Awhi Ngā Mātua welcomes parents and whānau to share their experience, tips and advice.
We know that everyone’s situation is unique, and we value the diversity of opinions when it comes to parenting intellectually disabled, neurodivergent and medically fragile tamariki.
If you’re not a confident writer but would still like to share advice for other parents, that's okay too – we may be able to arrange for someone to interview you and write an article on your behalf, in your own words.
If you want to write for us, please keep in mind:
- Our audience is primarily parents. We won’t expect you to write academic essays or be knowledgeable about everything to do with a particular disability or diagnosis. Our readers are interested in your perspective and your personal story, rather than talking to a human encyclopedia!
- Anything you write for Awhi will need to adhere to our values. This helps to keep Awhi a safe space for everyone.
- Ownership of articles will belong to Awhi Ngā Mātua. We reserve the right to unpublish your article at any time, for any reason, and to make editorial decisions as we see fit. (For example, you may prefer using the term Aspergers, but as per our own style guide, we may change the wording to autism.)
- Authors will receive a small koha as thanks for their mahi.
Register your interest
Please email hello@awhingamatua.org.nz along with your
- Full name, contact number and email address
- Which area of Aotearoa you’re based in
- A couple of sentences about your child, whānau and connection to disability, neurodivergence and medical fragility.
- What kinds of topics you’re interested in writing about, and any other info you think may be relevant (such as articles you’ve had published in the past - though please note this is not a requirement).
Once we’ve reviewed your enquiry, we’ll be in touch about the possible next steps.