Twenty-three-year-old Grace Payne was born with autism and competes in powerlifting and basketball at the Special Olympics. Photo / Supplied
Twenty-three-year-old Grace Payne was born with autism and competes in powerlifting and basketball at the Special Olympics. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand Special Olympics athlete leader Grace Payne, 23, from Waiuku has just been recognised for her tireless advocacy work for people with intellectual disabilities at the 2022 Global Youth Summit.
Grace was chosen from five million athletes from around the world to be the inaugural recipient of the Ray and Stephanie Lane Award for Inclusive Youth Leadership.
She was born with autism and competes in powerlifting and basketball. As an athlete leader across New Zealand and abroad Grace has also been advocating for the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in everyday life.
"Inclusion means that everyone is being involved and included. Nobody should be left out or be unheard. Instead, they should be given equal opportunities," Grace says.
She uses social media to raise awareness but says each individual person can play their own small part in growing a better understanding of people with intellectual disabilities.
"One thing we all can and must do is help our families and friends understand intellectual disability better. The cycle doesn't stop with one person. You educate your friends; they educate theirs and so on."
Over the past few years, Grace has been making huge progress in her sports and in her advocacy work.
She finished fourth in basketball at the World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019 and in December this year she will be competing in powerlifting at the Special Olympics National Games in Hamilton.
Off the field, Grace has taken on a number of leadership roles, including co-chair of the Special Olympics National Athlete Input Council, adviser to the Asia Pacific Athlete Leadership Council, athlete representative on the Asia-Pacific Advisory Council as well as on the Special Olympics New Zealand board and she is among a select group of seven athletes in the Asia Pacific region to be named as a global messenger.
"Another thing I do is visit schools or organisations and talk about intellectual disability. I think it's important to educate children so that they grow up to ask the right questions," Grace says.
Waiuku Special Olympics athlete leader Grace Payne was chosen to be the inaugural recipient of the Ray and Stephanie Lane Award for Inclusive Youth Leadership. Photo / Supplied
Although she says she fitted in well at school, she still experienced regular bullying, much of which was based on ignorance from her peers.
"People can be curious, but they tend to overlook the need to word their questions properly. Instead of saying 'what's wrong with you', the question should be 'what's your disability'?"
Aside from educating her peers, she is also working hard to overcome misconceptions and raise expectations of what people with intellectual disabilities can achieve.
"People often tend to believe that those with intellectual disabilities can't be independent and rely on others to live their lives.
"A lot of us can live independently, like everyone else. We can work, we can go to school, we can carry out tasks. Some people may take longer than others to do things, and that's okay. We all adapt differently."
Special Olympics New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young says the entire Special Olympics community is proud of Payne's work and that her achievements have been recognised internationally.
"Grace is well-known around Special Olympics events and she is a leader and inspiration to all our athletes, in the truest sense of the word. And she is only still young, so the sky is the limit for this incredible woman," says Young.
