Autistic race car driver Ben Taylor meets with Riverview students

Sixteen students from the Riverview Inclusion Program end their school year on a high when they travelled out to Sydney Motorsport Park for an inspirational meeting with autistic race car driver Ben Taylor. The Riverview Inclusion Program is a leader in inclusive education and works with ambassadors like Ben to help the college’s neurodiverse students realise their own potential.

The students were excited to head out to Sydney Motorsport Park on October 22 to meet Taylor and to learn about motorsport from a driver who is breaking down barriers for neurodiverse people just like them. The children also had the opportunity to tour the pits with Taylor and his coach, motorsport legend Fabian Coulthard.

Backed by auticon, the world’s largest autistic majority company, Taylor also helped the students to understand that there is a world of opportunity for them beyond the school gates. Currently operating with 500 employees globally, auticon employs autistic people in a variety of roles, with a focus on IT consulting.

Ben shared insights with the students that helped them to look to the future and understand if they set goals and developed resilience, they too could realise their dreams and not let personal boundaries define them.

Riverview Inclusion Program head of special education Toby Martin was grateful for the opportunity students had to meet Taylor and Coulthard.

“Over the years, the program has benefited from connections with ambassadors who provide valuable experience and guidance for the students as they look towards the future, and Ben was great at providing insights around exactly that,” Mr Martin said.

“Students in the class were excited by the prospect of meeting someone who has not only overcome personal barriers but who refuses to be defined by them.

“The students … have recently finished a unit of work on the Olympic and Paralympic Games and as part of that they have explored the concept of adversity, challenges, and achievement irrespective of personal circumstance. Meeting Ben offered students the opportunity to see someone who has lived experience in this area.”

Taylor enjoyed connecting with the students and sharing his experiences both on and off the racetrack.

“I think it’s important to continually challenge traditional views of people on the spectrum and push boundaries, so that people understand our potential to deliver meaningful outcomes across a wide range of roles and industries,” he said. “It’s so important that these children … understand there is more out there for them if they are determined not to let barriers get in the way of who they could be.

“I really enjoyed showing the students through the pits; they asked some really great questions and were truly engaged in the experience.”

auticon Australia and New Zealand CEO and managing director Bodo Mann said businesses needed to think differently about opening up roles to harness these and other students’ potential to deliver greater innovation.

“The truth is that the greatest difference these students have is that they think differently,” Mr Mann said. “People can think about this as a barrier to success, but it can be the world’s greatest opportunity to access innovation.

“With an unemployment rate for autistic people sitting around 34 per cent and an underemployment rate approaching 90 per cent … with greater diversity in business comes an approach to problem-solving that is different, and it is this difference that breeds innovation, and innovation … ultimately improves business outcomes across the board.

“It is time we broke down the barriers to employment for these children and started to think differently about the meaningful contribution those on the spectrum can make in the workplace.”