Sarah Pollard’s inspiring journey from an autism diagnosis to publishing kid’s books
Sarah Pollard is a 25-year-old published author and illustrator who lives on a farm with her parents in Southern Cross, Western Australia. As a young woman with autism spectrum disorder, her diagnosis didn’t stop her from creating a meaningful career for herself.
Sarah is passionate about art and storytelling, which gives her a unique platform to showcase her creativity ad connection to nature. Sarah is currently developing a series of stories featuring her beloved Outback Bush Buddies, inspired by the real-life pets, animals, and wildlife she encounters every day.
Sarah travels to Perth fortnightly to participate in guitar lessons, sing in a rock band, meet up with her friends and attend speech therapy. She is often seen around East Victoria Park with her speech pathologist Tayla from Early Start Australia, part of the APM Group, enjoying a coffee or chatting.
These real-world, or hobby-based interactions with her clinician forms part of her fortnightly therapy.
"I enjoy coming to therapy and I like to hang out with my speech therapist" – Sarah.
"Developing a really strong friendship and rapport with Sarah has helped with motivation within therapy. We work on goals and explore what she wants to work on, so it's a very person-centred approach – Tayla.
After publishing her first book, The Bush Tale of Timmy Lamb, Sarah wants to continue writing books for all children.
Congratulations Sarah! We’re so proud to be on this journey with you.
Get to know Early Start Australia
Early Start Australia offers evidenced-based early intervention therapy services and support to children, young adults, and families Australia-wide - including occupational therapy, speech pathology, physiotherapy, dietetics, and psychology.
If you’re an allied health graduate looking to start your career at Early Start Australia and become part of a global organisation, explore our graduate program here.
