No Spoons to Give

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!

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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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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. 💌

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:

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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:

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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:

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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

‘One For All’ by Lily Lainoff

Transcripts available here. 💜

We’re also on YouTube!

Find us at:

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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:

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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:

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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:

The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love With Me by Keah Brown 📚

Melbourne Aquarium Sensory Session 🪼

Find us at:

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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 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:

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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