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Yellow Ladybugs Community Survey

You can respond anonymously. You do not need to share identifying details unless you would like us to contact you.
Before you begin: The Victorian Government is developing the next State Disability Plan and the next Victorian Autism Plan.
These plans help shape decisions about education, health, mental health, employment, disability supports, safety, community inclusion, and how autistic people and people with disability are supported across Victoria.
Yellow Ladybugs has been invited by the Office for Disability to help gather feedback from our community so the voices of autistic girls, women, gender-diverse people, and families are properly included.
The Government also has its own public survey through Engage Victoria. This Yellow Ladybugs survey is separate. Our survey is designed to be a more familiar and specific way for our community to share lived experience, especially for people who may not feel comfortable completing a formal government survey. You are welcome to do both. You can complete this Yellow Ladybugs survey and also complete the Government’s Engage Victoria survey if you would like your feedback shared directly with Government as well.
We will use what you share here to identify key themes, barriers, and practical recommendations for change. Your feedback will help shape our formal report to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. You do not need to answer every question.
You can complete this in your own time, and you can skip anything that does not feel right for you. We know some topics may feel personal or emotional. Please only share what feels safe and comfortable for you.
Thank you for helping make sure our community is heard.



Important note
This survey is focused on Victorian Government systems like education, health, mental health, safety, community inclusion, employment, and the Victorian Autism Plan. The NDIS is managed by the Federal Government, so this survey is not about individual NDIS plans, funding decisions, or plan reviews. If NDIS changes have affected your access to school, healthcare, mental health support, work, safety, or daily life, that broader impact may still shape your experience. However this survey is specifically focused on the areas the Victorian Government can directly influence and improve.
1.Which best describes you?
(Select all that apply)
2.Where do you live?
3.Are there parts of your identity or experience that are important for Government to understand?
(Select all that apply)
4.Is there anything else important about your identity / intersections you would like Government to understand?
5.What helps you live well most as an autistic person, or while supporting an autistic person?
(Choose up to 3)
6.What is currently helping, and should be protected or expanded?

This could be a support, service, school approach, workplace adjustment, community connection, or something else that has made a real difference.
7.In regards to community inclusion, what supports or barriers have you come across?

This can include access to support groups and inclusive programs, mental health barriers, activities that do/do not cater for autistic girls/women/gender diverse people, education barriers (ie school can't)
8.What supports have been helpful for you, or children you care for, around education.

This can include supportive teachers/TAs, flexible learning options, access to supports (ie therapy) in school, spaces that work for you/your children.
9.What challenges have you, or children you care for, experienced in their education setting?

Examples could include sensory overwhelm, bullying or social exclusion, school refusal, burnout, teaching staff unfamiliar with autistic presentation/support, etc
10.What gets in the way of living well right now?
(Choose up to 3)
11.If you would like to share more about what gets in the way of living well, please tell us more.
This helps us understand what happened and what should have been different.
12.What is something Government often misses about autistic girls, women, and gender-diverse people?
13.What is one practical change the Victorian Government could make that would have the biggest positive difference?

This could be in schools, healthcare, mental health, employment, disability supports, safety, diagnosis pathways, or community inclusion.
14.Can you tell us about a service, support, or system that felt hard to access or unsafe to use?
This could include schools, hospitals, mental health services, family violence services, disability supports, police, courts, workplaces, or gender-affirming healthcare.
What happened, and what should have happened instead?
15.Has Yellow Ladybugs been helpful in your journey?
16.If yes, what would you want Government to understand about the impact of autistic-led community support like Yellow Ladybugs?
17.Is there anything else you would like Yellow Ladybugs to include in our report to Government?
18.Would you be happy for us to include your words as an anonymous quote in our report?
19.If you would be open to Yellow Ladybugs contacting you for possible follow-up consultation or clarification about your feedback, please leave your email below.