Hello and Welcome to Remarkable Minds - Let us introduce ourselves...
We are Vanessa, Sandra, Shelley & Becky – we are committed to sharing our knowledge with the world, assisting neurodiverse individuals to participate fully in life and reach their goals, dreams and potential.
Neurodiversity brings with it unique and creative talents , it is a different way of thinking – it is NOT a disability, although we recognise that it comes with a variety of difficulties and challenges.
Each week we will be posting information for you on the subject of neurodiversity – sometimes short and sweet, other times more deep and meaningful. Sometimes we’ll delve into the research and other times we'll be discusing the challenges of as well as showcasing the talents of neurodiversity. We aim to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate fully in life.
Our vision is to create a world where neurodiverse people feel accepted, understood and empowered.

Vanessa Victor is based in Auckland and has been working in the field of neurodiverse education and support, as a Davis Dyslexia and Autism facilitator for ten years – Vanessa discovered her own dyslexia in her forties as she worked alongside her dyslexic son to find him help with school. Vanessa has a weekly vlog called My Dyslexic Life – check it out below

Sandra Hartnett is Wellington based, and has been a Davis Dyslexia Facilitator for 13 years, she is also about to complete her Davis Autism training. Sandra discovered what dyslexia really is and connected it to her own learning experiences; she also understood that Davis was the answer for her own children. She has extensive experience with supporting people in mental health and has a passion for working alongside children, teenagers and parents on their journey with neurodiversity.

Shelley McMeeken has been a Davis Dyslexia and Autism Facilitator for 20 years and Supervisor Specialist for ten years which means she is able to train and supervise others in this work. She identified what she thought was ‘just clumsy’ as being dyspraxia whilst she was training and that this also explained her ‘hopeless at maths’ situation – The neurodiverse gene is strong in her family also. Shelley is also a trustee of the Dyslexia Foundation of NZ.

Becky Smith is our powerhouse of a CEO – She is the Mum of two neurodiverse teenagers. Becky has extensive experience in Management and marketing and she is committed to keeping us picture thinking partners in some kind of structure to ensure that we get our message and work out to the world. Becky has a passion for building supportive and thoughtful communities of people, which she has been doing for the last 10 years.
Stay tuned for our updates – follow us on Facebook & Instagram – and we'll be back next week.
Written by:
Shelley McMeeken