Strengthening support for LGBTQ+ young people with disability

JACQUIE LEE: Hello everyone and happy Pride Month. Today, we will be exploring ways of strengthening support for LGBTQA+ young people with disability. My name is Jacquie Lee and I am a practice development officer at Emerging Minds and I am very happy to be with you all today. I would like to start by acknowledging and thanking the Kaurna people, the Traditional Custodians of the Adelaide Plains where myself and Luke are joining from today. And pay my respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their ancestors, Elders past, present and emerging, and many First Nations across the country, including the nations that Dylan and Bowie are joining us from. I would also like to acknowledge the integral role that connection, connection to land, culture, spirituality, ancestry, kin and community plays in supporting young people and their families' well-being. I'm grateful to be connecting and learning with you all today and what always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I would like to invite you now to share in the chat which lands you are joining us from today.

As always, I have a quick bit of housekeeping to get to before we get to today's session. There are live captions available for this webinar, you can follow the link in the chat box to switch on. There will be a live Q&A at the end of today's discussion. You can submit questions via the questions box in the GoTo Webinar dashboard. This webinar will be recorded and will be available in about two weeks on the AIFS and Emerging Minds website. There will be an extended Q&A discussion added onto the end of that recording, so encourage you to keep an eye on your inbox and head to the website in a couple of weeks and look out for that one.

There are some related resources and readings which are available in the handle section of your GoTo Webinar Control Panel and the bios for all of our panellists are in there as well. There is a short feedback survey that will open at the end of the webinar, it will take a couple of minutes if you have the time, we would really appreciate your feedback.

I would like to recognise the skills, strengths, and know-how that LGBTIQA+ young people with disability have. Responding to integrity on their voices and expertise and striving for a more understanding, affirming and inclusive society.

Let's get into it. Research content certainly shows that LGBTQA+ young people with disability experience higher rates of harassment, poorer mental health outcomes, and increased suicide risks than LGBTQA+ young people without disability in the general population. This is due to experiences of bias or negative attitudes from service providers, as well as structural and systemic barriers to service access. Indeed, many young people are finding it difficult to access a safe and affirming care that recognises both the LGBTQA+ identity under disability. And the lack of support can have a profound effect on their mental health and well-being.

Despite the social and systemic challenges they face though, LGBTQA+ young people with disability consistently demonstrate high levels of resilience, adaptability and strength. But they shouldn't have to. By fostering inclusive environments, supporting identity exploration, advocating for change, and understanding and validating their unique needs and preferences of each client, we can ensure LGBTQA+ and people with disability are supported to live well and enjoy the same opportunities as all young Australians.

It is now my pleasure to welcome today's panellists, Dylan McBurney, Bowie Stutchbury, and Luke Schneider. As I said, their biographies can be found on the GoTo Webinar dashboard. Let's start with a quick introductory question for each. Dylan, I will start with you. LGBTQA+ and disability are both umbrella terms that encompass a broad range of individuals and experiences. I am wondering in your work at CYDA, how do you ensure these terms are helpful and do not homogenise the experiences of young people?

DYLAN McBURNEY: Thanks, Jacquie. It is a pleasure to be here. I am a young disabled person myself, and I think umbrella terms are valuable because they are there to broadly describe these groups of people and how they exist outside of the expected norm. But obviously, there are so many diagnoses and identities within those umbrella terms. No one can be a know it all about every single experience and of course, for every intersection of every young person, there is another singular experience.

I think the most important thing when we think about these communities and accommodating the LGBT+ and disabled communities, it is who is the most vulnerable person in a group, who is the person advocated the least, and what I can do to step up and get involved. Once you make a welcoming space for the person, you'll find most people will fit in as well.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you, Dylan. That makes so much sense. I'm grateful to have you here and looking forward to hearing more from you. Bowie, it is great to see on this part of the camera.

What was the most surprising or striking thing you found when researching this topic?

BOWIE STUTCHBURY: Thanks, Jacquie. It is a strange place to be on the side, and as you alluded to, I'm normally producing the webinars. We recently did a rapid scoping review that looked at this intersection. I think the most striking thing that came up was very early on, one of my colleagues asked me, how many young people are we talking about here?

I went away and I came back, and I was like "We don't know. We don't know." Despite LGBTQA+ people and their various intersecting identities, being a priority population, and the National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ People has said that they have significant health disparities. We don't know how many people there are. And the reason we don't know how many people there are is questions about sexuality and gender haven't been in the census to date. We are not even counting these people. That's changing this year, for the first time individuals, 16 years and older, will be able to identify and say who they are, and coupled with questions about disability, this will allow us to answer more questions. It is obviously a big shift for inclusivity and better representation.

