Little People, Big Belonging: Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice in the Early Years
– Diana Van Der Walt, Perth Hills Allied Health
What if every child in your room felt truly seen, safe, and celebrated, just as they are?
In this hands-on workshop, early childhood educators are invited to explore the power of connection as the foundation for genuine inclusion and belonging. Grounded in neurodiversity-affirming principles, this session offers a fresh, practical perspective on supporting children who move, communicate, learn, and play in wonderfully different ways.
Rather than focusing on what a child “should” be doing, neurodiversity-affirming practice starts with curiosity. What is this child telling us through their behaviour? How do they naturally connect with others? What brings them calm, delight, or overwhelm? When we pause to understand the child’s inner world, we unlock a deeper, more authentic way to support growth, confidence, and community.
This workshop is highly interactive and experiential. Educators will participate in movement-based games, nature-inspired activities, small group reflections, and roleplay to explore how it feels to be supported and unsupported through different communication and sensory experiences. You will have opportunities to collaborate with others, ask questions, share stories, and reflect on your current practice through a new, affirming lens.
The session will take full advantage of the beautiful outdoor and indoor spaces, inviting you to reconnect with your own sense of play and presence. Whether we are storytelling under a tree, designing calming corners with natural materials, or brainstorming sensory-friendly group time routines, everything is designed to be adaptable, accessible, and ready for real-world use in early childhood settings.
Perfect for educators who care deeply, feel overwhelmed by complex needs or challenging behaviours, and want to learn practical, strengths-based ways to support inclusion without adding to their workload! You do not need to be an expert in diagnosis or therapy to make a meaningful difference. You just need a willingness to see children differently and the courage to connect first.
Safer Communities for Children: a Community Approach to building protective Behaviours and Safer Communities
– Meron Looney & Serina Smiler, NAPCAN
Children thrive when the adults in their lives, family members, caregivers, educators and community members listen to them and value what they have to say. By doing this, we learn how children think and feel, and what they need to feel safe and be safe. Sharing stories is a powerful way to start these conversations.
This workshop will explore the Safer Communities for Children (SCFC) program, which uses a narrative, bush animal approach to teach safety concepts to children aged 4-10 years. Through stories about Frankie Frog and his friends, children learn to recognise safe and unsafe situations, seek help, and offer support when needed. Participants will engage with the stories, try sample activities, and learn how SCFC has been implemented, including in a small remote community nine hours from Darwin.
SCFC is inclusive, non-threatening, and adaptable, making it relevant across urban, rural and remote communities throughout Australia. A unique feature of the program is that it elicits children’s perspectives on what makes them feel safe, encouraging adults to respond in ways that are meaningful and contextually relevant. This process builds the capacity of adults to listen with empathy and care.
Join us to experience how SCFC combines storytelling, activities, and child engagement to turn conversations about safety into meaningful action. This workshop demonstrates how children, educators, and communities can work together to strengthen protective behaviours and build safer, more supportive environments for all children.
The Connection Lab: Building Social + Communication Skills Through Play and Dog Therapy
– Cara Zelas & Nat O’Neil, Big World of Little Dude
Join Cara Zelas (Early Childhood Educator, Montessori Teacher and SEL Specialist) and Nat O’Neill (Occupational Therapist and SEL Animal Assisted Therapist) for an energising, hands-on workshop designed to help educators build social connection in the early years.
As loneliness, anxiety and emotional disconnection rise, Cara and Nat combine research-backed strategies with their lived experiences to offer a playful, practical approach to social and emotional learning. This session invites participants to step into the child’s perspective through movement, reflection, and creative SEL routines inspired by the calming, connecting presence of therapy dogs.
Along the way, you’ll explore new approaches to common classroom challenges, like transitions, disruptive behaviour, disengagement, and group dynamics. From embodied listening activities to co-regulation rituals and kindness-building games, attendees will leave with fresh, low-prep ideas they can implement immediately, no dog required. Each participant will also receive a Connection Toolkit to support ongoing classroom integration of kindness, communication and belonging.
