Conference Schedule
NATCA & LOAPAC Expo 2026
The Power of Community in Social Change
9th – 10th July 2026 · Naarm (Melbourne) & Online
Keynote
Panel
Research
LOAPAC
Presentation
Online
Ceremony
Day One
Thursday, 9th July 2026
8:45 AM
Ceremony
Welcome to Country
8:55 AM
Opening
Conference Open
9:00 –
10:00 AM
10:00 AM
Keynote
Reclaiming Humanity: Identity, State Based Violence, and Neurodivergent Resistance
A/Prof Monique Botha (they/them)
10:00 –
10:30 AM
10:30 AM
Presentation
Exploring Neuronormativity, Sanism and Neurodivergent Identity across Cultures
Mish Kumar-Jonson (they/them) & Dr Xi Liu (they/them)
10:30 –
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
Break
Morning Tea
11:00 –
11:10 AM
11:10 AM
LOAPAC
LOAPAC Introduction
11:10 –
11:30 AM
11:30 AM
Presentation
Intergenerational Impacts of Unidentified Autistic Needs
Marie Camin (she/her)
11:30 –
11:50 AM
11:50 AM
Presentation
Relational Foundations for Supporting Nonspeaking Neurodivergent Youth and Adults with Complex Support Needs
Casey Brocksopp (she/her)
11:50 AM –
12:10 PM
12:10 PM
Presentation
Paddock Play – How Nature-Based, Equine-Assisted Group Programs for Children Foster Safety, Connection, and Community
Nadine Delaney (she/her)
12:10 –
12:30 PM
12:30 PM
Presentation
Becoming with Them: Learning to Mother with Intuitive Attunement and Neurodivergent Wisdom
Amiee Pember (she/her)
12:30 –
1:15 PM
1:15 PM
Break
Lunch
1:15 –
2:00 PM
2:00 PM
Panel
Neurodivergence in First Nations Communities: Insights from Lived Experience and Community Engagement
Damian Griffis (he/him), Rebecca Gannon (she/they) & William Ward-Boas (he/him)
2:00 –
2:15 PM
2:15 PM
Presentation
Why Are They So Obsessed With Us: Community Power in Offensively Combatting the Anti-Gender Phantasm
Yalei Wilson (they/he)
2:15 –
3:00 PM
3:00 PM
Keynote
Pathology or Protection: Depathologising BPD and NPD through the Neurodiversity Affirming Lens
Sonny Jane Wise (they/them)
3:00 –
3:30 PM
3:30 PM
Break
Afternoon Tea
3:30 –
3:50 PM
3:50 PM
Presentation
Plurality and Neurodivergence: A Sociopolitical Lens on Identity, Agency, and Belonging
Steph Robertson (she/they) & Dr Miro Rainsford (he/they)
3:50 –
4:10 PM
4:10 PM
Presentation
The OCD of Being "Good": Recognising Invisible Moral Suffering in Neurodivergent People
Amrit Grewal (she/her)
4:10 –
5:00 PM
5:00 PM
Panel
Autism and Chronic Health Conditions: Beyond the Basics
Bianca Comfort (she/her), Dr Jason Lam (he/him), A/Prof Josephine Barbaro (she/her), Monique Mitchelson (she/her) & Lumen Gorrie (they/them)
5:00 –
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Social
Social Event
Day Two
Friday, 10th July 2026
8:45 –
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
Wellbeing
Morning Yoga Session
9:00 –
10:00 AM
10:00 AM
Keynote
What We Affirm: Clarifying the Values and Premises of Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy
Professor Nick Walker (he/him)
10:00 –
10:30 AM
10:30 AM
Panel
Autism, Psychedelics and Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy
Professor Nick Walker (he/him), Alvita Sam (she/her), Liam Spicer (he/him) & panellists
10:30 –
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
Break
Morning Tea
11:00 –
11:30 AM
11:30 AM
Presentation
Using Neuroscience Insights to Understand Neurodivergent Experience and Inform Affirming Therapy
Dr Olga Dobrushina (she/her)
11:30 AM –
12:30 PM
12:30 PM
LOAPAC Symposium
LOAPAC Lived Experience Practitioners Symposium
11:30 AM
ND AffirmED: Growing Neurodiversity-Affirming Education and Accessibility in Tasmania
Bec Secombe (she/her) & Sharmayne Bennett (she/they)
11:45 AM
Guiding Autistic Children to Navigate a Neurotypical World with Dignity and Confidence
Cath Fernando (she/her)
12:00 PM
The Power of Playful Communities in Serious Systems Change: The LEGO Systems Framework
Kelly Bettridge & Sarah Gurin (they/them)
12:15 PM
Using the Neurodivergent Student Profile and Cognitive Assessment Observation Checklist
Lydia Meem (she/her)
12:30 –
1:15 PM
1:15 PM
Break
Lunch
1:15 –
3:15 PM
3:15 PM
Research Symposium
Research Symposium
1:15 PM
Listening to Lived Experience: School-Based Mental Health for Autistic Students
Professor Dawn Adams (she/her)
1:30 PM
An Empirical Investigation of the Sleepless Artist Cultural Trope: Sleep Problems, Sensory Sensitivities, and the Associative Basis of the Creative Process
Amber Lim (she/her/they/them)
1:45 PM
Mental and Physical Health Outcomes of Autistic Working Parents Assigned Female at Birth (AFAB) – Comparisons Across Intersections of Neurotype, Caregiving, and Sex at Birth
Kate Gore (she/her)
2:00 PM
Whose Knowledge Counts? Bridging Lived Experience and Clinical Practice in Autistic Adult Mental Health Research
Caitlin Hughes (she/they)
2:15 PM
When Difference is the Data: Rethinking Evidence for Neurodivergent Mental Health
Dr Lauren Lawson (she/her)
2:30 PM
Court Decisions Regarding Gender-Affirming Care for Young People: Issues of Cisgenderism and Pathologising of Neurodivergence
Dr Miro Rainsford (he/they)
2:45 PM
HOW Autistic People Authentically Communicate
Melanie Martinelli (she/her)
3:00 PM
Research Symposium Close
A/Prof Monique Botha (they/them)
3:15 –
3:30 PM
3:30 PM
Break
Afternoon Tea
3:30 –
3:50 PM
3:50 PM
Presentation
Situational Mutism and Beyond: Communication Access as Collective Responsibility
Jessica Benson-Lidholm (she/her/they)
3:50 –
4:10 PM
4:10 PM
Presentation
LEANS Australia: Neurodiversity-Affirming Education for Primary Schools
Inga Koops (she/her)
4:10 –
4:30 PM
4:30 PM
Presentation
Autistic & ADHD Relationships and Sexual Satisfaction: Supporting Mixed Neurotype Partnerships
Annelil Desille (she/they) & Denise Abreu (they/them)
4:30 –
4:50 PM
4:50 PM
Presentation
Self-Care Isn't Optional: Nervous System Safety as the Foundation of Neurodiversity-Affirming Care
Brianna Thomas (she/her) & Dr Jade Goodman (she/her)
4:50 PM
Closing
Conference Close
Online Presentations
Pre-recorded sessions available to all ticket holders
Online Presentations
These pre-recorded presentations are available to watch at your own pace during the week leading up to the conference and for 6 months post-conference as part of your ticket access. Available to both in-person and online ticket holders.
