“This is my protected timeslot. It is saved in my calendar and my partner knows that this is a non-negotiable for me. I have learnt so much from everyone in the group and I love being able to share and help other parents.”
Who we are
Belongside Families is an independent, not-for-profit peer support organisation for families of children with disability, developmental delays and autism. We help families to navigate complex disability systems and services and build the skills, knowledge and confidence that will see their children and family thrive. Our peer groups and programs, trusted resources, and supportive community are online and free. We're passionate about all children and families living their best lives and discovering a future full of possibility.
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Don’t worry, we’re not here to overload your inbox. What you’ll get from us will be inspiring stories, details of upcoming events, helpful resources and other opportunities to be part of our community. From our family to yours, every fortnight or so.
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To connect, celebrate and learn with parents and carers on their own beautiful journeys. Ours is a safe space where you can come to ask advice and share experiences on anything from your child's diagnosis to navigating the NDIS.
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@belongsidefamilies It`s time to clear up a few things about daycare and preschool when it comes to children with disability, delays, and autism.
There are a lot of myths out there. Things like:
🤔 Children need to be toilet trained before they start
🤔 Educators can’t support your child without a diagnosis
🤔 Therapy is more important than early learning
Kristy from Belongside Families is sorting the fact from fiction, so you can feel more confident about navigating your child’s early learning experience.
And if you want to know more about how you can partner with educators at daycare or preschool, and advocate for your child in simple everyday ways join our free interactive workshop.
Supporting Your Child in Early Learning
📅 Mon, 23 June, 7:30pm (AEST / NSW Time)
🔗 Register via Linkin.bio
Jun 17
Swipe ➡️ to see what’s coming up over the next 2 weeks. Join our free interactive workshops, webinars and Mytime peer groups to grow your knowledge and confidence and connect with other families.
Here are just a few of the upcoming highlights:
🔶 Understanding PDA: Autism Webinar - Wed, 18 Jun, 8:00pm
🔶Supporting Your Child in Early Learning: Interactive Workshop - Mon, 23 Jun, 7:30pm
🔶Sibling Support in Medically Complex Families: Webinar Series - Tue, 24 Jun, 12pm
🔗 To find out more and register visit the Linkin.bio
#ByFamiliesForFamilies #PeerLed #ParentingDisability #PeerSupport #Belong+Alongside #WalkingWithFamilies #ReframingDisability #SpecialNeedsMum #SpecialNeedsMother #MyTime #AutismParentingTips #CareGiverSupport #DisabilityParenting
Jun 15
Friends. Family. Strangers. Even when their advice comes from a good place, it can still feel overwhelming, unhelpful, or just plain inappropriate.
In our recent Dealing with Family & Friends webinar, psychologist Mitchell Woods shared some go-to responses you can keep in your back pocket for those moments when you`re met with unhelpful advice, hurtful comments, or unsolicited opinions.
What you use will depend on what feels right to you, and who you`re speaking to. If it’s someone important in your life, you might want to invest the time to help them understand. If it’s a stranger? Sometimes the best approach is to smile politely and move on.
And remember, you don’t owe anyone an explanation or an apology for the choices you make for your family. This is your journey, and you are the expert in your child.
Do you have any go-to phrases you keep up your sleeve? We’d love to hear them in the comments 💭💭💭
🔗 And if you`re looking for more practical strategies to protect your peace while navigating the emotional side of disability parenting, sign up via the linkin.bio and we`ll send you the video replay of Mitchell’s webinar — along with the other sessions in our Beyond the Diagnosis series.
Jun 13
Here`s Bree from Belongsife Families, captured in her natural habitat: laptop open, getting ready to jump online to facilitate, important files on hand, and her son Dax providing some very thorough "quality control" of her filing system. 😅
This is the behind-the-scenes reality of the work we do. Every single person on the Belongside Families team is walking this path alongside the families we support - raising children with disability, navigating the same systems, celebrating every small win and managing the juggle. This lived experience is exactly why our free programs are built around what families actually need.
Behind every workshop, every peer group, every resource, and every bit of support we offer, there are real families just like yours walking the journey too.
Jun 11
Swipe ➡️ to see what’s coming up over the next 2 weeks. Join our free MyTime peer groups, interactive workshops, and webinars to connect, learn, and feel more confident on your parenting journey.
Here are just a few of the upcoming highlights:
🔶 The next session in our Supporting Siblings Webinar Series:
The Sibling Role; Now & Into the Future - Tue, 10 Jun, 12:00pm
🔶 Introduction to Advocacy: Interactive Workshop - Wed, 11 Jun, 7:30pm
🔶 Everyday Advocacy at School - Mon, 16 Jun, 7:30pm
🔶Neurodivergent Parenting: Virtual Autism MyTime - Tue, 17 Jun 10:00am
🔗 To find out more and register visit the Linkin.bio
#ByFamiliesForFamilies #PeerLed #ParentingDisability #PeerSupport #Belong+Alongside #WalkingWithFamilies #ReframingDisability #SpecialNeedsMum #SpecialNeedsMother #MyTime #AutismParentingTips #CareGiverSupport #DisabilityParenting
Jun 9
Guilt. It`s so easy to beat ourselves up about what we didn’t know back in the early days of our journey. What we wished we’d learned sooner, how we would have parented our children differently or made different choices ...
