About this Short Film
Carrie's Speech, made by students at Maidstone Intermediate School in New Zealand (2018), is a short film that speaks to inclusion and the everyday realities of young people with diverse ways of thinking. With themes including autism and cognitive processing disability, the film sits naturally within the Focus on Ability festival, which celebrates the abilities, experiences and achievements of people with disability. Rather than prescribing a single interpretation, it offers a school‑aged perspective that invites audiences to listen and reflect. Warm and thoughtful, this piece highlights individuality within a school setting and reminds us why representation matters for teenagers and children learning to be seen and heard.
Film Details
Film Transcript
I was mocked, bullied and ridiculed for my behaviour and my weird way of expressing myself. All throughout high school I was bullied and treated with hostility. This showed me how people acted around people who were different to them — people acted with hostile emotions, sadness and often fake empathy.
When I told people that I had autism the first reaction would be, “Oh, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I could do to help?” These were the reactions I got from mainly everyone. Every time I told someone, they would say, “Oh, I’m so sorry,” and then immediately forget and move on. I was often described as a “weird kid.”
When we went to the supermarket, the people serving us asked, “Is there something wrong with your child?” Jemima responded, “No, my child is perfectly normal.” Using the word “safe” was chilling for me; I was seen as unsafe and unpredictable. All these words used to describe me made me feel like I was an object rather than a person.
But there is a happy story to this. Although I was treated with a lot of mean behaviour and hostile emotions, I learnt to do things in my own way. I learnt how to communicate with people, and the people who did accept me for who I was didn’t treat me with hostility. I also learnt how to do most other things.
I want to say to other people who have autism that we should not treat autism like something that’s holding us back or something that’s wrong with us. We have this so-called disability, but really I think it’s a special skill. I think we should treasure it, like people treasure their talents or roles. Why can’t we treasure our disabilities? That term isn’t really correct — I think we should call it an ability or something that’s different. We’re all different, and if we weren’t different everything would be boring and dull. So I don’t think we should call it a disability; I think we should focus on the ability of people who have so-called disabilities.
Thank you. This was my inspirational speech.
Filmmaker
Maidstone Intermediate School is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Maidstone Intermediate School.
