EPIC Families LIVE:
RAISING THE GAMECHANGERS
Sunday August 16th, 2026. Baycourt Theatre, Tauranga.
New Zealand’s largest event for neurodiverse families is back! Welcome to the next evolution of EPIC Families LIVE: The ultimate event to give families strength in neurodiversity.
This is for parents, carers, teachers and professionals who are seeking the confidence, tools, tactics and guidance to support and empower neurodivergent children.
Brought to you by Bay Paediatrics – The New Zealand Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence – this is for any family that’s ever felt overwhelmed, overlooked, ignored…or simply trapped in the neurodiversity puzzle.
This year, we’re stepping beyond ‘awareness’, beyond ‘coping’, beyond just “getting through the day.” We are changing the game. For good.
This is for the families raising the thinkers, the movers, the sensitive souls, the challengers, the rule-breakers, the future creators.
This is for YOU. And, as always, children are welcome.
EPIC Families:
Extraordinary Parents. Incredible Children.
We stand with the families who want to raise the gamechangers of the future.
We understand it.
We've been through it.
We know exactly how it feels.
We were sick and tired of being overlooked, ignored, misunderstood and forgotten.
We were tired of sifting through generic ‘parenting advice’ that didn’t fit the real-life challenges we faced.
We were done with waiting, hoping and praying for somebody to help us.
We had enough of the guilt, the shame, the lectures & the judgement.
So we decided to create something totally different to help neurodiverse families thrive.
A different kind of event for parents…and children.
Learning…without lectures.
Empowerment…without PowerPoint.
Confidence…without being condescending
Shining a light…and sparking a change.
EPIC Families LIVE is on a mission to lead the neurodiversity revolution. To spread ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change.
For a child, their whānau and their wider support & learning network, neurodivergence can feel dark and overwhelming.
EPIC Families LIVE will to enlighten you with new ideas that will have a ripple effect through families, communities, schools and healthcare that point towards a better and brighter future.
EPIC Families Live in March 2025 and October 2025 were both sell out events!
THIS is EPIC Families Live
Experience EPIC Families 2025
Raising The GameChangers
The world doesn't need more children who fit in. It needs more children who think differently…and parents who know how to raise them
EPIC Families LIVE isn't a conference. It's not a lecture series. There’s no jargon no judgement…and definitely no boredom
Across the day, you'll hear from experts and parents with lived experience: people who understand these children at a neurological level, and who know what it takes to support them at home, at school, and everywhere in between.
On Sunday August 16th, we’re bringing New Zealand’s leading neurodiversity voices to the Bay of Plenty:
Sonia Gray: TVNZ host, actress, host of the award-winning ‘No Such Thing As Normal’ podcast, diagnosed with ADHD herself and raising a daughter under the neurodivergent umbrella.
Freddie Bennett: Guinness World Record holder, adventurer, podcast host, managing director of Bay Paediatrics and on a mission to help families discover their ADHD advantage
Elen Nathan: One of New Zealand’s leading Occupational Therapists . Elen specialises in Neurodivergence, Sensory Processing Differences and Developmental Trauma.
Dr Sarah Moll: The only Developmental Paediatrician in New Zealand invited to present her groundbreaking work on child neurodivergence to the ADHD World Congress.
Spencer McNeil: Otherwise known as ‘Barber Spence’, Spencer is an award-winning business owner and passionate mental health advocate for young people and neurodiverse minds.
Sarah Gillum: Expert entrepreneur and mum of a neurodiverse household showing you how to combine neurodiverse parenting with fulfilling your own goals and dreams.
Lisa Cowan: Lisa is a leading voice to help families understand the complexities, challenges, and strengths that can come with navigating diagnosis, support systems, and everyday life.
Expert Panel : The Bay Paediatrics paediatricians and child psychiatrists will be answering your most pressing questions and parenting challenges live on stage.
What is EPIC Families LIVE?
EPIC stands for Extraordinary Parents & Incredible Children.
We acknowledge that every neurodiverse family is already extraordinary and incredible. But an EPIC Families Live event helps families to reach a whole new level of confidence, connection and understanding.
We showcase important research and compelling ideas from all neurodiversity disciplines and explore how they connect. The goal is to expand the imagination, make unexpected connections, inspire conversation and set the ball in motion for meaningful learning and change.
At EPIC Families Live, every attendee will:
Become part of a community: Speakers take to the EPIC stage to share EPIC Talks in their areas of expertise about neurodiversity insights that matter. But EPIC isn't a typical conference, and speakers aren’t the only ones with great ideas to share. The community of attendees — children, parents, carers, healthcare workers, teachers - from all around New Zealand are as extraordinary as the speakers.
Be heard, seen and recognised: Caring for a neurodivergent child can be lonely, confusing and overwhelming. It can often feel like nobody else ‘gets it’. EPIC Families Live exists so that no parent or carer should feel overlooked, forgotten or unseen. Thinking differently is what unites us, and when we are united, the world will see our differences as our greatest strength.
Embark on a new experience: The format is fast-paced and typically includes: Talks from EPIC speakers, the latest practical insights and thinking from the Bay Paediatrics doctors, expert panel discussion and activities for neurodivergent children. Unlike other events and conferences, we will not tell you to leave your child at home…they will be welcomed, empowered and celebrated.
