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2018 Christmas Post
2018 was another amazing year, Elon Musk launched a Tesla Roadster into space, either demonstrating Tesla’s new delivery system or that Elon Musk has too much time on his hands. Australia got a new Prime Minister, again, making the job of Prime Minister the most undesirable and short-term job in government and youth began to do parliament’s job by making their voices heard at student organised protests and in a lot of ways were doing a better job of representing Australia’s views, however, what did the year look like for the autism community?
This year was pretty quiet for the autism community or at least that is what the media has us led to believe. This year like any other year was a busy one as we worked towards creating a more accepting and inclusive world for all and we did make it into the news every now and then. The year began when a young autistic student was beaten with a spanner after stepping in to help a peer. This may have only been one story however the autism community made me proud to be autistic as everyone once again banded together to educate the world about why this young man decided to step forward at that time instead of backing away. This was not the only time we came together though as the channel ten show ‘Skit Happens’ decided to air a comedy sketch making fun of both the popular television show ‘The Good Doctor’ and many autism traits. I am proud to be autistic as it means I can be associated with a community that cares for each other no matter their ability, race, religion or gender. It is sad to see that the wider world is such a long way from becoming truly accepting and inclusive of people of different abilities however I am filled with much hope as such a community as ours continues to grow.
For Bryce Pace – Autism Advocate you may have noticed the year was quiet online however this is not due to me taking a break from my work. Offline I have been kept busy with meeting various people and planning for the Recharge Rooms in Schools Program, a project I hope will benefit many young autistics and assist them in coping in the high sensory environment that is mainstream school. This project has taken up a lot of my time however there has been many other exciting things happening as well. I have recently started a Certificate IV in Disability which will equip me with the knowledge and the tools to better advocate for a more accepting and inclusive world. I have also had the pleasure of speaking at many events including the National Future Schools Conference, the Hamilton Business Association Gala Dinner, the Victorian Youth Summit and the DARU strengthening Disability Advocacy Conference, educating and changing the stigma surrounding the autism spectrum.
2018 has been a big year for us here online as well. Last year at Christmas our Facebook page had 143 followers and now at the time I am writing this we are one ‘like’ off from having 200 followers. We have also begun to gain more of a following on other social networks such as Twitter and Instagram and have had over 1,860 views from people from all over the world on the online blog. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every one of you for your support throughout the year and I would also like to welcome everyone who is new here, my work would not be possible without you. 2018 may have been quiet online for us however I can’t wait to share with you all the amazing things that 2019 has in store as I look to pilot the Recharge Rooms in Schools Program and I have also recently been nominated for a 2019 Victorian Young Achiever Award to just name a few.
I would like to end this post with wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and an amazing and safe New Year in 2019.
Bryce Pace
Autism Advocate, Blogger, Speaker
Help support young autistics and their families this Christmas
Tis the season of giving. Help support young autistics and their families by heading to brycepaceautismadvocate.com/donate and help me continue to support the young autistics and the families of the world. You can choose to donate in one of three ways, you can become a patron and pay a monthly subscription and receive a gift in return, you could help fund my book or you can make a one time donation to help fund some of my projects such as the Recharge Rooms in Schools Program. With your help I can keep costs down for schools and help provide young autistics with the resources and the support that they need, this includes keeping talks for schools and youth groups free and will also help fund the ongoing costs associated with my work such as keeping my website running smoothly. Merry Christmas and I look forward to working with you all in the new year to help create a world that accepts, includes and embraces people of different abilities.
Hi all, I apologise for the lack of online activity lately, I have been kept extremely busy with organising the pilot of the Recharge Rooms in Schools Program. For those who like me were not able to listen live to the radio show on the 3rd of December you can find the recording of the show by heading to www.3cr.org.au/disabilityday2018 and scrolling down to the 10:30am time slot and clicking listen now. I just listened to it and found it super empowering hearing from other advocates who are just as passionate about inclusive education as I am.
Hi everyone, I have some exciting news. For the past 11 months, I have been working on a pretty cool project called the Recharge Rooms In Schools Program. This program allows schools to host one of my innovative Recharge Rooms permanently giving students of all abilities a safe and quiet space to go to relax and recharge at any point in the day that they feel overloaded. This program is one of a kind as it includes a consultation service in which I speak to school council, staff and students to design a space that suits the individual needs of your school and I assist in installing the space making the process as easy as possible. I am now looking for interested schools in Victoria to pilot this program in 2019. Pilot schools will be able to access this program at a subsidised cost and will act as a template for the future of this program. As many parents and teachers can agree this is a service that is long overdue, we lose too many young people who could possibly make a significant impact on our world because they cannot cope with mainstream school and it is time to act now before yet more young people slip between the cracks. If you are interested in being one of the pilot schools, feel free to email: bryce.pace.autism.advocate@gmail.com and if you have any questions feel free to also email the above email or leave a comment below.
