Reflections from the Yellow Ladybugs Conference: Inclusion and Challenging Neuronormativity

This past week, I had the absolute joy of attending the Yellow Ladybugs Conference in Melbourne. As always, this conference was a beautiful and affirming space that left me feeling inspired and connected.

The conference ran over several days, with a mixture of online and in-person sessions. I was lucky enough to attend the third in-person day, and what always gets me with YLB is the incredible thoughtfulness and inclusivity embedded in every detail of the experience. It’s not often you step into a professional event that truly centres the needs and preferences of neurodivergent people, but Yellow Ladybugs does it so well.

A Model of Inclusive Practice

From the moment I arrived, it was clear that this was not your average conference. In their packs, attendees were offered a choice of coloured armbands to indicate their communication preferences. Green meant “I’m happy to chat,” yellow meant “I’m okay with talking but please ask first,” and red meant “please don’t initiate conversations with me right now.” Such a simple but profound addition to the packs, one that respected bodily autonomy, boundaries, and individual energy levels.

These kinds of access tools are something I’d love to see adopted more broadly in professional settings. They offer an immediate sense of safety and agency for neurodivergent individuals, and a practical framework for consent and communication that benefits everyone.

The physical space was also intentionally designed with inclusion in mind. There were quiet rooms for decompression, clear signage, and multiple modalities for engaging with content, from in-person talks to livestreams and live captioning. As a psychologist, I often work with clients who have had to mask or endure inaccessible environments. To see such a thoughtful, affirming model in action was so exciting and inspiring.

Noticing a Key Theme: Neuronormativity

One of the main themes I noticed emerging across many of the speakers was the concept of neuronormativity: the idea that there’s a “normal” way of thinking, sensing, feeling, and being in the world. It’s the assumption that neurotypical ways of communicating, processing, and socialising are the default, and anything else is a deviation, a deficit, or a problem to be fixed.

If you're not familiar with the term, neuronormativity is a critical concept in neurodiversity discourse. It refers to the pervasive and often invisible standards that shape how we assess functioning, behaviour, and communication, often to the detriment of neurodivergent people. For more on this, I highly recommend this overview from StimPunks.

Across the day, I heard incredible speakers reflect on how neuronormative assumptions show up in our daily lives, particularly in clinical, educational, and workplace settings. I’m hoping it left viewers, like myself, encouraged to examine our own internalised biases as professionals, many of which were shaped by growing up in systems that privilege certain ways of being. I feel this is so essential if we want to create safe, affirming spaces for the people we support.

What Does Pushing Back Look Like?

One of the big questions raised during the conference was: How do we push back against neuronormativity in our work?

As a psychologist, this question is constantly on my mind. Every intake form, every assessment tool, every therapeutic framework I use has been developed within a wider context that often prioritises “typical” development. While some of those tools have value, they can also perpetuate harm if we don’t approach them critically.

Pushing back means reimagining what “support” looks like. It means:

• Honouring sensory needs instead of pathologising them.

• Recognising non-verbal communication as equally valid.

• Understanding special interests as a source of joy, regulation, and identity and not something to be extinguished. (Sandhya spoke to this!)

• Valuing interdependence, not independence as the ultimate goal.

• Decentring the idea of “fixing” and instead supporting self-understanding and agency.

  
  

It also means asking ourselves: Who benefits from this standard? and Whose comfort are we prioritising? Whether it’s the expectation to make eye contact, sit still, or behave in a certain way during therapy, we need to constantly reflect on what we’re reinforcing and why.

Supporting Future Generations

The talks prompted me to reflect on how these systems (schooling, therapy, family dynamics) shape the next generation of neurodivergent kids. It’s exhausting to grow up in a world that constantly sends the message that you are “too much,” “too sensitive,” “too intense,” or “not enough.”

When I work with parents and teachers, I often hear well-meaning questions like “How can we help them cope better?” But what if we asked instead: How can we change the environment so they don’t find coping so hard?

By pushing back against neuronormative expectations now, we create space for our children to grow into themselves without shame. We model acceptance, flexibility, and joy in difference.

Personal Takeaways

For me, attending the Yellow Ladybugs Conference wasn’t just professionally inspiring, it was personally affirming. It reminded me of why I do this work, and of the power of community in creating change.

To be in a room where neurodivergent people weren’t just included, but centred, celebrated, and leading the conversation was so rare. I think it is something we should all be striving for in our organisations, our practices, and our policies.

About Yellow Ladybugs

If you’re not familiar with them, Yellow Ladybugs is an Australian non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of autistic girls, women, and gender-diverse people. Their conferences, community events, and advocacy work are all built on a foundation of lived experience, accessibility, and neurodiversity-affirming values.

They also offer excellent resources and webinars that are suitable for educators, families, and professionals.

If you're a fellow practitioner, educator, or parent looking to deepen your understanding of neurodiversity and make your work more inclusive, I highly encourage you to explore Yellow Ladybugs’ offerings. Attend their events. Listen to their speakers. And most importantly, centre the voices and experiences of neurodivergent people in everything you do.

Esther

Neurodiversity-affirming Psychologist | The Neuro Nurture Collective