Online Presentation
Neurodiversity-Affirming Psychological Therapy: A Proposed Framework for Conceptualisation and Treatment Planning
Alyssa Garret (she/her)
Australia
Online Presentation
Survival to Self-Leadership: Reclaiming Personal Power Within Neurodivergent Lives
Caitlin Hughes (she/they)
Australia
Online Presentation
Persistent Demand for Autonomy (PDA) and Trauma Recovery with EMDR: What Clinicians Need to Know to Reduce Harm
Christine MacInnis (she/her)
USA
Online Presentation
Working Systemically with Neuroqueer Families: A Courage-Based Framework for Affirming Practice
Claire Barbagallo (she/her)
Australia
Online Presentation
Professionalism Is Not Neutral: Neurodivergent Practice Ownership as Systems Disruption
Denise (Den) Abreu (they/them)
Australia
Online Presentation
5 Ways to Use ADHD Strengths
Georgia Zentrich (she/they)
Australia
Online Presentation
Reframing Executive Functions in an Exclusionary Overculture: An Anti-Oppressive Framework for Neurodivergent Liberation
Dr Gávi Ansara (he/him)
Australia
Online Presentation
"They're Talking About us Like We're Not Even Here": Balancing a Neurodivergent and Provisional Psychologist Experience
Hannah Kamarudin (she/her)
Australia
Online Presentation
Survival Psychosis and the Model Minority Trap: Truths from a System that Doesn't See Us
Kizzy Searle (she/her)
Australia
Online Presentation
Working Together: Connecting Disability Affirming Practices with the Neurodiversity Affirming Paradigm
Liel Bridgford (she/they)
Australia
Online Presentation
Creating Harmony in Identity
Marta Arce Casas (she/her)
Australia
Online Presentation
ARFID at the Intersections: A Neuro-Affirming, Nervous System Approach
Margo White (she/her)
Australia
Online Presentation
The Dangers of Autistic Burnout & How to Work with an Autistic Person
Michael Coles (he/him)
Australia
Online Presentation
Supporting the "Others": Navigating Neuroinclusion as a Neurodivergent Professional
Megan Davenport
USA
Online Presentation
Standing in the Mess: Why Neurodivergent-Affirming Practice Means Holding Complexity, Not Reducing It
Polly Miskiewicz (she/her)
UK
Online Presentation
Beyond Headphones and Fidgets: Designing a Sensory-Informed Life
Selah Dimech (she/her)
Australia
Online Presentation
Paradigm Washing: When Neurodiversity Language Outpaces Structural Change
Dr Susannah French (she/they)
Australia
Online Presentation
From Support to Sovereignty: Capacity, Safety, and the Conditions for Neurodivergent Self-Determination
Tanya Hicks (she/they)
Australia
Online Presentation
From Survival to Self-Leadership: Reclaiming Personal Power Within Neurodivergent Lives
Vera Yeo (she/they)
Australia
Online Research Presentations
Pre-recorded research presentations from international researchers, contributing to the evidence base for neurodiversity-affirming practice. Available during the week leading up to the conference and for 6 months post-conference.
Online Research
Post-Panoptic Performativity: Self-Surveillance, Inspection Readiness and Neurodivergent Teacher Subjectivities in the English Further Education System
Dr Annemarie O'Dwyer (she/her)
UK
Online Research
Double Intensity Care: Autistic Parents Raising Autistic Children in UK Service Contexts
Anum Farooq (she/her)
UK
Online Research
Evaluating the Neurodiversity Essentials Programme: A Pilot Study on Supporting Parents of Autistic Children
Lorraine O Madden (she/her)
UK / Ireland
Online Research
Sustained Neurodivergent Peer Spaces: A One-Year Community-Based Study from Mexico
Mario Castelán (he/him)
Mexico
Online Research
Finding Belonging as Neurodivergent Occupational Therapists: Supporting Ourselves so we Can Support Others
Rebecca Rae-Hodgson (she/her) & Alex Turnbull (she/her)
New Zealand