gwunspoken - Beyond the Plan
gwunspoken: Beyond the Plan
Hear the person beyond the plan.
This podcast is where NDIS participants, families, and supporters reclaim their narrative. We dive into life beyond the diagnosis, beyond the reports, and beyond the plans—exploring identity, strength, and voice.
Whether you're a parent seeking connection, a support worker craving understanding, or someone walking their own NDIS journey, this space is for you.
Because labels don’t define people—stories do.
gwunspoken - Beyond the Plan
Beyond Math: Navigating Life's Transitions Through a Child's Eyes
A child's perspective can transform the ordinary into extraordinary, reminding us of the wonder we often leave behind in adulthood. This refreshingly authentic conversation with Arie reveals how seemingly small experiences can hold immense significance through a young person's eyes.
The episode opens with Arie impressively setting up the podcast equipment himself, demonstrating both his enthusiasm for our conversations and his growing technical abilities. When asked about his recent adventures, Arie excitedly recounts his first-ever tram ride to the Gold Coast with his dad and brother Oscar, culminating in a delicious cookies and cream ice cream stop. What adults might consider routine transportation becomes a memorable journey worth celebrating.
Our discussion weaves through Arie's school experiences where he proudly shares his mathematical achievement ("16 divided by 4 is 4") while acknowledging his struggles with handwriting. This honest self-assessment offers insights into how children recognise their strengths and challenges. The conversation naturally flows to significant transitions in Arie's life – his father moving to a new home on August 1st, followed immediately by Arie's ninth birthday. His matter-of-fact approach to helping pack his PlayStation 5 and his detailed birthday wishes (particularly a dark blue mountain bike with five gears) showcase his practical nature and growing interests as he approaches this milestone.
Perhaps most revealing is our discussion about Arie's gradual return to regular classes after a period of alternative arrangements. His casual mention of this transition hints at personal growth and adaptation to school expectations. Through Arie's straightforward responses and occasional moments of humour, we're granted a window into childhood resilience and the significant developmental strides happening in these formative years. Take a moment to listen and rediscover the extraordinary in everyday experiences through Arie's eyes.
Welcome to another edition of GW Unspoken Beyond the Plan on behalf of EngageU. And. We are in the library with Ari. How are you Good Now? What's going on here? The laptop's away from me and everything's been set up. What have you been doing here?
Speaker 2:I did it.
Speaker 1:You set it all up. Yeah, you actually did the music and everything. Yeah, how did you do that? How do you know you've got a good memory. Yeah, do you like doing the podcast?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I think you should be a professional podcaster, because you knew, yeah, you set up the microphone, you set up the cords, you put the app on you. You actually even put your headphones on and then you set mine up and now you're behind the machine. Yeah, maybe you should ask the questions today yeah, do you know, ask one question to me.
Speaker 1:yeah, what are you going to ask me? Nothing. I've got a question for you. How are you feeling today? Good Out of 10, what are you? 10. You're 10 out of 10. What are On a tram? What did you get?
Speaker 2:A tram. I mean, I got to go on a tram Did you. For my first ever time.
Speaker 1:Where did you go To the Gold Coast? So you went all the way from here North Brisbane, all the way to the Gold Coast on a tram. Yeah, was it good fun. Yeah, and who?
Speaker 2:did you go on the tram? Yeah, was it good fun? Yeah.
Speaker 1:And who did you go on the tram with?
Speaker 2:Dad and Oscar. Oh cool.
Speaker 1:And then, what did you do at the Gold Coast?
Speaker 2:I forgot.
Speaker 1:So you went on the tram all the way down to the Gold Coast, yeah. And when you got off the train, where did you go? Did you go to the shops? Did you go to the beach? Did you go to one of Dad's friends' places cousins- I went to get ice cream. What you got? Ice cream. What flavour was it?
Speaker 2:Cookies and cream.
