ListenABLE

Matt Toms on Tourette Syndrome, Autism, ADHD and the Exhaustion of Masking What happens when your disability is invisible, your capacity changes from one day to the next, and the people around you assume you’re simply being rude, lazy or difficult? Matt Toms joins Dylan Alcott and Angus O’Loughlin on ListenABLE for an open conversation about living with Tourette syndrome, autism and ADHD, and what it has taken for him to finally stop hiding his disability. For most of Matt’s life, masking helped him fit in. He learnt to suppress his Tourette’s tics and hide what was happening internally so he could socialise, work, compete in surf lifesaving and appear as though everything was fine. But masking came at a cost. Matt explains how suppressing his tics could leave him exhausted, overwhelmed and experiencing more explosive episodes once he returned to the safety of home. He describes the difficult reality of having an invisible disability where, on one day, he might be capable of physical work or competing in sport, while on another he can struggle to get himself a glass of water. From surf lifesaving and neurodivergence to employment, support workers, dating, family and learning to unmask, this episode is a reminder that disability doesn’t always look the way people expect it to. Follow & Connect Matt Toms – Guest Matt joins ListenABLE to share his lived experience with Tourette syndrome, autism and ADHD, including masking, employment, relationships, support and learning to embrace his disability. Matt’s social link to be added once confirmed. Dylan Alcott – Host Instagram: @dylanalcott Angus O’Loughlin – Host Instagram: @angus_oloughlin ListenABLE Podcast Instagram: @listenable_podcast Listen on Apple Podcasts: ListenABLE on Apple Podcasts ListenABLE is recorded and produced in partnership with SESSION in PROGRESS, Melbourne’s video podcast studio and production team. Website: SESSION in PROGRESS Instagram: @session.in.progress Production In this episode • Living with Tourette syndrome, autism and ADHD • What Tourette’s tics can actually look like • Why tics can sometimes be mistaken for rude or inappropriate behaviour • Autism and Tourette syndrome masking • The physical and emotional exhaustion caused by suppressing tics • Invisible disability and fluctuating capacity • Spoon theory and managing limited energy • Disability, burnout and independence • Accessing support workers and the NDIS • The impact of disability on partners and family • Autism and sensory overload in construction and trades • Disability inclusion in the workplace • Dating and relationships with Tourette syndrome • Learning to disclose an invisible disability • Becoming comfortable and proud identifying as disabled • Why disability awareness and representation matter Tourette syndrome, Tourette’s syndrome, Tourette’s tics, autism, autism in adults, ADHD, autism and ADHD, autism and Tourette syndrome, neurodivergence, neurodivergent adults, invisible disability, hidden disability, disability masking, autistic masking, suppressing tics, disability burnout, autistic burnout, sensory overload, spoon theory, fluctuating capacity, NDIS, disability support workers, disability employment, autism in the workplace, disability in construction, dating with disability, relationships and disability, disability acceptance, disability advocacy.

Content warning At 16, Matt Caruana attempted to take his own life. He survived, acquiring a complete spinal cord injury and becoming a wheelchair user. While recovering in hospital, Matt was consumed by the same belief that had followed him for years: that he was worthless. Then, during a train ride with his mum, a complete stranger asked him a confronting question: “What are you going to do about it now?” That moment did not instantly remove Matt’s depression, but it changed the direction of his life. Instead of asking “Why me?”, he began asking “What now?” In this deeply honest conversation with Angus O’Loughlin, Matt shares the reality of surviving a suicide attempt, adjusting to life with a spinal cord injury and slowly rebuilding his identity. He explains why meaningful connection matters, what parents can do when a young person is struggling and how opening up helped transform his relationships with his family and friends. Matt also discusses finding purpose through sharing his story, breaking a Guinness World Record and becoming a competitive para climber. For Matt, strength is no longer about appearance or external validation. It is about contributing to other people and making hope visible. This episode explores suicide prevention, men’s mental health, disability, resilience, spinal cord injury, wheelchair life, para climbing and the power of choosing to move forward one day at a time. Matt’s experience of attempting suicide at 16 Acquiring a complete spinal cord injury and becoming a wheelchair user The belief that he was worthless and why he rejected support The stranger whose confronting question changed his direction Why being present is essential when supporting someone Matt’s advice for parents of young people experiencing mental health challenges Using a traffic-light system to begin difficult conversations How vulnerability strengthened Matt’s relationships Rebuilding independence following a spinal cord injury Finding meaning by contributing to other people Breaking a Guinness World Record to “make hope visible” Discovering competitive para climbing Why Matt hopes to compete at the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games How Matt defines his worth today This episode contains detailed discussion of suicide, suicidal thoughts and mental ill-health. Please take care while listening. If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, text 0477 13 11 14, or access its 24/7 online chat. If life is in immediate danger, call 000. Lifeline crisis support You can also contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or speak with a counsellor online. Beyond Blue support Follow Matt on Instagram: @MattShares.

