This conversation with Matt Brown—a Spoony user all the way from Canada—left us feeling all the feels. Matt shared what it was like to be diagnosed with cancer just before the first major COVID lockdown, and how he got through it.
A passionate gamer, Matt now works in the adaptive gaming space, helping make games more accessible for people with diverse access needs. He also runs charitable livestreams and leads an organisation that delivers care packages to people newly diagnosed with cancer—offering comfort during one of the hardest moments of their lives.
Find our recommendations here:
'So Thrilled for You’ by Holly Bourne
‘Then Barbara Met Alan’ on Netflix
Matt’s story is one of strength, creativity, and community—and we’re so grateful he shared it with us.
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
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Connect with Matt here.
AI—it’s the buzzword on everyone’s lips. Is it going to blow up the planet? Take all our jobs? Or could it actually do something good—like improve healthcare for the people who need it most?
That’s exactly what Elise is on a mission to do. She’s using AI to drive better health outcomes for underserved communities—and she also happens to be one of our brilliant Spoony advisors, out there fighting the good fight.
Recommendations:
Whoop Band for symptom tracking ⌚
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55134106-unseen 📚
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
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All the way from the UK, the lovely Zara Beth joined us for a chat about growing up disabled, navigating friendships, and finding her people through online communities. We talked about disability advocacy, Tourette’s camp, life with tics—and so much more.
We could’ve chatted with Zara for hours, and we think you’ll feel the same way. 💜
Recommendations:
'Embrace Your ADHD Chaos' podcast
https://open.spotify.com/show/3GIdvzjyRnl3Moh0X14vCU
'Like a Charm' by Elle McNicoll
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60133202-like-a-charm?ref=nav_sb_ss_5_13
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
Connect with Zara and find her online communities here.
There’s a lot of misinformation, confusion, and unclear research when it comes to chronic and invisible illnesses. So we sat down with someone who lives and breathes this work every day to help cut through the noise.
Jennifer Smallridge is an Exercise Physiologist who specialises in chronic, complex, and invisible illnesses. She provides patient-centred, individualised care to people navigating these conditions—and brings deep knowledge and compassion to every conversation. Jen was an absolute ray of sunshine to chat with, and we know you’ll love this episode!
Recommendations:
‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ on Netflix
‘A Kind of Spark’ By Ellie McNicoll
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
Find Jennifer Smallridge at:
Website - https://www.jennifersmallridge.com.au/Find Invisibly Brilliant at:
Website - https://www.invisiblybrilliant.com.au/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/invisibly_brilliant/Find Connection Medicine at:
Website - https://www.connectionmedicine.co/
Instagram - https://www.connectionmedicine.co/
In this episode, we’re joined by Carter—creator of the Touched Out podcast—for an honest, funny, and deeply relatable chat about parenting (and also just *life*) while neurodivergent.
We dive into the messy realities of raising kids, managing overstimulation, and navigating mental health as parents who don’t always fit the mould. Whether you’re juggling meltdowns (yours or theirs), feeling all the feels, or just need a reminder that you’re not alone—this one’s for you.
Recommendations:
‘Say Hello’ by Carly Findlay 📚
‘The Search for Australia’s Worst Con-Woman’ 🎥
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
Connect with Carter and the awesome work he’s doing here.
A little takeover episode, if you will. This week on the pod, we sat down together to have a bit of a deeper chat and connect over our shared lived-experience with neurodivergence, chronic illness and disability.
We touch on things like the social isolation we’ve both experienced, finding your people, masking, and even dating! We really enjoyed this honest, open and vulnerable chat, and we hope you guys do too. 💜
Recommendations:
‘The Blind Sea’ on Netflix
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
To all the ADHD’ers in our Spoony community — we see you, we hear you, and we know there are a lot of you! You asked for an expert who *gets* ADHD, and we’ve delivered. 🎧
This week, we’re joined by the incredible Janelle Booker — a psychologist who not only works with ADHD’ers, but is one herself. We chatted with Janelle about what ADHD actually is, how it shows up differently for different people, the Highly Sensitive Person trait, and more.