Speaker 1:Oh yum, was it good? Yeah, hey, what did your brother have? Did he have the same or did he have something different?
Speaker 2:Chocolate.
Speaker 1:Just chocolate. Did Dad have a sneaky ice cream too? Did he sneak an ice cream? No, was he well behaved? Would he have a sandwich? No, oh, maccas, do you like Maccas?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So if I said to you Ari, here's $20, and we're going out for lunch together and you're allowed to buy anything from McDonald's, what would you buy to eat? Ice cream, if you just bought ice creams. How much are ice creams like? 50 cents.
Speaker 2:I think they're $5.
Speaker 1:Oh, like the Sunday ones. Yeah, that means if I gave you $20, you'd buy four Sundays. You'd have four of them. Yeah, can I ask you another really difficult question? You ready for a difficult question? Yeah, can you have Sundays if it's not Sunday?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:So you have to have a Sunday on a Sunday, did you know? My girls went with me through the drive-through the other day it was Saturday and they said, dad, can you please buy us a Sunday? And I said I can't, it's not Sunday. And they said that's a very bad dad joke. You think of that, yeah, but I ended up buying them an ice cream too. I had a thick shake. You think of that, yeah, but I end up buying them an ice cream too. I had a thick shake.
Speaker 2:I like the vanilla thick shakes. I also too, you like them too, do you?
Speaker 1:We'll have to go on a Macca's trek one time. You and me We'll have to have Macca's. Yeah, We'll have to tell your parents that we're having sandwiches and water. Yeah, we wouldn't do that, We'd tell telling the truth. Now tell me. I saw you last Monday. How was school last week?
Speaker 2:Good.
Speaker 1:Any challenges? No, no challenges.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:No issues.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:No problems.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Was it a good week.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So no tantrums, no, no. Wrestling your mates and tackling no, no.
Speaker 2:Arguing with thes no, no wrestling your mates and tackling no.
Speaker 1:No arguing with the teacher. No, oh, you've been good. Have you learned anything this week?
Speaker 2:16 divided by 4 is 4.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. And do you like maths or not? Math, yes, so you just learnt a division. Sum 16 divided by four is four. You learnt that last week. High five, no, today, today already in period one, lesson one. Oh my gosh, so you just had maths before I got here today at 10 o'clock. Yeah, very good.
Speaker 1:What about all? You know how. You're very good at the tough questions. I'm going to ask you a super, super tough question, which I don't know. If you know the answer, but knowing you, you may do. You ready for this.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay, if you remember just last lesson, you remembered 16 divided by 4 is 4, so you remember, you did maths. What divided by 4 is 4, so you remember, you did maths. What's one thing you learnt? Last week, like between last time I saw you to now In any of the subjects you've done in class what's one thing you can remember you learnt? I love how you're thinking there 16, divided by 5?
Speaker 2:5?.
Speaker 1:Well, 20 divided by 5 is 4. 20 divided by 4 is 5. Do you mainly remember math stuff? Do you? You like math stuff, don't you? Yeah, yeah, what's the subjects you don't like Handwriting?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's tough, isn't you? Yeah, yeah. What's the subjects you don't like Handwriting?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's tough, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Didn't you hear something? Really that's not fair. Yeah, a lot of boys struggle with handwriting. Even now I'm a messy writer.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm not being like sexist or anything like that. It's just sometimes boys struggle with that. Yeah, sometimes boys struggle with that. Yeah, sometimes boys are good at what's called gross motor skills, like big movements, like sports and that, and girls are good at sports too, but usually girls are good at the fiddly stuff, yeah. So, yeah, now let's talk about something else besides school. Oh no, what about school at lunchtime? Is everything going well at lunchtime?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:What have you been doing at lunchtime?
Speaker 2:Playing.
Speaker 1:Playing. What have you been playing?
Speaker 2:To dig.
Speaker 1:What's that Digging? What are you digging for gold?
Speaker 2:No, just digging.
