su***de attempts, eating disorders, addiction, unhealthy relationships.

at 5… she is identified as autistic after experiencing significant social anxiety and sensory overwhelm at kinder. She struggles with the demands of the environment and has frequent, intense meltdowns when she gets home. Her family begins seeking support to better understand her needs.

at 7… she is assessed as having ‘low to moderate support needs’. She is doing reasonably well academically, has some friendships and appears to be managing at school. Her family continues to provide significant support behind the scenes, helping her navigate everyday demands and recover from the school day.

at 10… sensory overwhelm, increasing school demands and difficulties navigating friendships begin to affect her wellbeing. She becomes more anxious, socially isolated and exhausted from trying to keep up. Her family notices how much harder everyday life is becoming.

at 13… puberty and hormonal changes bring additional challenges. The trauma from primary school is catching up with her. She experiences increasing distress, self-harm and an eating disorder. Her support needs become more complex, although much of what she is experiencing remains hidden from others.

at 15… she experiences significant autistic burnout and suicidal ideation. She is no longer able to attend school consistently and needs around-the-clock support from her family to manage everyday life.

at 17… her mental health difficulties continue, and she becomes increasingly isolated. She has lost access to education and struggles to engage with services. Her family is exhausted from years of providing intensive support and navigating systems.

at 19… she has no funded supports and is unable to work. She struggles to access the Disability Support Pension, despite significant difficulties with everyday functioning. After years of masking, sensory overwhelm, rejection and mental health struggles, she begins using alcohol and other substances to find some relief from her distress. What starts as a way of coping gradually becomes harder to manage. Her family continues to provide extensive unpaid care.

at 25… she is caught in a cycle of addiction, and her family can no longer provide the level of care she needs. Without adequate support for her autistic and ADHD needs, she has been unable to find or sustain employment, leaving her with little financial security. She finds herself moving between temporary places to stay, with no stable housing. Years of unmet needs, sensory overwhelm, emotional distress and trauma have contributed to her struggles, with substance use becoming a way of coping. She enters a relationship that initially makes her feel loved, accepted and offers some stability. After years of masking, rejection and people-pleasing, she struggles to recognise when her boundaries are being crossed and becomes increasingly dependent on the relationship. Without consistent, neuro-affirming support that understands how her autism, ADHD, mental health and addiction interact, she finds it increasingly difficult to break the cycle.

at 30… following another hospital admission, she begins talking through her experiences with someone who understands autism and ADHD. She is still struggling with addiction, unstable housing and a relationship that has become difficult to leave, but she starts questioning the ‘low support needs’ label she was given as a child. Looking back, she wonders whether her needs were ever truly low, or whether they were misunderstood, masked and unsupported for so long. Her support needs have varied in intensity and complexity throughout her life, at times profoundly affecting her health, relationships and independence. She begins to wonder how different her life might have been if her needs had been recognised earlier, and if the support available to her had changed as her needs did.

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A note from Yellow Ladybugs

This story draws on lived experiences within our community. It is one possible path, not a prediction of an autistic girl’s future.

At seven, this girl’s family was already helping her get through school and recover at home. We question whether her assessment recognised how much help she needed, what she was masking and the distress other people didn’t see. We also worry about “low support needs” becoming an assumption that follows someone, even as their circumstances and needs change.

The ages in this story mark significant moments, but they can’t show every change in her capacity or how much support she needed within those years.

Support needs can vary in intensity, pattern and visibility. They may be consistent, dynamic or fluctuating. Dynamic or fluctuating needs can still be significant, complex and intensive. Changes in their impact do not mean a person’s disability is temporary.

This is what we want recognised in NDIS assessment and funding decisions.

We want autistic people’s own accounts of their needs to be taken seriously, alongside information from people who know and support them. Assessments need to consider what someone can manage across different settings and over time, how much help makes that possible and the recovery they need afterwards.

We also want funding and support to respond when needs change, without someone having to reach crisis before they are believed. When things are going better, we want decision-makers to consider how much the support already in place is helping, before assuming it is no longer needed.

Our concern is both whether this girl’s needs were understood at seven and whether she could access the support she needed as her life changed. We want her to grow up with that understanding and support, rather than looking back at thirty and wondering why so much was missed.

08/10/2026

TW: article discusses marriage separation and family violence. Please tread carefully if these topics may be triggering for you.

We want to share a recently published lived experience blog in the hopes that some of our adult Ladybugs may find the article helpful. If you are navigating similar territory as an AuDHD woman or know someone that is, please share. we want you to know that you are not alone.

What I wish I had known about separation as an AuDHD woman: One parent’s lived experience of family violence, money, safety and trying to work out what to do next...

Please follow the link below to our NEWS tab if you would like to read this article.

Home > News and Events > News > What I wish I had known about separation as an AuDHD woman: One parent’s lived experience of family violence, money, safety and trying to work out what to do next

04/10/2026

Any back to school nerves kicking in for our ladybugs?

02/10/2026

What’s something bringing you joy, gratitude or excitement today?

30/09/2026

Member asks: I’ve got the dreaded NDIS reassessment meeting next week for my 15yo ladybug. What should I expect? I’ve stayed away from reading too much into the changes due to overwhelm.. but slightly panicked now as it’s coming up.