It gives us the opportunity to inform policy and the allocation of resources, and support the population's needs.

JACQUIE LEE: Wow, that is wild to me that we are in 2026, and we are just getting those fundamental demographic questions into the census. Thank you. So great to have you here with us.

Luke, it is great to see you again as well. You have talked about how person-centred carries a grounding principle for you in this work. What does that look like for you in practice?

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: Thank you, Jacquie. It is good to be here again. I am really looking forward to talking about this topic. I guess for me, person centred care means recognising that no two people experience disability, gender, sexuality, or identity in the same way. As Dylan said, categories can provide some useful information, but they don't ever tell us who a person is or truly is, what matters to them, or what support they need.

Working with children and young people as a clinical psychologist, I guess I have learnt that people can change over time. As they learn or acknowledge more about themselves and their identity, so I guess person-centred care means focusing carefully on that, on their viewpoint, and being really conscious of not making assumptions, and trying to catch yourself if you are slipping into that space of making assumptions.

I think being really careful to maintain curiosity when talking to young people, because we just don't know who we are talking to until we talk to them a lot. And we want to spend the appropriate amount of time understanding how they understand themselves, and how they are describing their identity, and what challenges they are facing. But also what their strengths and goals are as well.

I guess, overall, I'm always trying to create a space where people feel or don't feel like they have to defend their identity, where they are free to express themselves however they want to. And my role as a psychologist is to help them better understand themselves and to build the skills and confidence they need to advocate for their needs. Ultimately, hopefully that leads to them creating a life that is authentic and meaningful, and aligns with their values.

JACQUIE LEE: Yeah. Thank you, Luke. I know there is a question later on about what practical things can practitioners do to support this cohort that you have given us some really wonderful sort of grounding principles, just within that answer. Thank you, everyone. I look forward to hearing more from you all over the course of today's discussion.

So it is impossible to talk about supporting this cohort without talking about intersectionality. If you are not familiar with the term, intersectionality refers to the way in which different aspects of a person's identity can expose them to overlapping forms of discrimination and marginalisation.

LGBTQA+ young people with disability are automatically at greater risk of experiencing discrimination and disadvantage simply because they belong to multiple marginalised groups. This is just one intersection, some of the young people you work with might be at further risk due to their race, religion, level of education and/or socio-economic status. When we understand this concept of intersectionality, we are in a much better position to understand and empathise with the unique strengths and struggles of the young people we are working with. For example an autistic transgender woman will have a different experience to a gay man with intellectual disability. Sylvia Duckworth's work is a simple effective way on how power, privilege and different social identities intersect and can be used in sessions to help young people explore the different aspects of their identity and how society treats them.

Luke, can you tell us a little bit about how an intersectionality lens has helped you in your practice of working with children and young people?

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: What I will say up front is I do not see intersectional practice as a destination, I see it as an ongoing commitment or value that guides how I want to work. For me, it is about acknowledging that people don't obviously experienced their identities in isolation, as you said, they are not just autistic or intellectually disabled or LGBTQA+. It is really clear their experiences and well-being is shaped by all of the interactions of those identities.

In practical terms, we have to recognise when we are working with these people that they have to navigate how they share that information with others, and the fact that they have to think about that at all when many privileged people don't have to think about what information they share. There is this burden on that person nearly every initial attraction they have, so it's I guess that intersectional lens has helped me become more aware of the limits associated with my own lived experiences and my own assumptions.

I have said before that when we are working with someone, we don't know their story until we sit and listen to it. Maybe they have not realised their story either. When we are working with intersectional populations, the ideal is to work carefully with curiosity and respect, and openness and willingness to hear anything, and making sure the young person understands that. And to keep reflecting on our own blind spots so that we can work effectively with them.

Bringing intersectionality in mind has helped me with differential diagnosis as well. The challenge than might appear to be related to anxiety or disability specific stuff may actually be connected to that person's experiences at an intersection where they have faced chronic discrimination, exclusion, had to mask, or feeling unsafe to express an aspect of their identity.

Intersectionality is critical when we are trying to conceptualise what is going on with someone. it also draws our attention to people's incredible insight and strength. People who are existing at these intersections are often super empathetic and insightful, and I think it is really important when we are working with young people who have intersecting identities, to really recognise and celebrate those strengths as well as all the challenges that come with their experiences.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you Luke, I think that last point is especially important and it is a way in which the wheel can be used as well, to draw out both the strengths and the struggles for those identities.

 You mentioned in there the initial burdens that can come with intersecting identities. Where intersectionality helps us understand how young people are marginalised, the minority stress model you can see on screen can help us understand the impact this marginalisation has on young people's mental health development and overall well-being.

