Many people aspire to change the world, but Werribee mum Rebecca Challoner is on the verge of officially being recognised for doing so.
The founder of neurodivergent support service My Spirited Child and facilitator of ADHD conferences across Australia, Ms Challoner has been named as a finalist in the Women Changing the World Awards.
The winner will be announced by the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, at a ceremony in London on May 25.
Ms Challoner, who is preparing for the 5th annual Victorian ADHD Conference on April 20, expressed amazement at being in the running.
“Some of the other finalists are from all over the world and are phenomenal so to be in amongst those people is shocking.”
Even being nominated took Ms Challoner by surprise, with the identity of who put her name forward still a mystery.
“I have absolutely no idea,” she said.
“I’ve asked everybody I know, so my assumption is that it’s just someone who follows the work I do.”
That work revolves around supporting neurodivergent parents and families,
something Ms Challoner knows all about, with she, her husband and two teenage sons all diagnosed with ADHD.
“I run conferences all over the country and in NZ as well. I also have two allied health multidisciplinary centres. One in Wyndham Vale and one in Cranbourne.”
Ms Challoner doesn’t give herself much chance of winning, but said even being a finalist demonstrated how far the understanding of ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions had come.
“I’ve been working in this space for the past decade and it’s only now that I’m starting to see a difference in the access people have to awareness and understanding and community support. And we’re still nowhere near where we need to be, but it’s definitely getting better.”
Cade Lucas.