Plus, we answered your questions from the community! Strap in, Spoonies. This one’s a goodie.
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
Check out more of Janelle here.
Travel is meant to open up the world—but for millions of disabled and chronically ill people, it too often remains out of reach.
That’s something Jen Clark is determined to change. In this episode, we chat with Jen about Heartful—her new platform that's shaking up the travel industry by putting accessibility and social impact at the centre of the experience.
Heartful is a socially conscious accommodation booking site designed to make travel more inclusive, more ethical, and more sustainable. Whether it's wheelchair-friendly stays, sensory-sensitive spaces, or eco-conscious getaways, Jen is building a future where travel works for everyone. Tune in to learn more!
Recommendations:
‘Different not less’ by Chloe Hayden 📚
'Eventually, Everything Connects' by Sarah Firth 📚
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find us at:
School is hard enough — now imagine navigating it with only 30% vision, in an environment that wasn’t built for you, all while trying to hide it from your peers. That was Chanelle Morris’s reality growing up. In this episode, Chanelle shares how those early experiences shaped her self-belief, how a trip to New Zealand helped her reclaim her identity as a proud disabled woman, and how she became a public speaker (and Spoony ambassador!). It’s an inspiring, heartfelt, and powerful conversation you won’t want to miss.
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find our recommendations here:
Melbourne Aquarium Sensory Session 🪼
Find us at:
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Follow Chanelle Morris on IG here.
Catch up with Chanelle’s news on TikTok here
You can also connect with Chanelle on her website.
In this episode, we were thrilled to chat with the amazing Eliza Hull — a talented musician, proud disabled woman, passionate disability advocate, and all-round brilliant human. We talked about the barriers disabled artists face in the music industry, what it was like for Eliza to begin identifying as disabled later in life, and how powerful it is to find community with other disabled folks. ✨
Transcripts available here. 💜
We’re also on YouTube!
Find our recommendations here:
Zara Beth 👩🦼
‘We’ve Got This: Stories by Disabled Parents’ by Eliza Hull 📚
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
Follow Eliza Hull on IG here.
You can also connect with Eliza via her website.
Find Eliza’s playlist here
In this episode, we sit down with Spoony’s founder, Nicholas Carlton, to hear the story behind Spoony. From his own experience with chronic illness to building one of the world’s largest communities for neurodivergent, chronically ill, and disabled people—Nicholas shares what inspired him to start Spoony, the highs and lows along the way, and his hopes for the future of the platform. A little BTS of Spoony, if you will! ✨
We’re also on YouTube!
Find our recommendations here:
'Late Bloomer' By Clem Bastow 📚
‘Autistic In a Non-Autistic World’ - Podcast Episode 🎙️
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
When Jane was diagnosed with cancer, she quickly discovered how limited clothing options were for people undergoing treatment and living with a chronic illness. Each day brought countless decisions—and choosing what to wear shouldn’t have to be one of them. She needed clothes that were comfortable, treatment-friendly, and still made her feel like herself.
So, she set out to change that, and Brighter Day was born: adaptive clothing that offers choice, autonomy, and a way to reclaim dignity—one bright outfit at a time.
Find our recommendations here:
‘I’ll let myself in’ by Hannah Diviney 📚
ADHD section of the ‘Calm’ App 📱
Find us at:
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Want more of Jane & Brighter Day? We’ve got more!
When Claire Jensz was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at just 28, it was a life-changing moment she never saw coming—let alone something she'd one day turn into a hit Netflix film.
This week, we sat down with Claire to talk about her MS journey, from the early days of diagnosis to navigating friendships, rediscovering love, and channelling it all into her powerful film Take My Hand.
Claire opened up about the reality of living with a chronic illness, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, and what it was like to reflect on her experience through the lens of filmmaking—and so much more.
Find our recommendations here:
‘I Hope This Finds You Well’ by Natalie Sue 📚
Sitting Pretty by Rebekah Tausigg 📚
Find us at:
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Want more of Claire? We’ve got more!
