Ella Bailey Behaviour

At EBBC we believe ALL communication is equal and valid. We love Key word sign and use it to facilitate lots of our communication. we love your work and your clear and informative visuals! thank you for all you do!!

This visual is an example of the clear and informative visuals KWS aus make- and we absolutely love them!

At Ella Bailey Behaviour we believe that the PRIMARY purpose of a behaviour support plan has ZERO to do with modifying the behaviour of a disabled person. It's primary purpose is to be the resource that means that NO NDIS provider EVER subjects a disabled person to a unauthorised restrictive practices.

Holding service providers to account and ensuring they have everything they need to provide respectful, safe and neuroaffirming care is WHY we do what we do.
Never let a behaviour support practitioner make you feel like the onus is solely on a disabled person to change their behaviour!

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ 🥳 Mardi Gras 2024 is coming up this weekend in Sydney! 🎉🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Here at EBBC we celebrate and welcome all identities! and this year's mardi gras has a TONNE if accessibility features to ensure everyone has equal access to the festivities. Be sure to check out the website for access maps, priority parking, Auslan interpreting services and special viewing areas for the parade.

LOVE 👏🏻 To 👏🏻 SEE 👏🏻 THIS 👏🏻


Are an organisation we absolutely LOVE here at EBBC. Giving neurodivergent folks the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the demands of an environment is an incredible way to reduce the anxiety of the unfamiliar which can be totally disabling for some people.
Big cudos to the for recognising and meeting this need.

Here at EBBC, we believe in doing better when we know better.

One of the pillars of providing neuroaffirming practice to disabled and neurodivergent folks is that we need to ensure that we are up to date with latest research- and being responsive to that research in our praxis ( the way we work!)

This also means listening to neurodivergent voices, centring lived experience and being in dialogue disability advocates to ensure we are doing best practice work.

For EBBC this means:
1- Listening!
2- Using a trauma informed approach
3- Respecting neurodivergent identity
4- Collaboration instead of dictation
5- Using a harm minimisation, safety first, approach
6- Not using neurotypical social norms as the 'gold standard'

We could go on BUT! We want to say that this list, could change! Who knows what the future research and disability advocacy could discover needs to change in our praxis. We are ok with this!

It's Monday! and it's time to say the hard things, so here goes. Having two people working full time outside the home makes it impossible for families to have the time together they need! You aren't failing your kids by not being able to cope with the demands- it's not designed as a system that works.

At EBBC we work with families who feel constantly on the brink of breakdown because of the demands that needing two have two full time incomes puts on them. The time pressure, the stress and the strain on relationships takes its toll on the physical and mental health of all involved.

Nowhere is this MORE present than in the world of disability care. When families need to balance the demands of disability care, with employment, running a household and the rising costs of living the distress is causes can be life altering.

AT EBBC, we see how hard you work to keep everything running, to give your kids everything they need, to provide financially, emotionally and practically for those around you. We also see that the social systems designed to support families are increasingly failing. This is why so much of our work does into advocacy, parent/carer capacity management and family focussed interventions- because when families are ok, kids can be ok.

Are you the parent or carer of a neurodivergent person who struggles to introduce new foods into their diet?

We've been there! Here you can see a meal prepared for two of our EBBC clients- a pair of siblings both autistic and one PDAer. Getting new foods into their bodies can be a big struggle and it was of deep concern to their parents who were worried about their nutrition and health long term.

Ella has supported many families to help their child overcome the huge anxiety that can be induced with the unknown of trying new foods and we can say with certainly that the time to do the work of trying to introduce new foods is NOT when everyone is tired and hungry at dinner time after a long school/work day. This is a recipe for disaster 😂

Do you have someone you care for who struggles with restrictive eating? We are here to help!

Ella, founder of EBBC- has many feathers in her cap but one that we don't get to hear about very often is her lecturing on human development at Western Sydney University.

Ella was invited by faculty members to teach education students about how human cognitive capacity develops across the lifespan.

