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\nMoana Moala, 10 (left) with older brother Soni Moala, 11, and younger brother Ofa Moala, 5, holding Soni\u2019s WBOP Speech Competition 2026 certificate and trophy. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
When Tauranga Intermediate Year 7 student Soni Moala suddenly began jumping in circles, shaking his arms and hands and loudly calling \u201cHa! Ha!\u201d in front of an audience, he knew exactly what they might think. \u201cWhat a weirdo. Is he alright? He\u2019s crazy!\u201d<\/p>\n
He then asked the audience how they felt watching him. This was the opening of the 11-year-old\u2019s speech that won first place in the Year 7 division of the Western Bay of Plenty Speech Competition.<\/p>\n
His speech, \u2018Life lessons from my brothers with autism\u2019, was inspired by his two younger brothers, Moana, 10, and Ofa, five, who both have autism.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut before you knew me you judged me,\u201d Soni told the audience. \u201cThis is what my brothers have to go through for the rest of their lives being kids on the spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Soni, the message was personal.<\/p>\n
He shares a bedroom with his brothers and said growing up with them had taught him lessons about difference, communication, patience and kindness.<\/p>\n
After struggling to settle on a topic, his mother, Aloi Koula, suggested he talk about his brothers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time they were playing around together, and I asked him how he would feel if he did a speech on them,\u201d Aloi said.<\/p>\n
Something he knows<\/p>\n
Soni initially worried listeners would find the subject boring, but his mother told him to make it entertaining and relatable.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always with them. He\u2019s their big brother,\u201d she said. \u201c[I thought] It would be easier for him to do a topic on something that he knows and he can educate others on.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his speech, Soni explained that autism was a different way of experiencing the world, comparing it to looking through someone else\u2019s glasses: the world remains the same, but the way it is seen is different.<\/p>\n
He described his brothers as being very different from each other, despite both being autistic.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne won\u2019t hurt a fly but will hold his nose if you talk too close to his face and the other one won\u2019t hurt your feelings but will probably bite you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we see as rude\u201d behaviour, Soni said, may instead be part of how an autistic person experiences and communicates with the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind every behaviour is a person trying to communicate. Be patient enough to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soni also spoke candidly about his experience as an older brother, joking that he is \u201cneither the referee nor protector\u201d but \u201cthe instigator\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Normal\u2019<\/p>\n
He talked about using his brothers as \u201ctackle targets\u201d and wrestling partners and teaching his youngest brother \u201cpuppy eyes\u201d to use on their mother when they want McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that his family life was not always easy. Before embracing their differences, there were times when the family tried to teach the boys to be \u201cnormal\u201d. \u201cNormal is just a cage to put them in,\u201d Soni said.<\/p>\n
\nMoana Moala, 10 (left) with older brother Soni Moala, 11, and younger brother Ofa Moala, 5, holding Soni\u2019s WBOP Speech Competition 2026 certificate and trophy. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Aloi said she and husband Mani helped Soni with some wording while he was developing the speech. At home, the multilingual family use English, Tongan and New Zealand Sign Language, supporting Moana, who is also hearing impaired.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter he won, we went out to celebrate at Kwangchow,\u201d Aloi said. \u201cIt was a happy moment for Soni, because it\u2019s rare that we can go out and eat as a family as we have two boys who can be hectic around the buffet area, and picky with what they eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aloi said the public response to Soni\u2019s speech had been overwhelming, particularly after Tauranga Intermediate shared a video of his winning performance on Facebook.<\/p>\n
She said it was especially meaningful as part of the Tongan and Pasifika culture, where autism was not always openly discussed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is support, but I don\u2019t think there are people who are willing to come together and talk about their children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Be kind<\/p>\n
For Aloi, Soni\u2019s speech is helping start that conversation. \u201cWe do it for our Pacific community as a whole. Not much is spoken about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soni\u2019s final lesson is one he hopes people will carry with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a world where you can be anything, be kind,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to protect my brothers that have autism. Let\u2019s do our part to understand the behaviour and not misunderstand the person.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Soni, kindness is \u201clike a superpower\u201d. \u201cIt\u2019s the strength to care when you could choose to judge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Tauranga Intermediate Year 7 student Soni Moala suddenly began jumping in circles, shaking his arms and hands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-634104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}