Bowie, now you have recently written some resources that include minority stress model and talk about how it can be helpful in understanding the experiences of LGBTQIA+ young people with disability. Could you unpack that a little bit for us?

BOWIE STUTCHBURY: Absolutely. Firstly, I want to say those things Luke said was why I wanted him on the panel so bad, because that kind of reflection and using that lens every day and the curiosity.

This model is used by researchers who study actual minority health and well-being, so originally from Meyer in 2003, and it describes everything Luke was talking about, additional psychological and physiological burdens of these people. I know with the audience we have here today, we all know what stress feels like. It is hard. The work we do can be difficult and we have stressful days and times, not getting funding. But often this stress is situational or temporary.

The thing with minority stress is it is chronic. To socially construct, and on the left you can see societal context that we are talking about. Heteronormative, cisnormativity, ableist, that is the world we live in. That means the society, whether it is explicitly or implicitly, is telling you as the young person at this intersection that you are less valued, less legitimate and less safe.

These stressors, they are divided into proximal and distal, internal and external, and you can see one of the examples here. I want to stress the non-overtness of some of this, it's like death by a thousand cuts. Some ways it has manifested for me – I am non-binary – I am talking on the phone and I mentioned my partner, they assume it is a man. Walk into a restaurant with a group of femme-presenting people, "Ladies." This misgendering and constant feeling of being less valued, I feel it in my body as a stress. These stresses built up over time. this way you all come in, is affirming relationships and resilience that come from the individual. That protective buffer can really mitigate some of the outcomes we do see.

The other thing we are seeing is raise emerging research that suggests that young people with these multiple marginalised identities such as the young people at this intersection, are disproportionately experiencing adverse outcomes related to minority stress. It is this layer upon layer of multiple marginalised identities. Very helpful when you are thinking about the young people who are coming into your services and you are interacting with.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you, Bowie. Dylan, thinking about both your work and your own lived experience, what difference does it make for a young person when their practitioners understand this concept?

DYLAN McBURNEY: A marker for a safe lesson in system is the language they use. It's the first thing young people will notice about how you speak to them, and we can tell that people, you can tell when people are using the language the community accepts, that is affirming and strength base, and we can tell when it is not. It is not as simple as using the wrong word, because sometimes we see it as OK, I see the beliefs this person holds and what their attitudes are towards my community. My cat desperately wants to star in the webinar!

When that language is not affirming, you see that as a red flag. The positive language can be a huge green flag, it can be so powerful support. With the wheel of power and privilege, the power dynamic of wider society comes into the space with us when we are at an appointment, and a clinic, and we hear on affirming language, sometimes we can go into defence mode, where this has reminded me that people who hold over me do not respect me or understand my experience, and now I feel like I have to advocate for my right to be here and for my right to be who I am.

Can make for a really difficult positive relationship been a clinician, service provider and a young person, because the more barriers you break down, the more honest and vulnerable they can be with you, the closer that professional relationship can be. That is so important. Power imbalance, for example, is lowered when it is a lived experience work but, if a trans person is speaking to another transverse and providing their care. And the difficulty with intersectionality is maybe they are there for you in fully understanding of trans communities, but they don't understand your disability and are not giving you accommodations for that. You have to affirm yourself, advocate for yourself in another way.

Saying that, lived experience workers are incredibly helpful when working with young people, but there are nondisabled, cisgender, straight practitioners who are so understanding and genuinely involved in community, that you can't tell the difference. anyone can be that support system, and when you find that person who understands you and believes you, our of that cannot be understated. Even one singular person can make a huge difference in the well-being of a young person.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you, Dylan, that is such a powerful message and I imagine everyone who is tuning into the webinar is here because they want to be that kind of person.

Bowie, what does the research say about identity and mental exploration in young LGBTQIA+ people with disability?

BOWIE STUTCHBURY: I know Luke and Dylan have touched on this, the identity piece. It was a strong theme in the literature that we looked at regarding the experiences of LGBTQIA+ young people with disability's identity, to define it briefly, in this context it refers to an individual sense of who they are. We all have identity. It is more than a list of characteristics, and an important thing is it is fluid and evolving process. It is shaped by relationships, social environments, and our lived experience.

The developmental piece is also important. Adolescence and into emerging adulthood, people are exploring. I don't know if people were ever emo... people are seeking autonomy from their family and want greater connection with their peers. What really became apparent in the literature was for young people with disability, they were less able to explore this queer identity. The examples of young people not coming out to their support workers was because they fear for their safety. Or there was one study looking at his inability to explore the social environment so critical to this identity formation.