Speaker 1:Okay, in the sandpit or something.
Speaker 2:No, in the rock area.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's cool. If you find some gold, can you give me some place?
Speaker 2:Sure.
Speaker 1:Then I can go and buy some maccas. Yeah, I'll be able to buy some maccas. Yeah, I'll be able to buy a whole store with gold. Imagine that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Can you imagine you and me running the store at McDonald's? We could be the owners.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That would be funny, wouldn't it? Yeah, we'd probably be eating all the burgers and eating the ice cream while we're serving people. That would be very professional, wouldn't it? Yeah, we'd say can I help you, but hang on my ice cream, sorry, yes, what would you like? Sorry, yeah, that'd be funny. Now you just had a weekend with Dad. You went to the Gold Coast Yep, yep On the tram, yep and now it's nearly time for Dad to go To move, move house.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we talked about this last week Because and now it's nearly time for Dad to go to move, move house. Yeah, we talked about this last week because he's moving on the 1st of August. Yeah, it's the same as my stepdaughter's birthday. So hang on. Today's Monday, 9th, 30th, four days Is he packed up, ready to go? Not yet, because I remember last time you were helping him with his boxes. Yeah, did you have to do that on the weekend, did?
Speaker 2:you.
Speaker 1:I packed my PlayStation. Oh, did you PlayStation 2.
Speaker 2:5.
Speaker 1:Is that like the latest one?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:This is the latest one what my friend Dom. He has a PlayStation Pro.
Speaker 1:Is that? What's the difference between a PlayStation 5 and a PlayStation Pro? What's the difference between them? The black in the middle oh, so it's just the design. But is it supposed to be fast or anything, or is it just the same? Just the same, just the same, alright. So PlayStation 5, it's all packed up, ready to go. Yeah, it's in a box, so it's nice and safe. Yeah, alright. Was there anything else you had to be really careful with when you were packing, like, was there other stuff like glasses or plates?
Speaker 2:No, no, nothing else. I didn't have to do that.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, so Dad will do that. Yeah Well, dad's going on the first moving to a new home. That's great that Dad's found a place, but something else is happening the next day after that. It's a very important day after that.
Speaker 2:My birthday.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, your birthday and you will be how old.
Speaker 2:Nine.
Speaker 1:You're nearly double figures. You're nearly ten. So you'll be turning nine on the 2nd of August. What day would you say? That was Saturday, the 2nd Saturday. So next time I see you, you'll be a year older. You'll be nine. Yeah, you'll have a beard and a moustache. No, no, not that old Grey hair like me. Yeah, no, no, you've got a good sense of humour. Do you know what a sense of humour is? No, you sort of know when it's a joke and when it's not a joke, even though I've got bad jokes. Do you have any other jokes like real jokes? No, no.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what do you want for your birthday?
Speaker 2:E-scooter.
Speaker 1:Ooh, that's right. Maybe you said it last time E-scooter, what else?
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:That's just the main thing. Rug oh a nice rug.
Speaker 2:Painting, I mean poster.
Speaker 1:Oh, what would you have a poster of?
Speaker 2:And a mountain bike.
Speaker 1:Oh jeez, you want all the things that you move outside with. I like that.
Speaker 2:She's going to get that.
Speaker 1:Who is?
Speaker 2:Mum, except for the e-scooter, because that's way too expensive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is very expensive, isn't it? Yeah, so is she going to buy you a bike? You think yeah.
Speaker 2:Have you been shopping and showed it with?
Speaker 1:which ones you like. Yeah, what colour is it going to be? Dark, blue. You do like blue, don't you? Yeah, is it going to have like gears, like different gears, in it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Do you know how many gears?
Speaker 1:it's going to have Five, five gears and you have to wear a helmet All the time. Okay, good, and do you have a helmet at home?
Speaker 2:Yes, what colour is it? Is it blue as?
