Today we celebrate three years since I wrote the blog post that started it all. Three years ago today, I came home from school frustrated about how students were using autism as a way to insult their peers and teachers so I did what any teen does in this situation, I logged onto Facebook and began to write. Once I clicked ‘post’ my journey to become an autism advocate began. At the time though I could not have imagined what the road ahead had in store for me. Today I want to thank everyone who has supported me along the way. I want to say thank you to the Victorian Student Representative Council, The Youth Affairs Council Victoria Rural, The Newsboys Foundation, The Warrnambool Standard, the teachers at Brauer College, Kaiko Fidgets, The Connect Magazine and of course my wonderful mother who has supported me on this journey from the very beginning.
Four years ago, if you had of told me that I would be pursuing a career as an autism advocate and speaker I would not have believed you as I was still hiding my diagnosis from the world. It is amazing to look back and see how far we have come as a force within the autism community, from that first post revealing my diagnosis to now working on innovative projects such as the Recharge Rooms in Schools Program it has been an amazing ride. Bryce Pace – Autism Advocate is no longer just a place where you can read about autism, it is now where people can learn and actively contribute to the autism community. It is a safe place for families of autistics to learn to support their loved ones and it is a place where we can share each other’s stories and help create a world that will accept, include and embrace the autism spectrum. three years is a long time and we have achieved a lot in those years however there is still a long way to go until we reach our goal, so let’s get out there and create the world we want to see.
Thank you for your continued support
Bryce Pace
Autism Advocate, Blogger, Speaker
Below is the post that started it all.
you can also read the post by heading to: www.brycepaceautismadvocate.com/the-first-blog-post
A Screenshot of a Facebook post with the post date April 10th 2016. the post reads In the past couple of years I have heard people use autism as an insult and I have seen people take selfies of themselves pulling silly faces saying they have autism or have captions such as “the autistic boys” I would like to say something about these people they do not know what autism is if they are mocking it like this. There are Autistic people all over the place they are just ordinary people with as some people describe it super powers. There are people who have autism and they walk past you every day and some even talk to you. I would like to ask a question and I want everyone to think about this. What is wrong with having autism? I would like to end this post with telling you a secret that I don’t tell many people as I am constantly worrying about what they are going to think of me if I tell them and I am sick of hiding who I am. I am autistic and I am proud to be as it gives me “super powers” I can smell fish and chips from a mile away and I can hear things most don’t know exist. Autism is not a disease nor is it contagious and it doesn’t mean I can’t go to school and do the same work everybody else does it doesn’t mean I can’t be who I want to be. I can be whatever I want. I constantly hear people use the question “are you autistic?” as an insult I have even being asked that question and I will answer that now yes I am autistic does anybody have a problem with that?
If you made it to the end of this post and still are willing to be friends with me then you are my true friends. I don’t want to be treated any different because I am autistic just remember that every post you make that makes fun of autism hurts somebody and that post is permanently on the internet like a tattoo is on your skin.
Thanks for reading
Bryce Pace
