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Speaker 1: Now Darwin's gearing up to host an ADHD conference next

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Speaker 1: month for parents, teachers and people with ADHD to learn

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Speaker 1: more about the condition and also the strategies of managing

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Speaker 1: it from a team of experts. And it's being organized

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Speaker 1: Bye My Spirited Child. It's a support group founded to

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Speaker 1: unite neuro divergent community. Now joining me on the line

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Speaker 1: to tell us more about what's planned is the group's

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Speaker 1: founder and conference organizer, Rebecca Challoner. Good morning to you. Rebecca,

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Speaker 1: good morning, thanks so much for your time. Now tell

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Speaker 1: me a little bit more about what people can expect

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Speaker 1: at the conference.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So the convement, it's going to be an amazing day.

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Speaker 2: We've got a selection of speakers who are experts from

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Speaker 2: all around the country, including several from the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: as well. And then we've also got a range of

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Speaker 2: exhibitors with services and products that people can look at.

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Speaker 2: But the main thing about the day, as well as

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Speaker 2: gathering you know, new information and strategies for people, is

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Speaker 2: it's a really good opportunity for parents, for educators, for

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Speaker 2: people working in the space to just get together and

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Speaker 2: be a part of something. And I know for a

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Speaker 2: lot of parents that I'm a parent of neurodivergent children myself.

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Speaker 2: It's such a lonely road sometimes, and having you know,

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Speaker 2: hundreds of people in a room together just to you know,

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Speaker 2: learn and experience the same thing and get those strategies,

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Speaker 2: it's such a it's such an amazing day. And yeah,

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Speaker 2: it will be really great for the community.

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Speaker 1: And I bet you know, like a really nice opportunity

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Speaker 1: as well to sort of share experiences, share you know,

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Speaker 1: what may or may not have worked, and different you know,

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Speaker 1: different strategies.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. And and our beautiful ADHD children and adults,

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Speaker 2: you know, they have they have some amazing qualities, and

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Speaker 2: they have some things they really struggle with. And so

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Speaker 2: for parents, you know, and educators as well, sometimes it

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Speaker 2: can be it can be a bit of a minefield

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Speaker 2: and tricky to know what to do for the best.

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Speaker 2: And so having being in a space where other people

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Speaker 2: are experiencing the same thing as you are, and where

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Speaker 2: you've got experts there who can tell you, you know,

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Speaker 2: what you're doing that's right, and what you could change

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Speaker 2: and just really give you those tools to be able

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Speaker 2: to you know, make your life better and the life

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Speaker 2: of your child better.

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Speaker 1: Rebecca, tell me about some of those keynote speakers and

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Speaker 1: you know, and a bit more about what they will

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Speaker 1: sort of discuss.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So, as I said before, we've got a variety

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Speaker 2: of speakers from all around the country discussing all sorts

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Speaker 2: from you know, from the sort of some of the

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Speaker 2: different characteristics of ADHD, like you know, like the emotional

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Speaker 2: dysregulation and things like how some kids really struggle with

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Speaker 2: the behaviors and things like impulse control and distractability. So

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Speaker 2: it's all the things that it's really everything. And also

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Speaker 2: they'll be speakers who are discussing thinks about adults as well,

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Speaker 2: and medication, you know, all the things that families and

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Speaker 2: educators just really need to know about to be able

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Speaker 2: to help those kids.

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Speaker 1: And I spose some luck for a lot of people

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Speaker 1: listening this morning, they may not realize like that. You know,

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Speaker 1: there are a lot of neurodivergent people in the community

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Speaker 1: and a lot of the time you don't even realize.

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Speaker 1: And ADHD is not something that is just for children.

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Speaker 1: It is also in adults absolutely.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, all those kids have to grow

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Speaker 2: up one day. I'm mad EHD myself and those my

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Speaker 2: husband I look at fully ADHD family and and it's

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Speaker 2: and it's interesting because I think when when a child

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Speaker 2: or an adult with ADHD is supported through their challenges

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Speaker 2: and have the right tools, they can be really successful.

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Speaker 2: Some of the world's most successful adults or ADHD is.

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Speaker 2: But for parents, it's that struggle of no what to

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Speaker 2: do for the best, and that's where I guess where

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Speaker 2: we come in to help them get their kids to

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Speaker 2: be those successful ADHD adults.

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Speaker 1: What an awesome little family you guys must be.

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Speaker 3: I love that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that, you know, I like and I

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Speaker 1: think how incredible and how incredibly helpful I would imagine

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Speaker 1: it is for your children as well, that both you

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Speaker 1: and your husband do have ADHD in the sense that

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Speaker 1: you know, you've got those tools and you're able to

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Speaker 1: help them to navigate that.

