Parent to Parent

09/10/2026

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend. Enjoy the sun! 😊
MaryAnn

04/10/2026

You are invited to:

☀️ Women's Autism Group
Friday 9th October 1-3pm 🌞

Level 2 Group Room
31 Stafford St
Dunedin

🚘 Parking available down back of building in parks marked SVD

🚪 Entry top side of building or via basement (car park entrance)

✍🏼 Agenda 🦓

1pm - check in, bring forward topics of interest
1:45 break
2pm explore / discuss topics
3pm end

🧋You are welcome to bring food and drinks into the space
((kitchen and bathrooms on same level))

🪺 Sensory/comfort items welcome (some available onsite)

Email me if you have any questions 🌻

--
Tanea Paterson
(Dip. Appl. Addiction Practitioner)

Stopping Violence Dunedin Charitable Trust

Level 4, 31 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
or PO Box 1401, Dunedin 9054
Phone: 0800 474 1121

Send a message to learn more

24/09/2026

Hi there
I have limited tickets for a Pool Party in Queenstown at Alpine Aqualand in Frankton on Sunday 18th October from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm. If your family are keen to attend then please email me: [email protected] with the number of tickets required and a postal address to send the tickets.FIFS.
MaryAnn

24/09/2026

Hi there
I have 5 tickets to a Pool party sponsored by Caring Families. The event is on Saturday 10th October at Moana Pool, 60 Littleborne Road, Dunedin from 12.00 pm to 2.00 pm. If you are a family that would like these tickets please email me: [email protected] with a postal address please. FIFS.
MaryAnn

24/09/2026

Hi there

Please see the below invitation from Te Whatu Ora
Kind regards
MaryAnn

Kia ora Parent to Parent Otago and its members,

We are pleased to invite members of the Deaf and hard of hearing communities of Otago and Southland to a dedicated tour of Whare Mātūtū, the new Outpatients Building, at 1.00 pm on Friday 30 October. An NZSL interpreter will be onsite for the tour. Please RSVP to myself: [email protected] by 23/10/26.

Ngā manaakitanga, Jess.

Jessica Manson (she/her/ia)
Paediatric Audiologist MNZAS || Mātaka Oko
Southern

waea pūkoro: +64 3 476 9966 ext 55916 | īmēra: [email protected] | Audiology Department Wakari Hospital, 369 Taieri Road, Dunedin

Send a message to learn more

22/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CrRo4mm6h/

Send a message to learn more

15/09/2026

Hi there
Please see below the Parenting though Separation dates.
MaryAnn

October Parenting Through Separation course dates. These courses are available to anyone wishing to participate in the Dunedin and greater Otago region.

Parenting Through Separation is a free information and education programme that focuses on:
Understanding how separation affects children and how to talk to them about it.
Why it's important to keep children away from conflict and how to do this.
How to discuss childcare arrangements amicably.

This is such a great course for Parents to do, and it works! PTS will help many parents and children through a stressful and difficult time in their lives.

If you or your organisation would like to know more about the PTS programme, please give me a call or send me an email I’d love to hear from you.

I am in the office: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday you can reach me on 021 279-2116.

Kā mihi nui

Sharon Singer

11/09/2026

06/09/2026

Hi there
Below is some information on the next Women's Autism group meeting.
Regards
MaryAnn

✨Women's Autism Group
Friday 11th September 1-3pm ✨

Level 2 Group Room
31 Stafford St
Dunedin

👾Agenda ⏰

1pm - check in, bring forward topics of interest
1:45 break
2pm explore / discuss topics
3pm end

🧋You are welcome to bring food and drinks into the space
((kitchen and bathrooms on same level))

🪺 Sensory/comfort items welcome (some available onsite)

Email me if you have any questions 🌻

Kā mihi
Tanea

--
Tanea Paterson
(Dip. Appl. Addiction Practitioner)

Stopping Violence Dunedin Charitable Trust

Level 4, 31 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
or PO Box 1401, Dunedin 9054
Phone: 0800 474 1121

05/09/2026

This we're celebrating 20 years of Altogether Autism! This family’s journey through their daughter's diagnosis, childhood and early adulthood precisely tracks Altogether Autism’s 20-year history 💜💙💜. When interwoven with MaryAnn’s 15-year Parent to Parent role as peer support to whānau, their story gives on-the-ground insight into the landscape travelled over the past two decades. Link in the comments 👇

This family’s journey through their daughter's autism diagnosis, childhood and early adulthood precisely tracks Altogether Autism’s 20-year history. When interwoven with MaryAnn’s 15-year Parent to Parent role as peer support to whānau, their story gives on-the-ground insight into the landsca...

