There is no normal and that is where inclusion begins!
The room is full of that soft hum you only get when people feel safe enough to be honest. It is a local book launch, but it could be any Canberra gathering where stories are currency and community is the glue. When Patricia Falcetta speaks, the hum settles. “There is no normal,” she says, not as a slogan but as a simple truth. Heads tilt. Shoulders drop. You can feel people breathe out.
It is an idea that shapes Patricia’s life and work. As the founder of Social Living Solutions and a proud mum of two adult sons, Patricia has turned lived experience into practical inclusion for households, classrooms, and workplaces. She lives in the Belconnen area with Lucy, her 13-year-old Staffy and faithful walking buddy. She spends her downtime in nature, lifting weights at the gym, learning through non-fiction books and podcasts, and dancing whenever the music finds her.
The message she carries into every room is the same one she offers here, to you: You are ok. You are going to be ok. You are perfect as you are.
Her why
Patricia’s purpose grew at home. Raising two boys gave her a front-row seat to how systems respond to difference. She saw moments of kindness that changed everything, and she saw barriers that did not need to be there. That is why she built Social Living Solutions, to turn empathy into design, and design into daily habits that include more people, more often.
Her north star is simple: equality for all. Disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, and age should never be barriers to opportunity. The gap between that belief and everyday reality is where Patricia works.
“There is no normal. Society made that word heavy. We can choose to put it down.”
Naming the quiet barrier: unconscious bias
If inclusion had a stealth mode, it would be unconscious bias. Not the loud kind of prejudice we can all point to, but the quiet nudges that influence who gets invited, who gets interrupted, and whose needs are designed for by default.
Patricia explains bias without blame. It is human to have patterns. It is responsible to check them. In workplaces, bias looks like hiring for “culture fit” that really means “just like us.” In classrooms and clubs, it looks like rules that suit one kind of brain or one kind of body. In families, it can sound like “we have always done it this way.”
A practical reframe helps: curiosity over judgement, and design over default. Ask what would make this easier for more people. Then build that in.
Try this today: In your next meeting or family conversation, pause to ask, “Whose voice is missing, and how do we make space for it?”
The gifts of neurodivergent brains
Patricia lights up when she speaks about the strengths she sees every day in neurodivergent people. Innovative problem solving. Creative leaps others do not think to try. High empathy and sensitivity to the needs of others. A different way of noticing the world that can spot risks early and opportunities faster.
When environments flex, those gifts show up. A team creates a visual workflow and suddenly a colleague who struggled with verbal drop-ins is the one who sees a process flaw before it lands. A classroom adds predictable routines and noise management, and a student who seemed disengaged is first to the solution because their brain was not busy surviving the environment. A family tries a new script for transitions and the whole house exhales.
“When we tune into neurodivergent brains, we all gain , workplaces, schools, families, and our city.”
Inclusion by design, not by chance
Patricia’s approach is practical. Start small and keep going. Inclusion is not a promise on a poster. It is a set of habits that make belonging possible.
For organisations and teams
- Clarify communication. Share agenda previews, use plain language, and follow with written summaries.
- Simplify the environment. Reduce sensory overload where you can. Quiet spaces and clear signage help everyone.
- Predict the next step. Be consistent with routines and deadlines. Uncertainty drains energy.
- Design roles for strengths. Ask what tasks align with each person’s spark and structure work accordingly.
- Co-design, do not guess. Build solutions with neurodivergent people in the room, not for them from a distance.
For families and community groups
- Use visual supports and predictable rhythms.
- Offer choices, not ultimatums.
- Celebrate interests and deep dives as strengths.
- Remember that rest is not a reward. It is fuel.
Start with three: clarify, simplify, predict. Clarify instructions, simplify the environment, predict the next step.
Life, balance, and being human
Advocacy has seasons. Patricia knows that purpose is easier to carry when your body and mind are cared for. For her that looks like four strength sessions a week, long walks in nature with Lucy, time with family and friends, and a steady stream of learning through non-fiction books and podcasts. She keeps room for joy. A good film. Music and dancing. The ordinary, human moments that refill the cup.
Her message to anyone who has ever felt “too much” or “not enough” is tender and clear: You are ok. You are going to be ok. You are perfect as you are.
A call to Canberra
Canberra is made of neighbourhoods and people like Patricia who turn values into action. If you are a leader, teacher, coach, parent, or teammate, there is something you can do this week.
Choose one:
- Add an agenda preview and a written recap to your next meeting.
- Create a quiet corner or lower the sensory load in one shared space.
- Ask a neurodivergent colleague, student, or community member, “What would make this easier?” and act on their answer.
Then tell us what changed. We will share your small wins so others can try them too. That is how culture shifts, not all at once, but one thoughtful step at a time.
Back in that book-launch room, the applause lands. Not for a headline or a hero, but for a shared decision to put the word “normal” down and pick each other up instead. That is Patricia’s purpose. That is our invitation.
Sidebar: What is unconscious bias?
Unconscious bias refers to the automatic associations and shortcuts our brains make without our awareness. They help us move quickly, but they can also nudge us toward unfair decisions. You cannot switch them off, but you can slow them down: set clear criteria before making choices, invite a broader range of voices into decisions, and check whose needs your default settings serve.
If you would like to learn more about strength-based inclusion or to explore support, connect with Social Living Solutions through their public channels, and follow Purpose Media CBR for more lived-wisdom guides.