Speaker 1:well, black, oh, black and blue. So you have a black helmet and a blue bike. Where will you ride it?
Speaker 2:On a mountain, up a mountain.
Speaker 1:Well, because it's a mountain bike, I think I could be wrong. I think they call it mountain bike because you can go sort of off the main road and go different trails and stuff too. Some people do go up a mountain but they go off the track. They've got thicker tires and the road bike's got really thin tires so you can go over the bumpy stuff. Do you ever do jumps and stuff like?
Speaker 2:that.
Speaker 1:No, no, I'd be scared to do jumps. Do you like going fast?
Speaker 2:Yeah, do you.
Speaker 1:Do you like going fast? Yeah, do you. I can see you going fast. Actually, I can see you going really fast. Yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:so if mum's going to buy you a bike, what do you think dad's going to buy you A?
Speaker 1:Blockchurch.
Speaker 2:A what sorry Blockchurch? What's that?
Speaker 1:$65.
Speaker 2:But what is it? It's a block switch bundle.
Speaker 1:Is that for your Roblox game? Yeah, Okay. Now what does that do on the game? What does a block there's?
Speaker 2:codes that you can redeem and it gives you fruits.
Speaker 1:Oh, and the fruits give you energy.
Speaker 2:No, it helps you grind.
Speaker 1:Okay, now you're teaching me something. What does grind mean? Oscar just told me that. Oh, okay, so you've never done it before. No, oh, that's good, that'll be exciting. Yeah, all right now. What are you looking forward to this week the most at school? Are you back into regular classes now?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Okay, when does that happen, Except for Thursday? That happens Thursday.
Speaker 2:Because that girl's speech thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:From 1.30 to 2.40.
Speaker 1:Okay, does she come and do what I do here too?
Speaker 2:No, she does speech.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:Not podcast.
Speaker 1:But is she from outside of school as well, like I am?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah cool. And also inside.
Speaker 1:Oh good, okay, and so when do you go back to normal classes? Like, are you back into normal?
Speaker 2:Probably two weeks oh that's good.
Speaker 1:Well, you've proven yourself, haven't you, with good behaviour. Yeah, and is your teacher back? Who's going to have a baby? Is she back yet?
Speaker 2:No, not yet.
Speaker 1:Has she left now to have a baby?
Speaker 2:No, she's coming back.
Speaker 1:Oh is she.
Speaker 2:She didn't give birth, but oh, not yet.
Speaker 1:She's been on an extra holiday. Yeah, oh, that's good. Are you looking forward to her coming back? Yeah, what's her name?
Speaker 2:again, I mean she's at the doctor looking at the baby.
Speaker 1:Oh, is she Making sure it's all, doing all the scans and that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And what's your teacher's name again?
Speaker 2:Miss Billing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nice, all right, and so she's having a baby. How many babies are you going to have when you're older 16?
Speaker 2:I don't know, that would be crazy.
Speaker 1:It would be crazy, wouldn't it? Yeah, I got told the other day that someone else I'm helping out their parents' parents right from New. Zealand. Yeah, 16 kids, they had 16 kids.
Speaker 2:They have 16 kids 16 kids.
Speaker 1:That's like you having 15 other brothers and sisters. Yeah, how would you have breakfast? Like you'd come down and there'd be 16 people all wanting breakfast at once. Yeah, that's a lot of milk. Yeah, that's a lot of Cocoa Pops. Yeah, you'd sit down and have like four. Yeah, that's a lot of milk. Yeah, that's a lot of Cocoa Pops. Yeah, you'd sit down and have like Four packets of Cocoa Pops. What do you think? Yeah, are we gone Now? Is there anything else Before we finish the podcast, you'd like to? Talk about You're done.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Alright. Well, guess what? I really hope you have a great birthday On Saturday. Okay, I hope you get your mountain bike and I hope you get all the things you deserve to have and keep up the good work at school. I'm really proud of you. Catch you next time.