While we can`t go back in time. What we can do is this:
🧡 Let go of the guilt — we’re all doing the best we can with what we know.
🧡 Keep learning — about our children, and how best to support them.
At Belongside Families, our free webinars and workshops are here to help you do just that. To feel more confident. More informed. And more supported, wherever you are on your journey.
Find out more via Linkin.bio
Jun 6
Sometimes connection happens when you slow down.
No pressure, just presence (oh, and the patience to wait 😆).
That’s @breepennie ‘s from @belongsidefamilies Son Dax putting her through her paces with the high 20s ✋✋✋✋✋
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.
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#BelongsideFamilies #ByFamiliesForFamilies #PeerLed #ParentingDisability #SpecialNeedsParenting #FindingJoyInTheJourney #KidsWithDisabilities #TeamBelongsideFamilies
Jun 4
Swipe ➡️ to see what’s coming up over the next 2 weeks. Join our free MyTime peer groups, interactive workshops, and webinars to connect, learn, and feel more confident on your parenting journey.
Here are just a few highlights:
🔶 The next session in our Supporting Siblings Webinar Series:
Supporting Relationships & Resilience - Tue, 3 Jun, 12:00pm
🔶 The final session in Beyond the Diagnosis Webinar Series:
When The Load Gets Heavy - Wed, 4 Jun, 12:00pm
🔶 Introduction to Advocacy Interactive Workshop - Wed, 11 Jun, 7:30pm
🔗 To find out more and register visit the Linkin.bio
#ByFamiliesForFamilies #PeerLed #ParentingDisability #PeerSupport #Belong+Alongside #WalkingWithFamilies #ReframingDisability #SpecialNeedsMum #SpecialNeedsMother #MyTime #AutismParentingTips #CareGiverSupport #DisabilityParenting
Jun 1
✨ Meet Melo: Peer Facilitator at Belongside Families ✨
After decades of studying consumer behaviour and team performance, for the last ten years, Melo has been delivering parenting programs on Secure Attachment, Emotion Coaching and Family Leadership in Australia and abroad.
👨👩👧👦 Melo lives in Sydney with his wife, 15-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. It is daughter Victoria, who has a significant intellectual disability, ADHD and physical challenges, that is the reason Melo now works in the disability sector in an effort to ‘pay it forward’ after receiving valuable support in his own parenting journey.
👔 Melo currently sits on the Reference Group for Children, Families and Young People Advising the IAC to the NDIS, and also the Integrity Working Group as well as the Participant Reference Group to the NDIS, and is part of the Carers Advisory Group on Intellectual Disability for Clinical Innovation to NSW Health.
☕ Outside of work, Melo enjoys watching his son play soccer, and getting out into the community with his daughter to a farmers’ market, a shopping centre, or a café.
😊 Melo is particularly interested in supporting fathers of children with disability to be better partners, parents and people.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Everyone on our team is raising a child with disability, delay, or autism. That lived experience is at the heart of everything we do — and it’s what makes Belongside Families different.
#BelongsideFamilies #WalkingAlongside #FamiliesSupportingFamilies #BelongsideCommunity #ByFamiliesForFamilies #PeerLed #ParentingDisability #BelongsideFamiliesTeam
May 30
Some parts of parenting are hard to talk about. The unexpected grief.
The mental load. The quiet identity shifts no one prepares you for.
You`re not alone in those feelings, far from it. And we`re creating a space for these conversations
In this free webinar series, parents and professionals sit down to explore the emotional side of parenting and the feelings that all too often go unspoken.
We hope you can join us tomorrow at 12pm (NSW time). But if you can’t make it, don’t worry, you can still register to receive the replay.
Find out more via Linkin.bio
May 27
Swipe ➡️ to see what’s coming up over the next 2 weeks. Join our free MyTime peer groups, interactive workshops, and webinars to connect, learn, and feel more confident on your parenting journey.
Here are just a few highlights:
🔶 Understanding the Sibling Experience: Tue, 27 May
🔶 Transition to Teens Interactive Workshop: Mon, 2 Jun
🔶 Beyond the Diagnosis:
Dealing with Family & Friends: Wed, 28 May
Finding You Again with Prof. Helen Bourke-Taylor: Fri, 30 May
🔗 To find out more and register visit the Linkin.bio
#ByFamiliesForFamilies #PeerLed #ParentingDisability #PeerSupport #Belong+Alongside #WalkingWithFamilies #ReframingDisability #SpecialNeedsMum #SpecialNeedsMother #MyTime #AutismParentingTips #CareGiverSupport #DisabilityParenting
May 25
As @melanie.dimmitt shares, grief and comparison soften with time. Thankfully, as we adjust and settle into this new version of parenting, they don’t hold the same weight they once did.
But they can still show up—unexpectedly, quietly, in small moments. And that’s okay.
It’s all part of the journey. And you’re not alone in this.
🧡 This moment is from our Beyond the Diagnosis series—a space for honest reflection on the emotional side of disability parenting. Explore more of the free series or register to receive this replay via the Linkin.bio
May 23