When I was young, newly out, went to Copenhagen, and I would go to the street, near the bars, I walked up and down the street in that sense of seeing a lesbian and a gay man, and it felt incredible. There was this thing that came out of young people not being able to go to those places where you can connect with community because of their disability, or feeling excluded because they are not safe and accessible.

Affirming people's identity, which I know Dylan mentioned already, it is so critical because – one thing I forgot to say, the self acceptance and developing a positive relationship to your own sense of identity, no matter who you are, is critical to well-being. And how much harder that is when the whole of society is telling you that you are less valued or less legitimate.

Lease that practitioners and service providers can do is stepping into a room and being a safe person, being a safe space, and using language and dropping all your assumptions about gender and sexual identity, it will go a long way to making these young people feel like the amazing people they are.

JACQUIE LEE: Thanks. Dylan, what has exploring your identity been like for you as a young LGBTQIA+ person with disability? Bowie has mentioned some things, you mentioned some things previously. I am curious to hear what has helped or made it harder to explore who you are.

DYLAN McBURNEY: My disabled identity and queer identity are almost separate, because I came out as trans when I was 14, I went through my medical transition, and it was not until a few years into that that I started to identify with the term disabled and to understand that my chronic illness was not the norm and I have things that needed to be explored.

Informing my trans pride, was a huge part of who I was. I was this really steadfast advocate, I had this one experience that I have to share with people or it will be something that haunts me in the back of my brain for ever, where I was singing at a concert, at church, and they were doing the nativity scene and they said "Three wise men, who wants to be the three wise men?" Me going, "I am a man, I am transgender," I put my hand up, they said "OK, we will have four wise men," because everyone had been selected in advance. I was so enthusiastic to advocate for my gender identity that I had encroached on this nativity scene, not being Christian myself at all. (Laughs) I have a lot of peers that have that shared experience. It came to me easily, that pride. But there was never a moment where I wasn't completely confident on who I was in my right to exist. And as I started to explore my disability identity, because it is not as simple as societal barriers in the way. My disability makes it pretty hard most of the time, chronic pain and chronic illness. Finding pride in that identity is not so easy. There was a different experience for me.

The pride comes from my resilience and the positivity and optimism I find in having my disability. It has led me to incredible opportunities like speaking on this webinar. Strong connections with people around me, because everyone has some proximity to disability in their life. It is not simple. If you're trying to figure out your queer identity and pride at the same time as your disability or growing up with your disability, finding pride in both of those things is hard.

When your disability intersects, if you are a young person with a facial difference, your relationship to sexuality is going to be more complex. It is going to be harder to find a pride in that identity. Even the ways that my intersection affects me, I went to the women's Hospital to get an ultrasound, and that's something that is very daunting for someone in this intersection. It was almost as if the staff had been trained for this and they can finally let loose for the first time. They were excited and they were so affirming. It was really cool to see that both parts of my identity was accepted in that space. And understanding the structural barriers of having to go to a women's hospital and get a procedure for women is difficult, and they did everything they could to accommodate me. And that was really exciting.

I think it is always, yeah, I think pride is such an interesting, you know, Pride Month now. Next month is disability pride month. Something that I have certainly experienced and every young person will experiences having pride in my identity is different based on my sexuality, gender, what disability I have.

It is a long process. And having people there that understand that, that are there for you, give you the time and space to figure that out is invaluable to a young person's development.

JACQUIE LEE: Absolutely. Thank you. Sorry, my headset died. I had to try to fix that.

DYLAN McBURNEY: You are a bit quiet, but you are fine now.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you, Dylan. Some amazing reflections in there and it is good to hear those good news stories as well, the care that you received in the hospital. Luke, we've had a few questions come through from the audience about the correlation between neurodivergence and LGBTQIA+ identity. I know you work with a lot of autistic children and young people. I'm curious to know what you found helpful in supporting them in exploring their gender identity and sexuality.

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: It is interesting, because my work context not always, but often people will come to me pretty early on in their journey as an autistic person. This is something that has been recently affirmed for them. It is interesting that that part is already out there.

And so, what I try to do, and obviously, you know, every young person that walks through the door, we are not questioning them about their gender identity and sexuality. What we are trying to do is send subtle messages and create a space where everyone is welcome and this is a space where they can explore or be curious about their identity. And we try to encourage that through language use, as Bowie and Dylan have both said. Through not making neuro, not neuronormative, but heteronormative assumptions as well. Being careful not to pathologise the exploration of identity, because these are young people I am working with. It is a completely normal developmental process to be curious about sexuality and other aspects of identity.

