
← Better Being Me30 juin · 55 min
We Weren't Actually Living": Paige Carter on Burnout, the Grey Area, and Becoming a Badass Advocate
<p>🎙️ <strong>Episode Title</strong><br>"We Weren't Actually Living": Paige Carter on Burnout, the Grey Area, and Becoming a Badass Advocate</p><p>✨ <strong>In This Episode</strong><br>Hello. This week I'm with Paige Carter — the woman who once filled Parliament House with autistic families so their reality landed in front of the decision-makers. We talk about the day her family stopped surviving the pressure cooker, packed life into a caravan, and watched her son come back to himself on the open road. If you've ever held it all together and still not actually lived, this one's for you.</p><p>🧠 <strong>What We Talk About</strong></p><ul><li>Why Paige pulled her family out of "the pressure cooker" and onto the road (approx. 05:00–08:30)</li><li>Her son Oakland regressing in a mainstream school that couldn't meet him — and returning to himself within weeks of leaving (approx. 09:00–13:30)</li><li>The "grey area" in SA education: kids too able for special ed, too unwell for mainstream — and the fight she's taking to the Premier (approx. 22:30–29:30)</li><li>Her late ADHD diagnosis landing as validation, and the both/and of grieving a late recognition (approx. 14:30–20:00)</li><li>Becoming a "badass advocate" without burning down — pacing the fight so it survives (approx. 20:00–22:30, 30:00–33:30)</li><li>Connection as what makes the hard shareable, and her new podcast When Life is Lifing (approx. 40:00–56:00)</li></ul><p>💬 <strong>Memorable Moments</strong></p><p>"I constantly felt like we were in a pressure cooker, and we weren't actually living." — Paige<br>"You have to become a badass advocate to get the best for your kids." — Paige<br>"It's okay to be like, I actually can't do that today. And it doesn't mean I fail." — Paige</p><p>📚 <strong>Resources + Mentions</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/inclusiveoak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Inclusive Oak </a>(formerly Oak for Autism) — Paige's community for neurodivergent families. Follow the page; no membership needed to be welcomed.</li><li><a href="https://inclusiveoak.com.au/a-call-for-change-in-sa-schools" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">SA education advocacy campaign + submission form </a>— on Paige's site. ~10 minutes; every submission is collated as evidence and has gone to the Premier.</li><li>When Life is Lifing — <a href="https://open.s