EPISODE 13 - Coping through connecting and community with melanie dimmitt
Our guest, Melanie Dimmitt sitting on a sofa, in front of a book case. Melanie has mid length brown hair with blonde streaks and is wearing a light woolly jumper and jeans. Her hand is on her face and she is positioned to the right of the sofa, leaning on her left knee.
In this week’s episode Rina and Lauren discuss the importance of connecting with people who share your experience, building a community (hello the fkingnormal podcast!) and just how valuable this is for providing a safe space to cope through difficulties — together. They interview Australian author and advocate Melanie Dimmitt on her journey to accepting her less typical parenting path, what she has learnt and what she has gone on to do to support others in a similar position.
Mel discusses her initial feelings at her son’s diagnosis, her path to finding acceptance and how connecting with others in similar situations opened her eyes and prompted her to write her debut book. The group discuss their own routes to acceptance and how building support networks with others was the life line that they all needed. Mel speaks candidly about what she first struggled with, but also highlights just how relieving it was to find others that she could relate so deeply to.
Guest Biography
Melanie Dimmitt is an Australian freelance journalist. She is also a mother of two young children, one with profound physical disabilities and the other she describes as ‘medically boring’, but both cute as hell. She released her debut book ‘Special: Antidotes to the Obsessions that Come with a Child’s Disability’ and has written, spoken, podcasted and advocated far and wide for parent’s on similar parenting journeys. She currently heads up news and features at disability support organisation, Hireup, and publishes The Blend – an annual magazine for the tube-feeding community. She also hosts the NDIS Know-how podcast, where she aims to help parents navigate the difficult Australian disability insurance system.
Content Warnings
Diagnosis
Resources
The Blend Magazine -www.theblendmag.com
Special: Antidotes to the Obsessions that come with a child’s disability-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Special-Antidotes-obsessions-childs-disability
The NDIS Know How Podcast - https://hireup.com.au/ndis-know-how/