Sensory Smart ECEC Environments: Creating Sensory-Inclusive Early Learning for Neurodivergent Children
– Tasha Alach & Asha Rohjan, Autism Inclusive PTY LTD
Through practical examples, participants will learn how to assess individual sensory needs and embed strategies that support regulation, connection and learning. The workshop will also provide tools for strengthening collaboration between educators, allied health professionals, and families, ensuring consistent and holistic support.
The session will emphasise universal design principles, flexible play and learning spaces, movement breaks, and sensory regulation strategies that can be applied across early learning contexts. Participants will receive:
- A Sensory Checklist to identify and reflect on sensory processing styles (for themselves and the children they support).
- A Sensory Action Planning Tool to guide the development of team-based strategies.
- Practical family handouts and centre-wide resources to build community awareness of key strategies that support neurodivergent learners within the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).
Get to know the Speakers
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Di Van Der Walt is a speech pathologist, neurodiversity affirming practice mentor, and founder of Perth Hills Allied Health, a values led paediatric clinic based in the Perth Hills region of Western Australia. With over 15 years of experience across public, private, and early intervention settings including autism specific early childhood care, Di brings a deeply grounded and refreshingly human approach to her work.
Di is known for helping therapists and educators move from overwhelm to clarity, supporting them to create affirming spaces where neurodivergent children can thrive. Her approach blends evidence based practice with creativity, compassion, and a genuine belief that learning should feel safe, joyful, and deeply connected.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Di’s early life shaped her belief in resourcefulness, equity, and the power of community. Her journey has taken her from farm life in southern Africa to speech therapy study in New Zealand, and ultimately to Perth, where she built her practice while raising a neurodivergent child of her own. These lived experiences of migration, motherhood, and making things work with what you have are the quiet foundation behind her practical, no fluff teaching style.
Di has delivered professional development across Australia and is the creator of the NeuroAffirming Zone, an online coaching space supporting allied health professionals to embed affirming, ethical, and connection first practice into everyday work. She is also the founder of the Adult Learning Zones, where therapists, educators, and parents can access targeted, neurodiversity affirming learning designed with real life implementation in mind.
A former chairperson of the Private Speech Pathologists Association of WA, Di has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 Small Business Leaders and is a sought after speaker on topics including affirming early years practice, values aligned business, and strengths based therapy.
In her private practice, Di and her team support neurodivergent children and families using a collaborative, sensory friendly, and play based model of care. Her work is grounded in deep respect for each child’s autonomy, culture, and communication style, whether that be through spoken words, AAC, echolalia, or joyful movement.
Di’s sessions are known for their warmth, clarity, and practicality. She brings stories from the therapy room, tools from lived experience, and strategies that can be used immediately because educators and therapists are already doing enough, and deserve professional learning that feels doable, supportive, and just right.
She is happiest when walking through the bush with her family, talking books with her book club (even when she hasn’t read the book), or dreaming up the next gentle rebellion in the world of therapy and education.
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- Meron Looney
Meron is the manager of NAPCAN in the Northern Territory and has lived on Larrakia land in Darwin for more than 30 years. She has a background in early childhood education, family support, domestic and family violence work and government policy. She has broad experience in developing resources and coordinating programs to promote safe and nurturing relationships between caregivers and their children. Meron has been working with NAPCAN for around nine years and loves that their focus is on prevention through developing partnerships. She continues to work with organisations and communities across the Northern Territory to develop and deliver inclusive, culturally safe resources and programs to support children, young people and families.
- Serina Smiler
Selma Smiler is a Gurindji woman and the Team Leader and Engagement Officer with Ngaliwany Purrp’ku Child and Family Centre (Kalkaringi CFC). The centre is run by Gurindji Aboriginal Corporation for the communities of Kalkaringi and Daguragu, around 5 hours drive west of Katherine in the Northern Territory.
Selma has worked with the Child and Family Centre since it opened around four years ago and has run Safer Communities for Children with children at the local primary school on two occasions.
