I’m Daryl Giles but often I’m just referred to as ‘Daniel’s Dad’. My son Daniel Giles OAM is autistic so I stepped into the autism community when he was born some 30+ years ago.
In 2017, I began sharing our story with Daniel through our business, Speaking Insights. We travel all over Australia and sometimes abroad, doing public speaking about our family’s autism journey. I love doing this with Daniel and in particular, I love the way it further connects me to the amazing people in the autism community, many of whom have become what I call ‘our autism family’.
For the past year or so, I have been privileged to support the Different Journeys, Teen Peer Support Group in Bendigo and love seeing the personal growth of the teens who come along. Similarly, I love seeing local men who care for someone who is autistic, come together and provide informal support to each other at the Blokes’ Dinners.
I am excited that Different Journeys is giving me the opportunity to further support the autism community including both autistic individuals and their carers, and I am grateful for the friendships and connections that I am making through this.
Away from the autism community, I am a gardening contractor and love being outdoors and seeing my clients’ gardens come back to life with a little care and attention.
Before starting my gardening business, I was a paralegal for 35 years running the Bendigo office of a law firm.
Different Journeys would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the different lands on which we meet today. We respect all Aboriginal Elders past and present We aim to collaborate with our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander friends in the autistic community to connect, empower and support each other and exchange isolation, prejudice and ignorance with connections, hope and community. We acknowledge that the connection to autism and lived experience is our common ground. We acknowledge, respect and maintain that our custodians have cultivated these lands and we continue to learn together.