This AuDHD primary school student’s speech is getting attention | ABC NEWS
Leo Bird is the talk of his community thanks to a speech he gave at his school’s 2025 young communicators competition, where he opened up about his neurodiversity.
He loves elevators. He can answer countless questions about traffic lights. Plus, coding anything with an electric switch is also a passion, along with YouTube.
“I like to explain autism like a chilli,” Leo said in his speech that has over 2.5 million views after being posted on social media.
“Some people are mild, some are medium and some are super spicy … I’m not broken. I’m just built different. Like a limited edition Lego set.”
Diagnosed with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in kindergarten, 12-year-old Leo’s preschool educators had shared their inklings with his parents after noticing signs in the classroom.
It was an online video of another autistic child’s speech that his mum showed to Leo a few years ago, which made a significant impact.
Years later when it came to entering his school’s public speaking competition, Leo made the decision to write his speech about a very personal topic. This was the first part.
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