Rachel Callander faced the question, time and time again, during her daughter Evie's short life.

She is on a mission to re-frame the way people communicate about disability and differences, to bring about a sense of humanity, to see strength and to celebrate uniqueness.

With the help of Goldfields Libraries and the City of Greater Bendigo, the Perth woman is encouraging people in central Victoria to choose more empowering language.'

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She will be making a virtual presentation on Thursday night as part of the library's Bendigo Cares series, targeted especially at carers in the community.

Ms Callander said making a positive change started with a belief that every human had value.

"Once you believe every human has value and they can contribute to life, then it's about asking questions - it's about not being afraid," she said.

"Instead of asking what's wrong, it's about looking at the whole person and asking them what do they enjoy in their life... what are they excited about... what are they concerned about... what are their hopes and dreams?

"Just finding the connection points, because we are so much more the same than we are different.

"We reduce connection to outside appearances and assumptions. There are so many ways a person lives life, enjoys life, and interacts with the world."

Evie was diagnosed with a very rare chromosomal condition - so rare it didn't even really have a name - in her first weeks of life.

She died at the age of two-and-a-half.

"She was a beautiful human to be around," Ms Callander said.

"She never spoke, but we could communicate with single sounds. We could make each other laugh."

"I really love sharing her story."

The language doctors used to describe Evie's condition, particularly during diagnosis, stuck with Ms Callander.

"In the moment of diagnosis, as well as receiving this difficult, new, unexpected information, there was also the added trauma of this language that kind of felt like it was describing a monster rather than a human being," she said.

"Parents are constantly faced with this language from the moment of diagnosis and then it's just reiterated by our culture and society."

She believed society had a limited idea of what was "normal" and "acceptable", which needed to be expanded.

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Initially, when people would ask Ms Callander what was "wrong" with her daughter, she would list off all the challenges.

"I hated it because I didn't get to mention all the things I loved. In those moments, I had reduced my daughter to a collection of failing body parts rather than a beautiful human that has so much potential in the world," Ms Callander said.

"When this is happening over and over in a person's life, they start to believe that's who they are.

"It's not - there is so much more to a person than their diagnosis.

"You can't be diagnosed with your identity. Your diagnosis is part of your identity, but we seem so focused on this diagnosis being the foundation of a person. It's simply not the whole picture."

Healthcare professionals are among the key groups Ms Callander works with as she seeks to bring about positive change.

"A lot of medical language is confusing and it is often quite dehumanising. Those words take ability and potential away from a person," she said.

She believed language contributed to breakdowns in relationships between health professionals and their patients.

"It's about trying to bridge the gap between that medical language and human language," Ms Callander said.

Rachel Callander - Life, love and awesomeness will be conducted virtually from 7pm on Thursday.

Bookings are required and can be made online by clicking here.

Ms Callander's photo exhibition, Super Power Kids, is planned for the Kangaroo Flat Library from Thursday, and is scheduled to move to the Heathcote Library in March.

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