North Queensland politician Philip Thompson’s heartfelt admissions after child’s autism diagnosis

A North Queensland federal politician has shared for the first time the heart wrenching toll raising a child with autism has had on his family.

A North Queensland federal politician has shared for the first time the heart wrenching toll raising a child with autism has had on his family.

Herbert MP Phillip Thompson fought back tears when he told the Townsville Bulletin that he waited five, long years to hear the words “I love you dad” from his youngest daughter Emery

In another emotionally raw moment he divulged that sometimes he felt as though he had “failed” the little girl that “inspires me everyday”.

“When Emery was born in 2020 it was obvious to me that she was a bit different from her big sister, Astin (7), and I remember looking in her eyes, and I just thought it was different,” he said.

“I could never really pinpoint or understand what and, you know, fast forward a little bit and Emery wasn’t communicating with words like her big sister was at that age.

Phillip Thompson with daughter Emery.

“From there as she grew she would like chew on books and paper and dirt, and I’ve never heard of this before but Emery was eventually diagnosed with a thing called pica, and that is essentially where a child has an appetite for and eats non food items … and it’s relatively common in people with autism, and so that diagnosis was really the start of the journey of understanding what was going on with Emery.

The former soldier, who also identifies as someone with a disability after he was left with hearing loss and a traumatic brain injury after an IED explosion in Afghanistan, said he asked his new boss, Liberal Leader Sussan Ley, to expand his responsibility to include the NDIS.

The father-of-two delivered the battered and bruised Coalition with the best election result of all his colleagues – winning the seat of Herbert for the third time with 48.7 per cent of the primary vote.

He said the road to receiving his daughter’s autism diagnosis was long and, at times, frustrating.

Phillip Thompson OAM MP. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“GPs want you to see a pediatrician if you want to see a pediatrician in town that could be a 12 month wait. So it takes a long time to get a diagnosis and as a parent, it’s your job to protect them and how to best care for them.

Emery was eventually diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder level three, which means she has significant communication and social challenges.

“I didn’t truly understand what being neurodivergent was. It’s really upsetting, because I feel like I let her down and failed her somehow, and still feel like that now,” he said through tears.

Mr Thompson said he and his family knew first-hand the challenges of trying to deal with the national disability insurer and that early intervention was key for kids needing support.

“She inspires me every day, I woke up in the early hours of the morning last week to Emery on my chest saying ‘hi dad’ and I know the correct answer is back to bed, but my answer was; ‘hi Emery’ and we just started laughing.

“Her laugh is contagious … I thought, ‘this is Emery’. This is what early intervention does. It allows her to show us who she is and all her of her amazingness.

“The first time I heard Emery say … I love you dad, which I waited five years to hear, I just melted.

Phillip Thompson with daughters Emery and Astin.

“It reminds me that while she can’t always verbalise things, she knows what she wants. She can feel and she can understand, but sometimes it’s hard to communicate.”

Mr Thompson said he has learnt to not wonder too much what the future might hold for his little girl who loves her big sister and Emma Memma in equal measure.

“Emery goes to an autism specific school to get the support she needs, but this is early intervention,” she said.

“We won’t know what her schooling and high schooling or workforce looks like until as she grows through the early intervention. I think she can do whatever she puts her mind to.

“I just want to see her living her best life.”

Despite his comparative success at the federal election, he was not elevated into the front bench but did get the opportunity to add shadow assistant minister NDIS to his Defence shadow assistant ministry.

“The first time Sussan and I spoke about the possible roles within her team, I let her know that the NDIS is an area that I’m really passionate about, and I believe I could make a difference in,” he said.

“I want to give a voice to the voiceless, especially those vulnerable people who have fallen through the cracks.

“Navigating the NDIS should not be an additional challenge and burden for those families and vulnerable individuals who are already facing so much, the system needs simple to be simplified, to be better, to support people, to get faster access to the help that they need.”

Originally published as North Queensland politician Philip Thompson’s heartfelt admissions after child’s autism diagnosis