In the Latest quarterly report from the NDIS it has been announced that an increase of 10% in the last quarter has brought the percentage of parents/carers or disabled folks in paid employment to 50$, inline with the goals for the quarter.

Here at EBBC, we KNOW how important working outside the home can be for some parents/ carers with disabled family members. Not all families have the same needs but for some of our EBBC families, getting into paid employment has been the best thing they've been able to do for themselves and those they care for.

Ella is a passionate support of integrating specially women back into the paid workforce, and is currently mentoring one client to up-skill as a virtual assistant!

If you are a parent or carer of a disabled person and haven't explored the world of Two Peas in a Podcast yet, we are here to give you the good news!!

Two peas in a podcast is a funny, chatty, informative and respectful discussion of the experience of what it's like to live in the world of disability, whether it be as a parent/ carer, a disabled person or someone who works in the sector.

The hosts: Kate and Mandy, share their hilarious, poignant, interesting and sometimes heartbreaking stories about raising their disabled kids and its 100% worth your time to listen. Be prepared for a neuroaffirming and inclusive discussion!

There are many people out there who ASSUME that kids with a disability will only grow up to have unskilled or support employment. WRONG!

According to data provided by the Australian Public Services commissions 22.5% of working-age people with disability who were employed, worked as professionals!

Our kids and young people are being held back by lack of support and misunderstanding! Here at EBBC, we have spent a whole day this week looking through job ads with a young client who has a special interest in fishing- who knew there were so many jobs to do with fishing?!

EBBC is BACK! We took the week off to go and visit our absolutely lovely Melbourne clients, so we've been a little quiet but...... can we please talk about the parking in Melbourne?!
Ella had a great time getting visit some brilliant special schools, do care team meetings in person for the first time, and even drop in on some old colleagues! HOWEVER! the parking in Melbourne felt like it required a PhD and ten years professional experience to get the hang off 😂

Does the parking near you drive you up the wall too? Let us know!

The Head Honcho! It's time for some facts so you can get to know her a little better.

1️⃣ Ella isn't happy unless she has an audiobook ( or a podcast!) playing. She is currently listening to the Struggle Care podcast with KC Davis

2️⃣ Ella LOVES Lebanese food and can be found exploring new restaurants with her family on the weekends.

3️⃣ Ella loves to travel! has two passports and has lived in three different countries. If you ask her, she will tell you about her top 3 countries to visit!

4️⃣ Now, those who know her, will tell you- Ella doesn't watch movies, and this is mostly true, however! The Holiday (yes, the Christmas one) is the exception!

A couple of years ago, while preparing for a university lecture on human development, Ella came across this book.

Some Brains, by Nelly Thomas is a great book to communicate, in a neutral way, that All brains are different- and no brain type has more or less value than any other.

We have used this book to explain to siblings of neurodivergent kids about the different between their own and their sibling's understanding of the world, as well as used it to introduce neurodiversity in a positive way to disabled and neurodivergent kids themselves.

A definite thumbs up from EBBC ❤️🎉

Here we have just a tiny sample of the collection of toilet photos that over the years, we have collected at EBBC to use in visual support resources for clients.

WHY?! you might ask.....

well, we don't do generic programming, we don't dish out the same thing to every family. We personalised EVERY SINGLE THING- that gets sent to families.

These toilets represent just four of the literally dozens of children and young people that Ella has supported through their individual continence journey. No person with a disability is the same- they all deserve care that is personalised to their life, their homes and their needs.

Do you or someone you love need support with continence? This is a shame free, no judgement place for you to have your needs supported!

🎺 ITS TRUTH TUESDAY 🎺

At EBBC, we believe in changing our minds when presented with new information!

We think it takes courage to admit that you could have done things better and to rectify your choices and do better!

While in uni, Ella was approached to become an Aba therapist ( as all psychology undergrad students are encouraged to do!)- she went for it. With no understanding of what we now know about effects of Aba therapy on neurodivergent folks from the autistic community, Ella spend the majority of her undergrad degrees working in this way. Following structured Aba programs, supervised by BCBAs. Getting to see the ins and outs of what children learn, how they are taught and how behaviours are 'managed'.