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- Cara Zelas
Cara Zelas is an early childhood educator, social-emotional learning (SEL) expert, Montessori teacher, and dog therapy advocate with over 15 years of experience supporting young children, educators, and families. Originally from Sydney, Australia and now based in the U.S., Cara holds a Bachelor of Media Communications and a Bachelor of Elementary Education from Macquarie University, as well as an Early Childhood Montessori Certification from West Side Montessori School in New York.
Her work focuses on connection-based learning, helping educators build emotionally intelligent, resilient, and inclusive classrooms. She is also a certified therapy dog volunteer and has worked extensively with children in school and hospital settings through animal-assisted programs.
Cara is the founder of Big World of Little Dude, an educational platform that teaches children essential social and emotional skills through books for families and the humanKIND Curriculum for educators. Little Dude, her real-life therapy dog, has taught Cara and countless children that being kind to others is contagious!
Cara regularly presents at leading education conferences, including SXSW EDU, Montessori professional development events, and the Texas Early Childhood Conference, where she shares practical, play-based strategies for building connection in early learning environments. Through her SEL framework, used in classrooms across the United States, she leads professional development for teachers, school leaders, and early childhood networks. She is passionate about practical, joyful learning experiences that help children thrive and believes the early years are our best chance to build the kind of world we all want to live in.- Nat O’Neil
Nat O’Neill is a senior occupational therapist in Perth with a background in animal-assisted therapy. After years in pediatric clinics, she noticed rising anxiety and school attendance challenges among children. This led her to pilot a new role in a local primary school, using her expertise and a therapy dog to support student wellbeing.
Unlike traditional OT roles, Nat is employed by the school to offer a whole-school service. She collaborates with the psychologist, chaplain, principal, and deputies as part of the student services team. Nat runs SEL lessons in classrooms, small group sessions, and individual support, always with her four-legged partner.
They’re now a valued part of the school community. Nat is well recognised for her expertise in animal-assisted therapy and has presented multiple times at the National Occupational Therapy Conference, as well as providing professional development for Occupational Therapy Australia.
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- Tasha Alach
Director & Principal Consultant at Autism Inclusive and Clinic Lead
Tasha Alach is a highly experienced and compassionate professional with over 25 years of expertise in supporting autistic individuals across all life stages, from early intervention to adulthood. With a degree in Occupational Therapy and a Master’s in Learning and Coordination Disabilities, Tasha has dedicated her career to creating inclusive environments where neurodiverse individuals and their families can thrive.
Tasha has extensive experience leading large teams of Educators and Allied Health Professionals, and has established and operated multiple Early Intervention and long day care centres, embedding best-practice therapy and education across home, school, and community settings.
Tasha is deeply passionate about early identification and access to intervention, believing that these are critical factors in creating positive, lifelong outcomes. She has worked extensively with schools and community organisations, empowering them to build the confidence and capacity needed to support and include autistic individuals.
As an experienced trainer, Tasha has delivered professional development to educators, allied health professionals, and families across Western Australia, nationally, and internationally. She enjoys working collaboratively to ensure the best outcomes for students, and under her leadership, the team at Autism Inclusive is committed to integrating best practices in Autism Early Intervention into educational frameworks, ensuring children and their families are supported in every aspect of daily life.
Tasha has also authored several publications, and authored several research papers, designed to help educators implement best practices in supporting neurodiverse learners.
- Asha Rohjan
Specialist Education Support Teacher & Training Workshop Facilitator
Asha is a Specialist Education Support Teacher at Christ Church Grammar School, Claremont, in the Peter Moyes Centre, with extensive experience in creating learning environments that empower students with disabilities to thrive. With over 15 years of experience supporting autistic children, Asha has honed her expertise in autism, behaviour management, and addressing complex learning needs. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies from Griffith University and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Edith Cowan University.
Asha has a natural ability to lead educators, building their confidence to support children with challenging behaviours and learning needs, ensuring they have the tools to create inclusive and effective educational settings