For Sydney mother Lara Bird, nothing makes her prouder than to see her son speak of his autism as akin to being a “limited edition Lego set”.
Twelve-year-old Leo 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.”
Leo’s speech has over 2.5 million views on social media. (Supplied)
Diagnosed with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in kindergarten, Leo’s preschool educators had shared their inklings with his parents after noticing signs in the classroom.
“When he started primary school, that’s when we realised some early intervention was needed to help him with his learning,” Ms Bird said.
It was an online video of another autistic child’s speech that Ms Bird showed to Leo a few years ago, which made a significant impact.
“The child was explaining their journey and I thought, ‘This kid sounds like Leo’. I showed it to him and he really related to this kid and realised this child was like him.
“It started the discussion between us about his autism, realising he was ready to understand a bit more about his neurodiversity.”
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.
Leo (pictured far left) with his family. (Supplied)
‘Being different isn’t a bad thing’
Ms Bird said her son loves acting and being on the stage — but to share his diagnosis so publicly with not just his classroom but his cohort and the whole school was something he considered deeply.
Thinking of the positive impact his words could have, Leo decided to forge ahead.
Leo is on cloud nine after winning the public speaking competition. (Supplied)
In his speech Leo said: “I’ve got the best mates ever. Yeah, they might think I’m a little bit weird or different. But that’s exactly why they like me.
“Being different isn’t a bad thing — it’s just me.”
Now, after delivering the speech and winning the competition within his year five and year six cohort last week, Leo feels on top of the world.
Ms Bird posted her son’s speech on her social media never such a big response, both numbers wise and with positive, relatable commentary.
“I’ve had so many messages and comments from parents saying their child is so thankful for Leo and that they can relate to him,” she said.
“I didn’t expect it to blow up and I’m so happy it has, and he’s even more happy.”
Ms Bird said it’s crucial to see positive representations of autism. (Supplied)
One parent commented on the video: “This is awesome and I showed it to my daughter who is very very much the same.”
Another wrote: “My little guy has ASD level 2 and is 6. These kiddies are magic.”
Timing amid wider autism conversation
The timing of Ms Bird’s post could not have come at a more pertinent time.
Autism came to the fore of global consciousness this week in the wake of the Trump administration claiming without evidence the use of paracetamol during pregnancy was linked with the development of autism in infants.
The advice has been broadly condemned by medical bodies as “baseless” and causing unnecessary fear and stigmatisation.
“I’ve seen a couple of posts online in mothers’ groups saying, ‘My child has been newly diagnosed and now I can’t help but think this was my fault.’ It’s of course not true, and the positive thing is that I’ve seen comments in response to those posts telling the mother to check out Leo’s speech,” Ms Bird said.
“We never wanted Leo or any child to feel ashamed. As long as he’s a good person with a good heart, who cares about the label — it doesn’t matter.
“I am so proud that it is my boy that’s making a change and people love him just as much as we do.”