Good Clinicians develop and change their praxis based on the evidence available to them, and that is exactly what Ella has done. Building understanding of neurodiversity affirming care, changing from a paradigm of deficit to difference and centring the experience of neurodivergent voices within clinical praxis.

AT EBBC, we want to provide families with the support they need to function and feel the best they can, nothing about that person needs to be changed or 'managed'.

Y'all KNOW how much we love to start the week off with a glowing review 🥰

These client's have been so generous with their praise, describing the 'wonderful insight, advice, encouragement and support' they have received

Reviews don't lie so we are SUPER grateful when our lovely families take the time to share their experience with the community.

Doing this work is a privilege we will never take for granted.

👏🏻 Louder for the people at the back 👏🏻

We know that sometimes survival is all that is possible but here at EBBC we believe that all families deserve joy together not just the neurotypical ones. That's why, we believe that advocacy is a huge part of the role we play as a provider of supports to disabled folks and their family.

Doing the work of advocating for families who need support, within a system that lets them fall through the crack is KEY to ensuring that ALL families get the joy they deserve.

People become parents or carers for all sorts of different reasons, but the following are never ones we hear:

1- I want to be a parent so I can really isolated!
2- I want to do a bad job as a carer!
3- I want no support
4-I want to be unable to meet a child's needs

Carers and parents of disabled kids want the same kinds of things parents of neurotypical kids want! Things like, connection, joy, fulfilment, community, and to do the best possible job they can. We see you! and we are were to hold space for you while you figure out what is right for your family.

We love sharing client wins :) It just feel like a party here at EBBC headquarters when a client has a big win. They come in all shapes and sizes so here are two ( very different) client wins for this week. ( please note, names have been changed for privacy).
Our client Stacy, is 13, has PDA and has significant school attendance struggles. We've really been working on a lot of preparation and anxiety work around school attendance as well as collaborating closely with her school support tea. Stacey is feeling excited and optimistic about her return to school ( for the first time ever!)

Zahid is a very hard working client of Ella Bailey Behaviour, who continues to impress us every day! Recently, with support from Ella, Zahid was able to fly home to his country of birth for the first time since moving to Australia, without distress! a huge achievement! We are so proud of all the hard work our client put in.

Truth Tuesday! Where we bust some MYTHS about disability, behaviour support or anything else we deem relevant.

TODAY! we are busting disability myths.

Disability is a 'fringe issue' WRONG! disability impacts ONE IN SIX aussies! Nearly 20% of our population.

Disability is just about 'kids not having boundaries these days' WRONG! 50% of people aged over 65 have a disability! Disability can impact anyone.

Autism is a 'boys issue'. TOTALLY WRONG! While it's true that the healthcare community has been slower to understand how autism impacts girls and women, this doesn't mean there are less autistic women and girls. The data shows that boys do appear to have their disability picked up earlier- by age 15 the ratio of boys to girls evens out!

Well well well, a very happy Monday to YOU, We want to get the week started with chatting about something we hear a lot about here at EBBC- and that is 'PDA'.

Now it should be noted that PDA has no recognition in the diagnostic manual used in Australia & the US (DSM-V), and it doesn't exist as a diagnosis in the diagnostic manual used in the UK & Europe (ICD-10) either.

HOWEVER! it does exist as stable, observable group of symptoms that may or may not fall within an autism spectrum diagnosis and (more importantly) it DOES exist as a lived experience of neurodivergent folks.

Pathological Demand Avoidance ( sometimes called Pervasive Drive for Autonomy) is a cluster of symptoms that combine in a unique way and can impede or change the way someone functions in their world. The main symptom is 'resisting the everyday demands of life' accompanied by 'using social strategies to avoid these demands'. ( PDA society UK.)

Get in touch if you would like resources on this topic because there are LOTS of different types of help available and we could love to save you some time and point you towards the high quality ones.