I guess depending on who the individual is and what is going on for them, I guess I find it helpful in one way or another to explore their take on the differences between things like interests, personality, gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation, of course. Because often, and I think for kids, those concepts can be all bundled together and they don't necessarily know how they can be separated out. I also approach my work with a neurodiversity affirming lens and I find it helpful in supporting other aspects of identity because when I'm talking to young people with a neurodiversity affirming headset on, it is always about questioning neuro or typical assumptions and the way things are supposed to be done, and who we are supposed to be. That really sets the scene for someone being able to step outside what they think is a typical profile.

I think it is really about setting the scene and inviting reflection on their social world and social experiences as well, what sort of social relationships they like, what do they want, what do they value in others, and what connections are they seeking, and what do they imagine it is going to look like in their future for them? If you are asking these questions without inserting your own values or assumptions I should say, hopefully that will create a space where they can say anything and feel comfortable exploring that.

I guess there are some other things. I think you mentioned a question about practical tips coming up. Maybe I will save the other parts for that. There are signals that you can send.

JACQUIE LEE: Well, that's the next question I have on my list.

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: OK.

JACQUIE LEE: What are some small practical changes people can make immediately to create more inclusive and safe environments for LGBTQA+ young people with disability? I'm thinking both clinical and education settings, because we have quite a few people in the audience who are working in schools. While it is fresh in your mind, Luke, I will throw back to you.

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: I was thinking about as has already been mentioned and like I said, language use, being careful to if you are asking about or if they mentioned something about our partner, absolutely not making any assumptions about the gender of that partner. Using neutral phrasing like they/them until you know how that person likes to be identified. Of course in our practice we ask that from the get go about the individual of course, how they identify. Obviously, that is a small change that can be made everywhere and it sends a message that this is OK, that this is an accepting place for different identities.

I mean, I have got something here on my desk. I have a Lego set which is the everyone is awesome Lego set. Which I didn't put up as a statement piece, but I have had people commenting that upon their first meeting in my office signalling that I am a safe person to reveal aspects of their identity to. I heard it from child clients and also people coming in for job interviews. There are little things you can do that signal safety — having representation, the books we've got, the posters we've got, the types of resources you are using, how do they depict people in relationships. There are so many things like that. What is the opposite of death by a thousand cuts? Safety by a thousand Band-Aids? I don't know. Having lots of different things, subtle things around that hopefully the cumulative benefit is someone feels safe.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you. Dylan, what are your thoughts?

DYLAN McBURNEY: I am going to steal safety by a thousand Band-Aids. That's a really lovely way to put it, because invisible affirmation is a huge thing. Not every young person you work with and not every one of you listening today has a role where you can ask, what is your identity? What is your pronouns? You have to be able to prove you're a safe person without explicitly bringing it up most of the time.

I think it is having as much of that is you can but not all of you have to be covered in rainbows. For example, in a school counsellor's office, a poster that says some people use they/them pronouns. Some people might say that and go OK, the school has put this up. What does this say about how this person will treat me though? If you see on someone's desk they have a little Lego set, they have little flags and books about the queer experience, OK, this is not a space they have tried to make affirming. This is someone who is genuinely affirming, they are genuinely putting in the work. Drop things into conversations as well. Not so explicitly, if that is something that would be helpful as well.

Often, if I'm speaking to someone and if they might be disabled, if I was coming up to someone at the train station the other day. "Where are you from, where do you live?" I don't think this person is equipped, I think they are just autistic and this is how they make friends. I said hi to them, I have a disability, this is how it impacted my day. And he was really excited to share that he has autism. I didn't ask anything about his identity. I didn't project my assumptions to him. I said something about myself that showed him I was a safe person and an understanding person to talk about that way.

Mention a family member or friend, a book you read, an article, ways you engage with their disabled or queer community in a way that is an invitation for that young person to share as much as they are comfortable with.

JACQUIE LEE: That invitation is the word that was coming to my mind as well, not explicitly asking and forcing the person to disclose anything to you. Giving them subtle opportunities that build up over time. Bowie, any further thoughts?

BOWIE STUTCHBURY: Just briefly, I just love this question, because it is acknowledging the changes are small. They do not have to be massive. Luke and Dylan have both said that. A good place to start is your intake forms. The number of times I've had to draw an extra box for myself and colour it in, it is that subtle thing I've Oh God, they may have a rainbow flag up, they may have the flag up, but you need to go to how people come into your service. Preferred name is another big one. A lot of people, I have socially transitioned, but I have not legally transitioned. My Medicare card has my old name. When you go to affirming places, they will only call you by your preferred name. That's the most important thing, but I have experiences of people shouting my old name out in the waiting room. And as I said, stress response in the body, it is not pleasant.

