Chloe Hayden
Chloe is an actor, singer, competitive horse rider and autistic advocate.
She runs a successful YouTube channel and is passionate about her motivational speaking work.
Chloe was diagnosed at the age of 13 and her relationship with Amaze began when she and her mother were looking for information online.
She recently finished acting in a short film, and has reflected on her time working on the Change Your Reactions campaign. She was pleased that for the first time, there was a genuine understanding of autism on the film set. It gives her hope that the campaign will spark real change – in media, work-life and the wider community.
“Autism is so stigmatised and misconceived by the media and the public… we are all different, and just because my differences are different to yours, it doesn’t mean I’m any less valid and worthy than anyone else. We all deserve to fit in, we all deserve to feel like we belong. We are different, not less.”
Chloe Hayden
Oscar Harrison
Oscar is in Grade 5, and made his acting debut in Change Your Reactions.
He likes drawing, brainstorming, playing with tech and being with friends.
“[It was] kind of like a VR game because I got to do things I wouldn’t normally be allowed to do. I also got a free cake at the end which was very yum.”
He hopes the campaign will show the wider community what autistic people sometimes feel like – and that it might be different, but that’s ok.
“We might have bigger reactions, smaller reactions or even completely different reactions.”
Oscar Harrison
Ryan New
Ryan is an actor working with Melbourne theatre groups Rawcus and Roller Coaster.
He won Best Male Actor at Tropfest 2019, along with his co-lead, for his role in Comican’t. Ryan is determined to pursue his acting career, and hopes for opportunities overseas.
He’s also passionate about prop making, video games, collecting things, and anime and manga.
Ryan is proud of the messages in Change Your Reactions, and hopes it will give people an understanding of what it’s like to be autistic, and inspire people to learn more.
“We have to learn to respect autism and treat people the same… and to be open to understanding the autistic community. We all have strengths and weaknesses.”
Ryan New