Life my way: Leonie's story

Byron Boehm is a 37 year old artist living independently in Sydney.

For most of Byron's life, he has known that he is gay. But it is only in the last year that he has come out publicly. 

It's not just his sexuality that Byron has struggled with in his life. He also has a serious physical condition that causes him ongoing pain and distress. Not only that, a childhood accident left him with damage to his brain and he also has ADHD.

But Byron will not allow himself to be a victim of his challenges. Through his art and with therapy, he's fighting to make a better life for himself and to become a beacon of light, strength and hope for others. 

He also has a very unique business idea that he will share with us.

Ricky and Dina both have intellectual disability and are married. They live together independently in the community. They talk about how they met, how their relationship developed, and about their life together. Ricky and Dina have plenty of insights into the highs and lows of being a husband and a wife, and how they balance being a couple while also having some personal independence. 

Leigh is an environmental activist, a disability advocate, a powerlifter and a straight drag queen. In our third episode of our Life My Way series he shares with us his loves, his losses and everything in between.

Follow Leigh on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

This is the second episode of our Life My Way series. Jess is a young woman living and working in Sydney. She loves her permanent part time job at the ABC and she has her own rental apartment in the Eastern Suburbs.

Jess is active in her local community and has a network of support including her work colleagues, family and friends.

We are excited to launch a new series of our Visibility podcast, Life My Way. In this series we chat to people with intellectual disability about decisions and choices.

In the first episode we talk to Leonie. She shares her story of growing up, living independently, her relationships, and her journey to a job she loves.

In this episode we talk with Ben Paior-Smith, a fashion designer who has autism and down syndrome.   

Ben is a passionate artist who designs apparel for his fashion micro business called Hazzah.

Ben started his clothing brand when he was 19 because he wanted people to be accepted for who they are, to embrace being unique and to have fun in the clothes they wear.  

In this podcast Ben talks about where he draws his inspiration, how his business is run, all the ideas he has, and his dreams for the future.  

To see or buy any of the Hazzah clothing or merchandise, visit https://www.hazzah.com.au/ 

In this episode we talk with Naomi Lake. She is a children’s book author with Down Syndrome. 

She has published two books about Harmony the Hen. 

She is also a dancer and performer with the Light Opera Company.  

Naomi is a strong advocate for people with intellectual disability as well. She is an ambassador for several Down Syndrome associations and has spoken at numerous events worldwide. 

To find out more about Naomi Lake visit the Harmony Hen website.

In this episode we chat with Rudely Interrupted, an indie rock band from Melbourne.  They talk about forming a band with intellectual disabilities, touring the world, recording new songs and getting heard on the radio.  

Jianna is a professional dancer and director at Adelaide’s award-winning Restless Dance Theatre. 

She has performed interstate and internationally, winning accolades since she began dancing professionally at age 14.

She has recently been appointed as an Associate Artist of Philip Channells / Dance Integrated Australia and travels regularly with the company in the role of Choreographic / Workshop Assistant.

In this episode Jianna shares with us her love for dancing, directing, friendship and fun!

Gerard O'Dwyer is an actor, speaker and performer with Down Syndrome.  

Gerard uses his profile to challenge social stereotypes and his work includes
dramatic performances in film, television and theatre.  

He was awarded Best Male Actor at Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival in 2009, Best Short Film Award and Best Male Actor runner up in the Short & Sweet short play festival in 2011 amongst others. 

In 2010, 2011 and 2015 Gerard was selected as an Ambassador for the NSW state government Don’t DISMyABILITY campaign and he has featured in an advertisement for the NSW government CareCareers campaign. 

Gerard has been featured as an Archibald Prize entry by artist Rita Karagelinian in her portrait entitled 'Conversations with a leading man'. 

In this episode Gerard shares with us his experience being an actor, speaker and
performer with Down syndrome.