Esther Fidock

Esther Fidock Resources, training, consultation and supervision.

Neuro diversity affirming practice says that being autistic is not a deficit and it’s not a disorder. It’s a different n...
08/09/2026

Neuro diversity affirming practice says that being autistic is not a deficit and it’s not a disorder. It’s a different neuro type.

(This is not to say that being autistic is not disabling, because it absolutely can be!)

If you’ve spent your whole life wondering how other people seem to just ‘get it’ and wishing you could see behind the curtain on how people live their lives so easily without seeming to need recovery time after socialising, or being bothered by loud sensory environments, it could be worthwhile exploring whether autism might fit for you.

If you are autistic, once you know this you then have a new lens through which of view the world, to explore why the difficult things are difficult, and experiment with bolstering your capacity through the unique regulatory aspects of your neuro type.

Going through a formal assessment with a psychologist can help you understand the nuance and intricacies of your specific presentation can be helpful because autism can show up so differently in different people. If you’d like to see one of our psychologists at The Neuro Nurture Collective for an assessment, our online clinic has availability in October and we take bookings directly online no phone calls or emails back-and-forth 👩🏻‍💻

People come to me for autism assessments with all sorts of stories about themselves - sometimes really harsh ideas that ...
07/09/2026

People come to me for autism assessments with all sorts of stories about themselves - sometimes really harsh ideas that they ‘can’t handle the world’ or are ‘ too sensitive’.

Navigating an overwhelming world can be difficult as an autistic person, because first of all you have to shed the shame around how your brain works, before you can explore making changes to feel better.

With the three key areas I mentioned, I recommend trying to find spaces where you feel comfortable and spend as much time there as possible. For example, is there anywhere in your home that feels like it meets all of your sensory needs? If not, is that possible to create in some way?

Masking is hard to avoid if you are often in spaces where you have to interact with other people. Bolstering your capacity to navigate difficult spaces when you must by engaging more regularly in your special interests outside of those times might help 👩🏻‍💻

My biggest advice is to please go gently. Be kind to yourself!! 🧠

I love buying books. I love reading books, and I love talking about books. 📚 Getting to surround myself with a bunch of ...
06/09/2026

I love buying books. I love reading books, and I love talking about books. 📚

Getting to surround myself with a bunch of cool people who think deeply and enjoy meaningful conversations with authenticity and passion has been such a joy.

If you’re a reader too, I highly recommend joining a book club 😌 I started off in one but then ended up joining more! Also, I know a few of my bookclub friends follow me here so if you see this hello I love and appreciate you 🥰

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05/09/2026

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Before I had heard of the neuro diversity affirming paradigm, I had no understanding of ableism or neuro normative appro...
05/09/2026

Before I had heard of the neuro diversity affirming paradigm, I had no understanding of ableism or neuro normative approaches to existing in the world. Forcing myself to live a life that wasn’t in alignment with my neuro type led to exhaustion and burnout, but once I figured things out and built the skills and strategies necessary my life changed exponentially. 🧠

I know now when I can ‘push through’ versus when I need to take a break. I know now how to create an environment in which I can thrive. I know how to create a brain buffer to help cope when I’m going to be in spaces or undertaking tasks that take a lot of capacity from me.

I wish this life upon every person reading this caption right now. 🫶🏻

Have you heard of neuro diversity affirming practice?

04/09/2026

🙏🏻

04/09/2026

The customs officer at the airport said to me: ‘Did you meet up with anyone while you were away?’ Oh yeah, I sure did 😌

This time away was exactly what I needed. I met a bunch of incredibly authentic, clever, hilarious business owners all in vastly different realms of work. The kind of people that you can double over in laughter with but also have deeply meaningful conversations about life, parenting, and relationships. 

I came away with so many new connections, feeling super inspired, invigorated, and grateful 🏝️

02/09/2026

Forget to drink until you’re dehydrated? Don’t eat until you’re hangry? You might want to learn about interoception 👩🏻‍💻

If you realise that your internal body cues aren’t being noticed until they’re level 100, it could be related to your sensory experience. There are ways to make sure your needs are still being met despite this - often I hear of people making sure they always their drink bottle visible - or for me, always having a sip when I walk through the kitchen 😌 🍹

31/08/2026

Usually when people come to a psychologist for an autism assessment, it’s because they’re struggling. It’s easy to therefore focus only on the areas of the person‘s life that are the most difficult.

While I do think it’s very important to get a picture of where someone’s key struggles are, I also think it’s important to talk to autistic people about what I consider to be the ‘flipside of the coin’.

The flipside of the coin means that for parts of the B domain, An autistic person may be very calmed and soothed by a particular criteria while also distressed and overwhelmed in that same area. An example might be a sound that is loud unexpected or constant feeling overstimulating, whileon the other side of the coin, There may be particular sounds like ASMR, nature sounds, or songs that are very calming and soothing for an autistic person and help them to regulate.

Same sensory area. Two sides of the same coin.

When someone first receives their formal identification that they are autistic, I think a good place to start exploring is what the calming and soothing side of the coin looks like for you - and try to embed this as much as you possibly can in your day-to-day life. ✨

30/08/2026

My mission when I started my online clinic The Neuro Nurture Collective was that I wanted a place where autistic, ADHDer adults could get neuro diversity affirming support across Australia no matter where they lived.

It was also really important to me that the clinic was Neurodiversity affirming for the team members too.

I have an absolutely incredible team of warm, authentic, and compassionate psychologists who are helping me with my mission. My goal is to continue to build this team to reach as many autistic, ADHDers as possible with neuro diversity affirming therapy, and if you think our team might be a good fit for you as well, I’d love to hear from you.

Please feel free to email me [email protected] 👩🏻‍💻

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