Thanks
Bryce pace
Autism Advocate, Blogger, Speaker
Hi everyone, I have some exciting news. On the 3rd of December, I am going to be on a radio show called The Inclusionist discussing inclusive education. This show will be on 3CR Radio which is 855 am at 10:30 am AEDT. Feel free to stay on the station until 7:00pm AEDT as the disability community takes over the station for International Day for people with a Disability and will feature artists who identify as having a disability and talk shows discussing all things disability. For more information and to view the timetable for the day head to: https://www.3cr.org.au/disabilityday2018
Hi all. My work as an autism advocate is all about supporting the autism community and a big part of this is supplying resources to assist families and individuals on the spectrum to navigate life. This is why I have created a resource page on my website which has links to blogs, support services, businesses and advocacy organisations. Currently, the links have come from my own contacts however I also receive many emails from people from all over the world requesting me to have a look at suggested resources before putting that resource on the page. This task has become increasingly difficult as I am only one man and I am only able to give feedback from an autistic point of view. This is why I have come up with the idea of creating a resource reference group. This group would be made up of interested individuals who either identify as being autistic or are families of people on the spectrum and their task would be to review and provide feedback about these resources which I would forward to you. If this sounds like something you would be interested in being part of feel free to send me a message or email me at: bryce.pace.autism.advocate@gmail.com
Thank you for your interest.
Bryce Pace
Autism Advocate, Blogger, Speaker
Imagine you walk into school like any other morning however unlike your peers you are unable to filter out all the individual sounds, smells and sights of everything around you. You can hear the individual conversations of hundreds of people at once. You can hear lockers opening and closing and you can smell that someone hasn’t cleared out their locker for the past month. You walk into class and as the teacher calls the roll. Your peers continue to talk loudly and as you can’t normally filter out these conversations in order to hear what the teacher says you have to focus 10 times harder than you would if the classroom was silent. The bell rings to signal the start of period one however, you are already worn out from the first half hour of school with all the sounds and sights, however, there is still many hours to go before you can recharge as there is no space to do this at school.
Usually, in these situations, you would begin to stim by rocking or flapping or you using your favourite sensory toy however you have been teased and called some pretty rotten names for doing these things in the past, so you continue to become more and more overwhelmed. By the time it is lunch you feel like you are going to lose control as you begin to get overloaded with everything that has happened however once again there is nowhere you can go to get away from all the sensory input. The playground is full of noises, smells, and sights and you are not allowed to sit in the school corridors. You keep telling yourself “the day is almost over; the day is almost over” however you still feel as though you are going to shut down. You begin to remember the last time that happened, how people stared at you like you were some sort of exhibit in a museum. You remember seeing people yell at you trying to gain your attention and getting more and more annoyed when you didn’t respond. The Teachers thought you were misbehaving and ignoring them on purpose little did they know you had no control over what was happening. You end up making it through lunch by making laps around the school, yes there were some odd looks from your peers however you did not shutdown which is an upside. You walk into the last class of the day which unfortunately is woodwork, you really didn’t think this one through did you? You end up procrastinating as you are not in the mood to use hammers or power tools today as you are so close to shutting down. The teacher keeps trying to reengage you with no luck as the only way you could get reengaged is to sit in a quiet room for half an hour or so to recharge. Finally, the bell rings and you rush home as quickly as possible, you rush through the door and straight into your room closing the door behind you and begin your ritual to recharge.
This is a glimpse into the everyday life of an autistic student for if an autistic student seems well behaved in class according to the social norms it doesn’t necessarily mean they are coping well in class as there is much more happening inside their head than you think. Sometimes things get too much however there is nowhere autistic students can go to recharge without the fear of other students making fun of them, so they keep everything bottled up inside them until they get home where it is safe to be themselves. It is sad that this sort of thing still happens in the 21st century with all our so called modern learning and modern classrooms. It is sad that despite all the technology we have in schools these days we still can’t create schools that are inclusive of all abilities. It is sad that we still have to advocate to install ramps and lifts to ensure people in wheelchairs are included and we have to keep advocating for a place where students can feel free to recharge in a safe environment. From my experiences and the experiences of many others has come a pretty cool concept and this is to incorporate my Recharge Rooms into schools as a trial next year. This program if it succeeds will ensure students won’t have to worry about experiencing shutdowns or meltdowns at school ever again as there will finally be somewhere they can go to recharge without the fear of their peers making fun of them, as this room is as much for neurotypicals as it is for autistics.
Thank you
Bryce Pace
Autism Advocate, Blogger, Speaker
Thank, you for reading, if you have a story you would like to share with the community or have an idea for a blog post feel free to contact me at bryce.pace.autism.advocate@gmail.com full anonymity can be provided.
(Please note this is my own opinion and does not reflect the views of all autistic people as everyone has different views. The things written in this post come partially from personal experience.)