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Speaker 3: Oh absolutely.

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Speaker 2: And I didn't always have the tools, you know. My

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Speaker 2: eldest is now eighteen, and when he was little and

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Speaker 2: I was just so I was already in the field,

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Speaker 2: but I didn't know as much. I made a lot

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Speaker 2: of mistakes. And I've been fortunate enough to be able

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Speaker 2: to learn all the strategies to sort of make things

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Speaker 2: a bit better. But for a lot of our parents.

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Speaker 2: You know, you just don't get told. So unless you

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Speaker 2: know you're lucky enough to, I guess come to something

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Speaker 2: like this and get the strategies. People just don't know

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Speaker 2: what to do for the best. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's why it is, you know, it is

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Speaker 1: such an important thing for people to be able to

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Speaker 1: attend if there, if they can. I mean, like, is

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Speaker 1: there a little bit of advice that you might have

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Speaker 1: for you know, for parents out there listening this morning,

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Speaker 1: if they are parents of children with ADHD. And I'm

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Speaker 1: not expecting you to give away everything that would be

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Speaker 1: at the conference, but you know, is there a little

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Speaker 1: bit of advice that you could give to people that

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Speaker 1: you know that might be it might be sort of

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Speaker 1: you know, juggling at all.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely.

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Speaker 3: First of all, I would say if I had to

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Speaker 3: give just a couple of pieces of really quick advice

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Speaker 3: that people could go away and work on, I'd say,

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Speaker 3: Number one, remember just keep in mind always that mental

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Speaker 3: health is everything, So you.

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Speaker 2: Know, don't when you're thinking about the expectations and what

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Speaker 2: they need to achieve and all these things, just never

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Speaker 2: do it at the expect at the expense of their

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Speaker 2: mental health. Because kids with ADHD have a lot of

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Speaker 2: self esteem issues, a lot of anxiety issues, So really

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Speaker 2: focusing on their mental health, and the more we focus

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Speaker 2: on the mental health, the better they do it everything anyway,

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Speaker 2: because it gives more capacity to do well. And the

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Speaker 2: other thing is as hard as it is for parents

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Speaker 2: to do. I think keeping in mind that you know,

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Speaker 2: an ADHD brain can be a great thing as well,

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Speaker 2: and I know it comes with some really big challenges.

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Speaker 2: And if you've got one of the I call them

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Speaker 2: the angry adhd is. I have one of those, and

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Speaker 2: I was one of those where they're very angry and

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Speaker 2: have some really challenging behaviors.

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Speaker 3: It can be hard to see.

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Speaker 2: That any positives, but I was that angry ADHD kid

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Speaker 2: and now I own two companies and have a lot

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Speaker 2: of degree. So don't prepare, don't spend too too long thinking,

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Speaker 2: oh my god, it's awful. They're gonna they're not going

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Speaker 2: to be able to achieve anything. They absolutely can, and

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Speaker 2: with your support, they absolutely will.

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Speaker 1: I love that. I love you know. I love what

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Speaker 1: you've said there and even talking about your your own

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Speaker 1: personal experience and what you've been able to achieve, because

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Speaker 1: it must be difficult some days, you know, for parents,

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Speaker 1: but also for adults navigating the world. It's difficult enough,

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Speaker 1: you know, for those of us without you know, that

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Speaker 1: aren't part of the neuro divergent community. So I love

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Speaker 1: that you've been able to achieve so much and that

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Speaker 1: you're able to really show other people that as well. Rebecca, Well,

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Speaker 1: thank you, good on you. Look, if anybody is after

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Speaker 1: some further info and want to, you know, if they

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Speaker 1: want to head along to this conference it's happening next month,

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Speaker 1: can you give us a little bit more detail about

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Speaker 1: where they can find any you know, any of that

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Speaker 1: information so they can head along and attend.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, So all they need to do is just head

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Speaker 2: to the My Spirited Child website. If you google my

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Speaker 2: Spirited Child, it will come up or the web address

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Speaker 2: is just my spirited Child dot com and it's right

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Speaker 2: there on the front page, and they'll be able to

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Speaker 2: look at all the information. They can look all the

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Speaker 2: individual speakers and what they're talking about. Yeah, and then hopefully,

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Speaker 2: hopefully we'll see a bunch of people in attendance and

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Speaker 2: we can sort of have a great day together.

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Speaker 1: Wonderful stuff. Rebecca Challoner, it's been great speaking to you

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Speaker 1: this morning. Thank you. So much for your time.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie, thank you