This week on the pod, we had the absolute pleasure of chatting with the lovely Carly Findlay. Carly is an appearance activist, writer, speaker, disability advocate, Spoony ambassador and all ‘round wonderful human (with the most wonderful and colourful wardrobe!). Carly shared her experiences of growing up disabled in a small country town, the importance of finding community, navigating a recent cancer diagnosis, and all things authenticity and advocacy.
Find our recommendations here:
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
Follow Carly on IG here.
You can also connect with Carly via her website.
Ever wondered how Spoony transformed from just an idea into the brand it is today? Meet Anja & Emma from Shadowboxer—the powerhouse duo who helped shape our early thoughts and concepts into the vibrant identity you see now.
From day one, they’ve been behind the scenes, co-building Spoony alongside our community—listening, documenting feedback, ensuring accessibility needs are considered, and leaning into what people truly love.
If you’ve been part of this journey, this episode is for you. And if you’re new here, it’s the perfect introduction to the ‘why’ behind our brand and platform, plus all the small but meaningful details that make Spoony so special.
We’re also on YouTube!
Find our recommendations here:
'The Year I Met My Brain' by Matilda Boseley
Find us at:
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This week on the pod, we’re joined by Hayley and Kate—the dynamic duo from Melba Support—who are leading the charge in person-led disability support services across regional Victoria.
We dive into Melba’s human-rights framework, the importance of disability-led services, and the crucial role of intimacy and connection. Hayley and Kate also share how Melba stays at the forefront of innovation and what still needs to change in the disability support space.
It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss!
Find out more about Melba Support here.
Transcripts available here. 💜
We're also on YouTube!
Find our recommendations here:
'Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life' by Alice Wong
'How to Endo' by Bridget Hustwaite
Find us at:
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Growing up as a neurodivergent child comes with challenges. So does raising one and advocating for their needs. But what if it didn’t have to be so overwhelming?
Meet Laetitia Andrac, founder of Understanding Zoe - an app designed to help parents navigate the flood of information, emotional overwhelm, and daily challenges of raising a neurodivergent child.
We chat with Laetitia about her lived experience as a neurodivergent parent, how she worked alongside other parents to co-design Understanding Zoe, and the profound impact an app like this can have on neurodivergent children, families, and their support networks.
Find out more about Understanding Zoe here.
Transcripts available here.💜
Find our recommendations here:
'Psychology of your 20's podcast'
'Breath' by Carly Jay-Metcalfe
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, and be on the invite list to our community events. 💌
Tired of adaptive clothing that feels medical, boring, or outdated? So were Emma and Molly - founders of JAM The Label, an adaptive fashion brand redefining accessibility with on-trend designs for the disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill community.
We chat with them about how they saw the need for JAM, who benefits from adaptive fashion, and how their clothing is making a real difference in people’s daily lives. It’s a goodie, so tune in!
Find our recommendations here:
You Can’t Ask That (free on ABC iview) or also available on Netflix
Find us at:
Want to keep up to date with what's happening in the Spooniverse? Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive exclusive app updates, helpful tips and tricks, event invites, and recommendations for our fellow spoonies. 💌
You may have seen our faces around the Spoony community - but we thought we should sit down and share our story! In this episode, Larissa and Maddy from the Spoony community team chat all things lived-experience, employment, and life as a Spoony.
Find our recommendations here:
'Take my Hand'-https://www.msaustralia.org.au/takemyhandthemovie/
Body Friend -https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200206811-body-friend
Find us at:
Website -https://www.spoony.app/
TikTok -https://spoony.link/tiktok
Instagram -https://spoony.link/instagram
YouTube -https://spoony.link/youtube
Facebook -https://spoony.link/facebook
LinkedIn -https://spoony.link/linkedin
Welcome to our brand new podcast - launching on February 12th, 2025.
Stay tuned!
Find us at:
Website - https://www.spoony.app/
TikTok - https://spoony.link/tiktok
Instagram - https://spoony.link/instagram
YouTube - https://spoony.link/youtube
Facebook - https://spoony.link/facebook
LinkedIn - https://spoony.link/linkedin