What would your life look like if you had brushed your teeth for just ten seconds longer? In January 2020, 27-year-old paramedic Emma Mickle made a last-minute decision to join her friends on a hike through New Zealand. On the final day, just ten kilometres from the finish, Emma sat down to remove her wet-weather gear. At that exact moment, a three-metre tree branch fell from approximately 20 metres above and landed directly on her. In this remarkably honest episode of ListenABLE, Emma speaks about learning to live with incomplete paraplegia, chronic nerve pain, impaired bowel and bladder function, invisible disability and the loss of her career as an operational paramedic. Emma’s story is about terrible luck, extraordinary recovery and what she describes as “forced resilience”. Emma discusses: The split-second accident that changed her life Waiting three hours for a helicopter rescue Being diagnosed with incomplete paraplegia Her partner proposing in intensive care The moment she discovered she could no longer stand Bowel and bladder function after a spinal cord injury Living with daily chronic nerve pain Completing an Ironman after leaving hospital Losing her career as an operational paramedic Finding freedom and relief through cycling Living with an invisible disability Why strangers react differently when shaking her hand The reality of hiding pain from loved ones How disability changed her perception of safety and risk Her ambition to compete at the LA 2028 Paralympic Games 00:00 A one-in-20-million accident 01:27 The New Zealand hiking trip 03:12 Emma’s spinal cord and nerve injuries 04:39 Being told to prepare for life in a wheelchair 05:42 A hospital proposal Emma cannot remember 08:16 Feeling both incredibly unlucky and incredibly lucky 09:22 Why Emma cannot remember the accident 10:44 How her friends kept her alive 14:06 Arriving at spinal rehabilitation 15:13 The moment Emma discovered she could not stand 17:22 Would Emma undo the accident? 18:33 Bowel, bladder and chronic pain 21:20 Recovery as a professional athlete 22:09 Completing an Ironman after her injury 24:17 Why cycling makes Emma feel normal 25:42 Road racing and time trials 26:11 The dream of LA 2028 26:46 Losing her career as a paramedic 29:45 Living with an invisible disability 31:47 How to handle an unexpected handshake 33:11 The reality of “forced resilience” 34:27 How the accident changed Emma’s perspective 35:19 Living with daily pain 36:35 The Bowl of Uncomfortable 38:24 Vulnerability and a changed perception of risk 40:49 The perfect handshake Emma Mickle, Emma Mickle cyclist, Australian para-cyclist, para-cycling Australia, spinal cord injury recovery, incomplete paraplegia, incomplete spinal cord injury, brachial plexus injury, chronic nerve pain, invisible disability, disability awareness, adaptive sport, rehabilitation through sport, Ironman after spinal cord injury, Australian Paralympic cycling, LA 2028 Paralympics, disability podcast Australia, ListenABLE podcast, Dylan Alcott, Angus O’Loughlin. This episode includes discussions of traumatic injury, spinal cord injury, bowel and bladder function, chronic pain, sexual health and personal safety. #ListenABLE #EmmaMickle #ParaCycling #SpinalCordInjury #InvisibleDisability #AdaptiveSport #Paralympics #LA2028 #DisabilityPodcast #ChronicPain

