Banana Jim is breaking down barriers

Thanks to Social Futures for creating this video and capturing Banana Jim's experience in feeling safe and happy in a public space.

[Video Transcript]

I'm the new treasurer of the Banana Festival.

So, I conned my son into being a Banana Jim.

Laughter.

Here we go. You right Banana Jim, ok.

It's good for him because being an Autistic child it allows him to be in a

crowd without feeling that he's actually, in that crowd.

And been around people, so it allows him to break that barrier down a little bit.

And that's very good for him and that's the way we see it,

it's good to get him out there socialising with people and in a crowd where he

normally wouldn't be comfortable. And that's what we're trying, that's what we're doing.

You know if you had a disability 30 years ago it just wasn't there, people didn't know about it.

And they just treated you like you were a leper basically and pushed you off to one side.

You either had to try and become normal like everyone else, or you just got left behind and that's the way it was.

I know, I've got a disability too so, you know I'm just used to this.

And to me, sorry this is getting to me it's very hard.

It has changed, probably in the last 10 years or so people have come in with a lot more welcoming to people with disabilities.

Its only because it's been put out there a lot more, the government's pushing it a lot more.

And trying to get people with disabilities to be part of a normal world.

The NDIS has been very good, to allow the people with disabilities to become part of that normal Australian public that we're not 100% part of yet.