The Yellow Ladybugs Podcast

This episode is a collaboration between School Can't Australia and Yellow Ladybugs made possible through funding from the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building Grant.
This is the second of two special episodes with Yellow Ladybugs, who are dedicated to the happiness, success, and celebration of autistic girls, women, and gender diverse folk.
Leisa is joined again by founder Katie Koullas and Natasha Staheli. In the first episode of this series, they talked about distress that is channelled outwards. This time, the conversation turns to distress that is channelled inwards: self-harm and suicidal ideation in our young people, and what it is like to parent through it.
Content warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of parenting young people who are self-harming and experiencing suicidal ideation. Please take care of yourself as you listen. Hit pause whenever you need to, and come back when you're ready.
If you or your young person are not safe right now, please call Triple Zero (000) for assistance. If you are feeling overwhelmed or distressed, please reach out to Lifeline: call 13 11 14, text 0477 13 11 14, or chat online at lifeline.org.au.
This is a conversation that almost never happens in public. Katie, Natasha, and Leisa talk about why families carry this so privately, why autistic and high-masking young people are especially vulnerable, particularly in the early teen years, and why well-meant reassurance and problem-solving can land as not being heard.
They explore what it means to respond rather than react, starting with "I believe you". They cover safety planning, protective factors such as peer connection, a safe place to unmask, and access to joy, and the difference between an acute crisis and the chronic, long-running experience that many families quietly live with. They also talk honestly about how hard it is to judge when hospital is the right call, and about the hypervigilance, guilt, and exhaustion that parents carry along the way.
There is no fix-it list in this episode, and no perfect response. What there is: three parents speaking plainly about a reality many families are living, and the reminder that many young people do come through this and look back grateful for the adults who stayed alongside them.
Nothing in this conversation replaces professional advice about your own child's safety. If you are worried about immediate risk, please seek help straight away.
You are not alone.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of physical and verbal aggression directed at parents and caregivers by young people in acute distress, including descriptions of property damage, physical assault, and extreme verbal behaviour. Please take care of yourself as you listen. Hit pause whenever you need. Come back, when you're ready.

If you or your family are in immediate danger, please call Triple Zero (000) for assistance.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or distressed, please reach out to Lifeline: call 13 11 14, text 0477 13 11 14, or chat online at lifeline.org.au.

This episode is a collaboration between School Can't Australia and Yellow Ladybugs made possible through funding from the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building Grant. This is the first of two special episodes with Yellow Ladybugs, who are dedicated to the happiness, success, and celebration of autistic girls, women, and gender diverse folk.

Podcast host Leisa Reichelt, is joined by founder Katie Koullas and Natasha Staheli for a conversation about something far more common in our communities than is ever openly discussed: what happens when a young person's distress is expressed outwardly in ways that are frightening and isolating for families.

This episode talks plainly about young people throwing objects, punching holes in walls, physically hitting parents, and using extreme verbal language. It names clearly from the outset that all of this behaviour comes from a place of acute distress, from a nervous system in full fight response, from a child who has often been trying to communicate unmet needs for a very long time.

Katie, Natasha, and Leisa explore why this happens, why it so often lands on mums, and why instinctive parenting responses can make things worse. They cover the PACE framework (Playful, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy), safety planning, the realities of involving police or child protection, the impact on partnerships, and what repair after an incident can look like. This is a conversation wrapped in shame for too many families. You are not alone.

Yellow Ladybugs Safety Plan Template: Safety Plan Templates.pdf
PACE Strategy, Yellow Ladybugs Podcast Ep 4 with Dr Alberto Veloso:Episode 4 - Understanding Complex Behaviour
Dialectics and DBT panel with Sonny Jane Wise and Sarah Hens: How Dialectics and DBT Can Help Our Ladybugs Who Experience Extreme Distress Behaviour
Yellow Ladybugs: https://yellowladybugs.com.au/
Dr Alberto Veloso, Relational Minds: https://relationalminds.com.au/
School Can't Australia Resources: School Can't Australia Resources — School Can’t Australia

Welcome to Part 3 of the Yellow Ladybugs Workplace Resource Podcast series. We have released a five-part peer-led work resource for autistic and AuDHD people. This episode is based on Part 5 of the resource.

Part 5 focuses on what happens after you get the job. How to stay well in work. How to notice early signs of burnout. And how to make changes before things reach crisis point.

We hope you enjoyed listening!

You can read the resource
https://yellowladybugs.myshopify.com/

Welcome to Part 2 of the Yellow Ladybugs Workplace Resource Podcast series. We have released a five-part peer-led work resource for autistic and AuDHD people. This episode is based on Part 3 and Part 4 of the resource.

Part 3 focuses on the very real decisions autistic and AuDHD people make every day at work around disclosure and masking.

Part 4 focuses on workplace adjustments and supports, and what these actually look like in real workplaces for autistic and AuDHD people.

We hope you enjoyed listening!

You can read the resource
https://yellowladybugs.myshopify.com/

Welcome to Part 1 of the Yellow Ladybugs Workplace Resource Podcast series. We have released a five-part peer-led work resource for autistic and AuDHD people. This episode is based on Part 1 and Part 2 of the resource. 

Part 1 of this goes into finding the right work fit, understanding what 'fit' really means before you even think about job searching. It also goes through how monotropism, sensory needs, energy levels, values and special interests all influence the type of work and the type of environment that will feel sustainable, rather than draining or overwhelming. It acknowledges why many autistic and AuDHD people end up burned out, under-employed, or feeling like they are the problem in workplaces that were never designed with them in mind, and reframes this as a system issue rather than a personal one. 

Part 2 moves into the job search itself. Job ads. Applications. Interviews. Rejection. And all the hidden expectations that sit inside that process that many autistic and AuDHD people find exhausting, confusing or overwhelming but rarely see acknowledged in typical work advice. 

We hope you enjoyed listening! 

 

You can read the resource 

https://yellowladybugs.myshopify.com/