Three buses passed Santiago “Santi” Velasquez because he could not see when to hail them. Instead of accepting that public transport was not designed for him, the blind electrical engineer decided to build a better system. In this episode of ListenABLE, Dylan Alcott and Angus O’Loughlin sit down with Santi to discuss the experience that inspired Halo, an accessibility-first public transport app that alerts drivers when a passenger needs assistance, where they are boarding and where they need to get off. Santi explains how he became one of the relatively few blind electrical engineers in the world, why his parents taught him that “the only thing you cannot do is see”, and how he learned advanced mathematics, coding and engineering through Braille, audio technology and problem-solving. The conversation also explores the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence for people with disability. Santi argues that AI can be incredibly useful, but only when people with lived experience are included in the data, design and decision-making process. From accessible public transport and guide dog discrimination to Braille literacy, rideshare accountability and the danger of treating people with disability as charity cases, this is a powerful conversation about independence, expectations and designing a world that works better for everyone. As Santi says: “We’re not just charity cases. We have to have high expectations of ourselves because otherwise, who else is going to have them?” In this episode 00:00 “I’ll be damned if I’m going to be a second-class citizen” 01:00 Welcome to ListenABLE 02:05 Meet Santiago “Santi” Velasquez 03:24 Growing up blind in Colombia 06:14 Becoming a blind electrical engineer 09:12 Learning mathematics, coding and engineering through Braille 10:28 The tactile display that lets people feel a screen 15:22 Is artificial intelligence actually accessible? 20:58 Why blind children still need to learn Braille 24:07 High expectations instead of charity 25:58 The three buses that inspired Halo 28:44 Why disability-led inventions benefit everyone 30:20 How passengers with disability become invisible to transport systems 31:55 Santi’s global ambition for Halo 34:39 How the Halo public transport app works 36:25 Who should pay for accessible transport technology? 38:14 Creating accountability across transport and rideshare services 42:36 Why sharing lived experience matters 44:04 The Bowl of Uncomfortable 46:10 What people need to know about guide dogs 48:07 Santi’s final message Learn more about Santi and Hailo Request Hailo in your city: Download and use Halo if you are travelling on participating services in Victoria. Follow the ListenABLE hosts Dylan Alcott: https://www.instagram.com/dylanalcott/ Angus O’Loughlin: https://www.instagram.com/angus_oloughlin/ ListenABLE: https://www.instagram.com/listenable_podcast/ Production ListenABLE is recorded and produced in partnership with SESSION in PROGRESS, Melbourne’s video podcast studio and production team. SESSION in PROGRESS: https://sessioninprogress.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/session.in.progress/ Subscribe to ListenABLE for honest, funny and educational conversations about disability, accessibility and the experiences that connect us. #Disability #Accessibility #PublicTransport

In 1988, Mark Dorrity went for a run on a 35-degree day in regional New South Wales. He was leading the race when severe heat stroke caused his body to shut down. Mark spent 70 days unconscious in intensive care. He lost most of the muscle in his body, underwent a high-level leg amputation and was given little certainty about what life after hospital could look like. But this is not simply a story about survival. In this episode of ListenABLE, Mark joins Dylan Alcott and Angus O’Loughlin to share how he rebuilt his life from the ground up. From learning to stand again, returning to full-time work and confronting inaccessible public spaces, to retraining his brain through Toastmasters decades later, Mark’s story is a powerful lesson in resilience, neuroplasticity and choosing to keep moving forward. Mark also reflects on how far disability access and inclusion have come in Australia since the late 1980s, why accessible parking matters far more than people realise, and why he refuses to live with regret. What happened when Mark collapsed from severe heat stroke during an eight-kilometre race Waking up in intensive care 70 days later The moment Mark learned his leg had been amputated Rebuilding strength after losing most of his muscle mass Returning to work after a life-changing injury Living with a high-level amputation and why a prosthesis was not sustainable for Mark How disability access and inclusion have changed since the late 1980s The reality behind accessible parking and public spaces Neuroplasticity, Toastmasters and retraining the brain later in life Why resilience is not about avoiding difficulty, but choosing to keep showing up 00:00 The moment Mark’s life changed 01:31 A race, extreme heat and collapsing near the finish line 04:35 Waking up 70 days later in intensive care 07:14 The decision to amputate or let Mark die 09:48 Accepting a new reality immediately 11:10 Learning how to live again after intensive care 13:06 Seeing his story on the front page of the newspaper 14:55 Why a wheelchair was not practical for Mark 16:39 The first time using a walking frame in public 18:11 Where Mark’s resilience came from 19:02 What disability access was like in Australia in the late 1980s 21:42 How Mark views disability today 24:59 Prosthetics, pain and adapting to life without one 27:05 Returning to full-time work 27:46 Cognitive recovery, speech and Toastmasters 30:20 Neuroplasticity and retraining the brain 32:08 Seeing his body after amputation 33:25 Would Mark warn himself before the race? 34:50 Mark’s message on risk, resilience and living fully Mark Dorrity, heat stroke survivor, amputation recovery, high-level amputation, disability podcast Australia, disability inclusion, accessibility Australia, neuroplasticity, resilience story, life after amputation, Dylan Alcott podcast, ListenABLE podcast, disability advocacy, rehabilitation journey, Toastmasters recovery