Puzzle Champions and Kindness Champions: A Day at the ACT Jigsaw Competition

Nat and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the ACT Jigsaw Puzzle Competition at EPIC in Canberra, invited last minute to join this engaging and community-focused event. You can find more about the event here: ACT Jigsaw Puzzle Competition 2025.

It was a fantastic day, and one of the highlights was watching young Jack from Orana Steiner School single-handedly win the schools competition. What an incredible achievement!

Beyond the puzzles, the event provided a brilliant opportunity to promote Nat’s book, You Can’t Rush Friendships, and to meet so many inspiring people.

We had some wonderful conversations and were reminded of the importance of supporting neurodivergent and disabled people. It was encouraging to see some attendees confident enough to openly share their struggles, while others bought books for family members. Small actions like this ripple out in meaningful ways.

The day also highlighted the work that still needs to be done. Many people expressed similar frustrations: unless you personally know someone with a disability or neurodiversity, there is often no incentive to educate yourself. The result is that misinformation continues, and the lack of empathy and understanding can be very clear.

It is disappointing that in this day and age, there is still so much work needed to foster patience, understanding, and acceptance of people who are different.

As a parent and advocate, I will continue to speak up for our children and the broader community. And who knows, if we reach just one person, that is one person more who may grow in empathy, understanding, and support for neurodiversity and inclusion. Every step counts.

The day was fun, eye-opening, and inspiring, and a reminder of why it is so important to create spaces where all children and all people can be celebrated for who they are.

Debi Bannerman

Parent Advocate and

Co-Founder, Zosimos Curra™