Spot the Difference, Find the Magic: Diversity is welcomed. The program is designed for attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to connect and draw inspiration from unlikely places. No lectures. No blame. No shame. No guilt. No judgement. Just EPIC connections, insights and empowerment.
THIS is EPIC Families Live
Why You Cannot Miss This EPIC Event
As New Zealand’s leading and award-winning child neurodiversity clinic, the Bay Paediatrics experts are all in agreement: The world doesn’t need more children who fit in.
It needs more children who think differently.
Who challenge outdated systems.
Who feel deeply.
Who see what others miss.
Children who have with unique minds who will become the gamechangers of the future.
But as neurodiverse parents of neurodivergent kids we know it’s not easy.
That’s why EPIC Families LIVE will help you:
Understand your child at a deeper level
Support their nervous system, not fight against it
Navigate school, home, and life with confidence
Replace constant stress with practical strategies that actually work
Step into your role as the parent your child truly needs
Because Gamechangers don’t happen by accident. They’re raised.
“Truly EPIC! We’d never been before so were a bit nervous, but we loved it. The speakers were amazing and it was SO good to be in a room full of people just like us! We’ll be front row next time!”
Anna, parent of a 10-year old
An EPIC Experience like no other
You don’t need a diagnosis or a label. It doesn’t matter whether this is your first time trying to better understand your child’s mind, or if you feel like you’ve been going round in circles for years. EPIC Families is for anyone who wants to enhance their knowledge, broaden their understanding and equip their child with the tools to change the world.
This is real, practical, no-fluff support from people who actually understand neurodiverse families.
Across the day, you’ll gain tools and insights to help with:
Emotional regulation, meltdowns & shutdowns
Anxiety (for your child… and for you)
School struggles, advocacy & communication
Focus, motivation & executive functioning
Confidence and resilience
Sensory needs & daily routines
Parenting when you’re also neurodivergent
Helping your child understand their brain…and their strengths
Turning “challenges” into real-world advantages
Our previous two EPIC Families Events were totally sold out. Click here to secure your tickets now!
PLUS Free Guides To Start Your EPIC Journey Today
No need to wait until August, give your family the tools to thrive right now.
ADHD got you feeling stuck?
Big emotions and meltdowns causing headaches at home?
Sleep and betimes turning into a daily nightmare?
Download our free guidebooks now and get insights and practical tips from our experts that will help improve family life.
Yes, Children ARE Welcome at EPIC Families!
Join us on Sunday August 16th and experience connection, clarity and community like never before
How would it feel to be in a room full of people just like you?
Same struggles. Same questions. Same doubts.
Same hopes. Same dreams. Same possibilities.
This is where we educate, innovate, educate and celebrate everything that is wonderful about neurodiverse families.
But everyone at Bay Paediatrics is part of a neurospicy family. We know the reality.
Finding childcare isn’t always possible. And too often, our kids are the ones not welcomed into spaces like this.
That’s not how we do things. Incredible Children are welcome!
At EPIC Families LIVE:
Your children can sit with you in the theatre (allocated seating - they will need their own ticket)
Or enjoy activities in the Kids Zone - a safe, inclusive environment in the room next door which will be staffed by qualified teachers.
You’ll always be close—and we’ll reconnect you if needed
EPIC Families is for your whole family not just part of it.
IMPORTANT: KIDS ZONE
The Kids Zone will be open from 60 minutes before the event starts.
Kids Zone has a variety of activities from movies to arts & crafts and quiet, sensory-safe spaces if your child would prefer to read a book or use a device (yes, they can bring a device and there will be Wifi access for all!)
Kids Zone is staffed by qualified, police-vetted teachers who are used to working with neurodiverse kids.
If your child is in the Kids Zone and they need you, our experienced Kids Zone team will send you a text message and quickly connect you with your child. Everyone will be together in the foyer during the show interval. However for health & safety and performance reasons, we can’t have an ongoing traffic of people moving in and out of the theatre area during the show.
If you need to leave the main theatre to be with your child, you will still be able to watch the main performance on a screen…you won’t miss a thing.
Please consider the EPIC Families live performance will be in a theatre setting with assigned seats and children’s activities will be in a different room. The theatre performance will have some bright lights and loud music - we will have free ear protection available for sensitive ears.
Got questions? Feel free to email us at admin@baypaediatrics.com
What You’ll GAIN From EPIC Families Live: Clarity, Connection, Confidence & Action
Join us for an inspirational gathering with the winning formula of brilliant minds, groundbreaking insights, extraordinary parents and incredible children.
You’ll hear talks from gamechanging speakers on neurodiversity, child psychology, emotional regulation, behavioural change, sleep, sensory…and perhaps even a Guinness World Record holder or two.
Plus you’ll make lifelong connections during the breakout interval and panel experiences where you can dive deeper into areas of expertise or learn something completely new.
EPIC Families LIVE is your chance to be immersed in meaningful ideas and surrounded by those seeking to think and act differently when it comes to child neurodiversity.
The event is brought to you by Bay Paediatrics - New Zealand's Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence.
Experience EPIC right now…
Bay Paediatrics brings you the EPIC Families Podcast & Community. Free for EVERY family.
Don’t wait until August, experience the EPIC Families podcast right now.
Click below to listen, join and discover how to think differently about neurodiversity
“I can’t tell how how wonderful it felt to be in a room where everyone just accepted and embraced us for who we are. Amazing speakers, amazing day! Ngā mihi!”
Jenny, Parent of 12-Year Old