The work is never done. Designing and redesigning spaces. This is based on need and the people coming to your door. Queer Hub, they opened just for LGBTQIA young people, and quickly realised they needed to add in neuro-affirming practices: dimming lights, fidget toys, slow introductions. These small changes, it doesn't end, and it never will, but that's OK, you are here and learning and that's the most important part.

DYLAN McBURNEY: Something that is true for both of us, no one can have every lived experience. We all still hold biases about these identity. It's a learning process for everyone.

JACQUIE LEE: It's not about being perfect when it's about how you repair if you do accidentally miss gender someone or use the wrong language on something.

You have any thoughts or examples on how people can repair that relationship, in those moments? Best response?

DYLAN McBURNEY: When you said everyone is learning, did you use disability mentorship program once, and my mentor did not have  game disability as me. The first time we met she said, when you sent me your introductory email, I caught up with my friend with fibromyalgia and learn what it was. Going to the effort to learn about my experience, that was hugely appreciated and very meaningful. All you have to your au pair, what have you built? Have you put in the effort to try and see this person for who they are? Have you used the right language? That will make a big difference in how big is the rift in this relationship, and the amount of power you hold as well, how much you can hurt someone by using language that is not affirming.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you. We have come to the Q&A portion of today's webinar, and again will be the extended Q&A recorded as well after this.

We have had quite a few questions come through around parents and families. We know that consistent nurturing relationships and save supporting environments are essential to all children and young mental health, but especially important when the child or young person is marginalised.

What can practitioners do to support the families of LGBTQIA+ young people with disability, particularly those who might not understand or accept the young person's identity?

Luke, maybe I will start with you.

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: When I have had this conversation, I start at the point of trying to find shared goals. Most families, even if they are a bit confused or feeling confronted or distressed by something about their child's identity, they want that child to be safe, happy, and grow up to have a great life.

And it is about exploring what the challenge is for those parents. Often my experience, I have found parents are scared, they are scared and worried, and they are worried for the challenges their child may face. They're not actually worried or upset by a child's identity. They are worried about their child being bullied or excluded, or being discriminated against. Sometimes resistance comes from that place.

Usually with enough gentle support in validating those fears, because those fears are worth validating, but of course we have to be careful not to validate the rejection or the criticism that may be secondary to that worry. Validating those concerns, certainly. And exploring with them how they can provide a consistent, nurturing, accepting environment for that person whilst they are on this journey of understanding what their child is presenting with.

Working with the family is my answer, to try to find out everyone's perspective and what is really going on for them. And just thinking about the context of disability as well, and not wanting – or just being mindful when we are talking to children and parents that this exploration is not being pathologised attributed to disability in some way. great my elder is intellectually disabled and they have seen this on TV and that is who they think they are." No, even disabled people have their own gender and sexual identities. Gently, not like that, gently providing support to families to come to that realisation.

DYLAN McBURNEY: I think often you will see experiences, parents' experiences will be grieving their child in a way. For trans people, people who are not straight, it is grieving "I wanted you to have grandchildren, I have lost my daughter." For someone diagnosed with a disability, from the parents who live in complete denial of "No, that can't be, that is not how I know you." It is this vision of their children as adults leading a happy and fulfilling life that they have held onto, and when that vision changes, it's really scary because you question "Is my child going to have a successful future? Are they going to be happy?"

The way to support parents getting through that is to build a new picture of what their child's future can be. For everyone, but specifically for disabled people, it is so important for parents to see people with the same diagnosis as their child leading happy lives in adulthood, leading successful lives, following their passions, having partners, all the things that an adult does. As a practitioner, you are not always going to have the you can refer them to assure you can just go to see this service, you can go to this website. Not every parent will have access to all of that.

You recommending things like going out and finding some that created to live with the same identity and disability, like movies, TV shows, finding ways to create that new future their child can live. One thing that is hugely important for young people into sub I have heard from LGBTQ+ before I have worked with as well as young people with disability, is that they want this information to come from disabled people, they want their parents to learn from people with the same lived experience. It is a huge discussion in disability rights, for example there are a lot of really toxic online communities out there where parents think that they are in a supportive group of people with autistic children, and what it really is is a deficit based, really pathologising, and not supportive, and it is harming their children.

We all want to see their parents engaging with disabled adults, with speakers, content creators, and with true disabled stories. The same can be said of queer people. If your parents have never really seen queer adult thing happy lives, never seen trans people 10 or 20 years into their transition, they will not be able to see that future for their children, and that is really hard. How can you create a new vision of the future where the parents get to see their child growing up happily, and children get to see themselves in that future as well.

JACQUIE LEE: I imagine there – if you are living rurally or in a rural or remote region, it would be even more important, apps online in media, because you are likely to come across people it can share that.

