“We Weren’t Actually Living”: Paige Carter on Burnout, the Grey Area, and Becoming a Badass Advocate
We Weren’t Actually Living”: Paige Carter on Burnout, the Grey Area, and Becoming a Badass Advocate
This week I’m sitting down with Paige Carter — the woman who once organised an entire night at Parliament House so autistic families could put their reality in front of the people making the decisions. We talk about the moment her family stopped surviving the pressure cooker and packed their life into a caravan to travel Australia for a year, and what it’s looked like to watch her son come back to himself on the open road. If you’ve ever felt like you were holding it all together and still not actually living, this one will land.
Episode Highlights
- Why Paige pulled her family out of “the pressure cooker” and onto the road (approx. 05:00–08:30)
- 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)
- 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)
- Her late ADHD diagnosis landing as validation, and the both/and of grieving a late recognition (approx. 14:30–20:00)
- Becoming a “badass advocate” without burning down — pacing the fight so it survives (approx. 20:00–22:30, 30:00–33:30)
- Connection as what makes the hard shareable, and her new podcast When Life is Lifing (approx. 40:00–56:00)
💬 Memorable Moments
“I constantly felt like we were in a pressure cooker, and we weren’t actually living.” — Paige “You have to become a badass advocate to get the best for your kids.” — Paige “It’s okay to be like, I actually can’t do that today. And it doesn’t mean I fail.” — Paige
Something to Sit With
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- Paige’s family didn’t get a bigger house — they got fewer demands. When you picture “more space,” notice what you’re actually picturing: more room, or less pressure?
- “I can’t do that today, and it doesn’t mean I fail.” Where in your week are you treating a pause as a failure, when it might just be pacing?
Links & Resources:
- Inclusive Oak (formerly Oak for Autism) — Paige’s community for neurodivergent families. Follow the page; no membership needed to be welcomed.
- SA education advocacy campaign + submission form — on Paige’s site. ~10 minutes; every submission is collated as evidence and has gone to the Premier.
- When Life is Lifing — Paige’s new podcast with Leanne.
- Wildly Grounded Co — Leanne’s business.
Paige Carter — founder of Inclusive Oak, fierce neurodivergent advocate and mum to a proudly neurodivergent family. Years fighting for autistic kids in SA’s education system, now doing it from the road while travelling Australia for a year. One half of When Life is Lifing.
Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inclusiveoak/
Guest Website: inclusiveoak.com.au
🎧 Listen + Subscribe
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-being-me/id1516970986 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4RLYE5TA3ZsCtuAF8otRQ0
📲 Connect With Us
Instagram: @betterbeingme_bbme
Website: https://betterbeingme.com.au BBMe Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1FwjxRf5Km/
Heard something that hit hard?
🎙️ Share your favourite quote, tag us both, and pass this episode on to your neurokin.
Recognition spreads faster when we tell the truth out loud.
