Ru is a postdoctoral researcher who is currently working at Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) on various projects to better understand the experiences and support needs of Autistic youth, adults, and their parents. Ru first learnt about autism 13 years ago and now she hopes to spend her life supporting autistic individuals. She has recently completed her PhD at La Trobe University with the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, examining emotion regulation and mental health in Autistic youth and adults. Ru’s current focus is to understand the self-compassion experiences of Autistic adults and parents of autistic children, and how improving self-compassion levels can improve people’s mental health and well-being. She has recently co-produced a self-compassion program for Autistic adults with Dr Chris Edwards, which has been made freely available via Aspect.
In addition to he research work, Ru wanted to be able to assist an organization that directly supports autistic individuals and she chose Different Journeys for the great work that’s been done and Mel’s passion.
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.