Bowie, you tell us about the Drummond Street program?

BOWIE STUTCHBURY: I think Dylan and Luke spoke so beautifully, Drummond Street runs a seven-week program. There is such high demand that there is a massive waitlist at the moment. I think the peer support piece is really important, because the same vein of they can't see what their child's life, and they need to reimagine and see that again, parents need to learn that its OK to be a parent of a trans or gender diverse child. Seeing other people who celebrate, this is something worth celebrating.

We included studies which included parents, and everything Dylan said, the feelings came up in a lot of the qualitative studies that included families. All those emotions. It is holding space for those because we are all human, we have emotions.

JACQUIE LEE: We are coming towards the end of today's webinar, and we have so many more questions from the audience we could ask.

Maybe one take away you could offer the audience. Dylan?

DYLAN McBURNEY: Allow young people you work with to have first gender and sexuality, allow them to have a disability. Often when you hear back, there is resistance or bias or fear of I want you to be sure about this because having this identity comes with stigma. But if you experience that resistance the young person telling you who they are, really examine that.

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: I want to encourage people to engage in reflective practice, and what assumptions did I make, what do I ask of them, and is that feasible for them, what do they actually need from me, and how do I amplify their voice, not replace it. I think just there are lots of little things we can all do when we are working with young people to again, signal safety. I think that is a really conscious thing we can all do.

JACQUIE LEE: Bowie?

BOWIE STUTCHBURY: There are some incredible resources that exist in the handouts tab. I will draw attention to Our Rainbow Lives, which includes plain language and easy read versions, and it is an introduction to everything we are speaking about today. LGBTQIA+ identity, experiences, sexuality, gender and body. And the other one is 'Our Voices, Our Lives, Our Ways' from LGBTQIA+ Health Australia, and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance. A mouthful! It's an accessible online resource, it has Auslan, adjustable accessibility. It is created by people at this intersection for people at this intersection. There is a lot, you just need to have it visible and in your arsenal, and you will all do great work by referring to them.

JACQUIE LEE:

Thank you, everyone. You can find and act with our panellist on LinkedIn. Thank you to the AIFS communication team, and the evaluation team, and thank you did all of you for taking time out of your busy days to join us for this really important conversation.

Subscribe to the AIFS and Emerging Minds newsletters to be notified about when the recording is available, and please don't forget to fill out the short feedback survey at the end of the webinar. Your responses help us to improve and guide our future webinar offerings. Speaking of which, I'm looking forward to AIFS next webinar on Wednesday, 8 July, which is on creative approaches for supporting child and adolescent mental health and well-being. And my colleagues from magic mines will be back with AIFS for another webinar on tolerating uncertainty later in July.

Reminder as well the early bird registration for AIFS conference are open for a few more days. Inference is taking place in Melbourne from 9th to 11 September and pulls together government practictioners with researchers to explore how best to support families.

Until then, please take care of yourselves and each other, and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Bye for now.

JACQUIE LEE: Hi everyone, and welcome back to our webinar on strengthening support for LGBTQ+ young people with disability and to our extended Q&A. I’ll get straight into it. Luke, I think a lot of practitioners might feel they don’t have the right knowledge or skills to work with LGBTQ+ young people with disability. What advice would you have for professionals who are less confident in supporting young people at this intersection of experience?

DR LUKE SCHNEIDER: It’s a great question. I think few practitioners will feel fully confident at the intersection of disability, neurodivergence, gender and sexual identity. If we all waited until we felt fully prepared, that would delay or deny support for many young people who are already likely to be feeling isolated and disconnected. This work is also often unavoidable. People do exist at intersections, and you may not fully realise that until you are in an established therapeutic relationship. It would not be in the client’s best interest to discharge them on that basis. Apart from the gap in service provision that would cause for the young person, it could also send a really harmful message about their identity: that this is something a practitioner cannot work with. Instead, I think we need to focus on the core competencies we have as clinicians and seek supervision where needed. I’m speaking here in the context of being a psychologist, but this could mean seeking supervision from a peer who has relevant experience.

Overall, our role as practitioners, whatever type of practitioner we are, is to create a space where young people can safely explore their identity and make sense of their experiences over time without fear of judgement, punishment or rejection. I think most of us have the skill set for that. As I mentioned earlier, discomfort is a useful cue for reflective practice: What is it about this area that makes me uncomfortable? What biases or assumptions might be at play for me and make this tricky? That is a great way to build your skill set and confidence. Being confident enough to explore this with a client sends a helpful message that their experience is valid and normal, that it is nothing to be ashamed of, that you as an adult can manage it, and that you are open to learning from them. That positions them as the expert, which I think is really empowering.