04/09/2026

My husband Peter and daughter Bethany's Dad is from Wales and every Fathers Day I make a batch of Welsh Cakes for him. Does anyone else have a family tradition to celebrate Father's Day?
MaryAnn

19/08/2026

A way to flip the script, relieve stress and hopefully raise a smile at mealtimes! 😄

01/07/2026

💛💙🧡 20 years! 💜💙💜

Today we acknowledge a milestone: 20 years since Your Way l Kia Roha and Parent to Parent signed a partnership that brought the Altogether Autism service into being.

Two decades on, we're still here, proud to be trusted by autistic people and whānau to deliver information and advice that is authentic to autistic experience and informed by the latest research.

We invite you to celebrate with us over the coming weeks as we reflect on the journey, honour those whose stories and contributions have shaped and given life to our mahi, and look to the future.

25/06/2026

By funding our Canterbury respite programme, The Gift Trust and Columba Fund are showing carers they are seen, heard, highly valued, and that their wellbeing matters. Please join us in showing your appreciation for family carers and these donors, who are changing lives.

Ehara tāku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takatini. My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective.

23/06/2026

Today we're giving a Sector Shoutout to The Gift Trust and Columba Fund.

Hero family carers are in every street, school and workplace but they are all too often unseen, unheard and unappreciated.

By funding our Canterbury respite programme, The Gift Trust and Columba Fund are showing carers they are seen, heard, highly valued, and that their wellbeing matters. Please join us in showing your appreciation for family carers and these donors, who are changing lives.

Ehara tāku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takatini. My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective.

11/06/2026

is a timely opportunity to let family carers know how much they are valued by so many, across the motu 🙏. Please like and share to show support for everything they do. And join us in thanking The Gift Trust and Columba Fund group of anonymous donors for funding this getaway programme in Greater Canterbury 🙏.

If you would like to enable more family carers to access fully organised, tailored respite, please contact our funding team.

07/05/2026

Join us in celebrating 20 years of NZSL as an official language of Aotearoa! For , we’ve popped links to key resources from our disability sector partners and some compelling reasons to learn NZSL in one place—‘Resources and Reasons to Learn NZSL’ (link in the comments / in our linktree in bio). We encourage everyone to have a go at some new signs this week—each and every one you know helps build connection and inclusion! ✋💛💙🧡✋

Sector Shoutout to Deaf Aotearoa Deaf Aotearoa - First Signs Wellington Association for Deaf Children and TuriTv.com

29/04/2026

For , we have put together entry-level, generalised information on a couple of common topics brought to our Support & Information team, through the Altogether Autism service—‘Outbursts at School’ and ‘School Refusal, or School Can’t’.

Background information often helps reassure families they are not alone and helps to identify where more in-depth, personalised support might be needed. We hope these resources are useful to whānau first encountering these issues and wondering about steps forward.

If the resources spark a question about your own situation, Parent to Parent’s S&I team provide information that relates to families’ specific circumstances; tailored, evidence-based support that can’t be found elsewhere. Free, confidential information can be requested whatever age or stage your loved one is at, as many times as needed.

20/03/2026

Yes 🙌, it’s World Down Syndrome Day! 🙌 This year’s theme is ‘Together Against Loneliness.’ Ruhani's beautiful short story is the perfect example of why connection is key to living our best lives.

At Parent to Parent, we feel so lucky to know this wonderful young woman, as does everyone around her. Please share her story to celebrate the power of recognising a person's potential—and people working together to realise it. As Ruhani says to her young dance student, ‘You can do that! You can!’

Oh, and btw, Ruhani’s dream is to become a model, so we are open to connections that could help make that dream a reality! 💃

World Down Syndrome Day - WEAR ODD SOCKS