Here at EBBC we have seen this first hand, and had to advocate for the children having their right to childcare and schooling being functionally denied.

Centres cant or wont do the paperwork necessary to get the extra hands needed to appropriately support a disabled child.

This is why Ella runs professional development workshops for Early Childhood Educators and support staff! So they are empowered, confident and capable when it comes to doing the right thing by the most vulnerable in our society

Audrey was born with proportional dwarfism. Her local childcare centre refused to take her Everyone has a legal right to access childcare, but very few facilities have the staff or equipment to cater to children with a disability. That may soon be about to change.

WOO HOO!!! This is long overdue. plane ✈️🛩🛫💺
At EBBC we support clients to arrange travel often. This extends from, brainstorming supportive sensory strategies for take off and landing- to going back and forth with airlines to ensure there will be assistance for boarding and disembarking.

Travel enriches our lives, connects us with others and broadens our perspective and creating planes with inclusive toilets is just one piece of the puzzle that makes such a difference to families and teams and disabled people in the air!

Airlines Will Be Required to Make Bathrooms More Accessible Single-aisle planes will face new rules from the U.S. Department of Transportation—but they won’t go into effect for more than a decade

FAST FACTS to demystify disability! The 'Levels' of Autism.

The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (version five) released by the American Psychiatric association is the system by which disabilities are diagnosed in Australia.

According to the DSM-V, a diagnosis of autism can be separated into three levels of support requirement. Level one, requires the least support and level three requires the highest level of support.

NOW, it is important that now you understand what these levels mean, that you also understand that autistic people can't be broken up into 'levels' of who they are.

These levels are used almost as a ' short hand' between medical and allied health professionals to give a 'ball park' understanding of someone (before getting to know them better!).

January 24th is the UN International Day of Education.

Here at EBBC, we agree that the right to education is a human right and that exclusion from education on the basis on disability is an infringement of a person's human rights.

That is why we have worked with DOZENS of families to support, advocate for and train school to better support students with disabilities.

If we had a dollar for every time we had a been to an IEP meeting, we would be in the Bahamas on a yacht drinking a mimosa right now 😂😂

WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE TO GET YOUR LEARNING THE SUPPORT THEY DESERVE!

🥰Client Success Story time!!! 🎉🥰

This family, have overcome the insurmountable to create a better life for their daughter and we are honoured to be a part of their story.

Their daughter come into Ella's care with no functional communication, and no toileting skills at all. Deeply affected by a traumatic journey from Iraq to seek Asylum in Australia, their daughter has significant support needs and only one family member who could translate from english into Arabic.

In the five months Ella has been working with this incredible families, together they have implemented a successful multi-modal communication system using Key Word Signs and an AAC device and developed functional communication with this young woman.

Additionally, starting entirely incontinent and requiring continence aids 24 hours a day. This young woman has been able to develop the skills to be able to no longer use ANY continence aids during the day, including accessing the community and while at school. No more nappies!

This family have transformed their lives with the help of Ella and we couldn't be prouder to support them.

At Ella Bailey Behaviour Consulting our aim is to provide support where is is TRULY needed.

Sometimes that is to families, and sometimes that is to those who support the families- their support worker team.

Ella Bailey Behaviour are working with to provide the highest quality information and professional development resources to support workers.

Watch this space for more details!

At EBBC, supporting families is our lifeblood. SO when we get feedback like this, from families who just want to be able to enjoy being together It makes all the hard work, MORE than worth it.

Krystyn and her family have been a pleasure to work with and we feel honoured that they have chosen us to support them on their journey.

Positive Behaviour Support should be respectful, neuroaffirming and collaborative.

Listening is the primary role of a behaviour support practitioner, hearing what a participant needs, what their community need and how we can best support them is the best offering we can make.

There are lots of ways to do unhelpful, disrespectful PBS and here at EBBC we are on a journey to continually do and be, better supports for disabled folks.

If you have been disappointed by the quality of previous behaviour proviers we would be honoured to support you.