JACQUIE LEE: Yes, and learning outside the sessions as well, so the burden isn’t always on them to educate you. I’m also thinking about the webinar we have coming up on tolerating uncertainty, and how much uncertainty there can be when you are working at intersections you don’t have experience in. Thank you. Dylan, I was wondering if you had any tips on working in this sector and navigating this space. As someone who is living at this intersection, what role does self-disclosure play, and what do you need to keep in mind?

DYLAN McBURNEY: I think young people often face limiting expectations about who they should be, and that is difficult for queer and disabled young people. It is also helpful to understand that, as a practitioner, you may have assumptions about how you are meant to behave and who you are meant to be, and those assumptions may clash with parts of your identity as well. Safety and wellbeing always need to be at the forefront, but I encourage people to challenge the ways we work and the systems we work within, because they were not made for all of us to work in. I think the biggest mistake a non-queer, non-disabled practitioner can make is assuming that all queer people and all disabled people are clients and patients, and never co-workers, because often they are. One way to break that down is to think about how you work: changing position, stimming, or doing what is comfortable for your body. Try to let down your mask where you can. Some of the ways I do that in my work include turning my camera on and off during online meetings when I need to, changing position, or moving between my table, desk and couch.

In my research work, people generally do not expect a researcher to interview a participant and then start talking about their own life. But when I am speaking with young people through my lived experience and they say something I relate to or resonate with, I might take time to say, “Yes, I relate to this. I had a similar experience.” That can create better outcomes from the interview because you establish that you are a person they can have an honest conversation with, and someone they do not have to justify themselves to, explain things to or educate. That is another way my lived experience means I work differently from what may be expected of me. It is also important to understand that it can be emotionally difficult to hear about negative experiences from people who share your lived experience. Politically, it is a difficult time to be a person with disability, and it is difficult to be a queer person, with the NDIS and trans healthcare often in the news.

That can be damaging to you as a practitioner, especially when it is closely entwined with your work and you work with many people who share this lived experience. It can be hard to maintain work-life balance when these things are so intertwined. Giving yourself space to process and rest is really important when you can, and when your role allows it. Discuss it with your manager, see whether you can join or create a peer working group within your industry, and consider finding a mentor who has worked in lived experience roles for longer and has further insights. It is something I am still learning to do sustainably, and it is never as easy as not having that lived experience. But understanding the value that can come from sharing lived experience with the young person you are supporting is huge. You could be the only person, or the only adult, in their life who has that. For all the things that make it difficult, there are also so many things that make it really meaningful.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you, Dylan. Bowie, I’ll finish with you. The research you have done looked at the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people, and we know that many individuals say they knew from an early age that their gender or sexuality was different to what they had been assigned at birth. How can professionals take a proactive approach to supporting gender and sexual identity exploration in younger children, such as primary school-aged children with disability?

BOWIE STUTCHBURY: Thanks, Jacquie. As you said, the research we looked at included people aged 9 to 24. One thing that came up was the importance of role models. I think that applies to everyone, no matter their age. We all know that books are a great way to start conversations with young people. There are the Little People, Big Dreams books, and a few of those are about LGBTQIA+ identities. Some other books I have on my bookshelf include Introducing Teddy, My Shadow is Pink and Who Am I? I Am Me. There are links to those in the handout. The important thing is that these books benefit all people. There can be a tendency to think, “Here is a queer mum; we’ll give them the book about having two mums.” When my first child was born, I was given multiple copies of Mommy, Mama, and Me, which was nice, but my kids see that every day. That is normal until someone suggests it is not. So if you are a practitioner and you have books in your waiting room, include books that show different gender identities and sexualities.

We all deserve to be celebrated. There are everyday role models, like the peer support workers Dylan was talking about, and there are also the famous role models. There are queer people with disability who are succeeding in Hollywood, and it is so important for young people to see that and think, “This is possible.” The more families have these books and conversations early, the more accepting children and parents are likely to be when there is a gender diverse child at kinder, when someone has two mums, or when someone is talking about their sexuality or gender.

The other piece is that children with disability, regardless of the type of disability, have the right to age-appropriate education about same-sex attraction, their bodies and gender. It is about finding resources that can inform you and that you can share with the people you work with. It should not be something that is kept private and only raised if there is a question. It should simply be available. The more open and honest conversations we have about this, the more likely it is that young people will move through life feeling that they are just as legitimate, safe and valued in this world.

JACQUIE LEE: Thank you, Bowie. Thank you again to the three of you for sharing your time and wisdom with us today. I have loved talking with and learning from you, and I wish you all the best in your work. Thank you, everyone, for tuning in. We look forward to seeing you again at the next webinar. Thanks, everyone