Hayden McDonald is on a solo mission to prove he should be judged on his ability, not his disability.
Hayden McDonald will fly around Australia to spread his message about autism.abc.net.au/news/esperance-pilot-hayden-mcdonald-raise-autism-awareness/102833924A West Australian pilot is flying around the country to show he should be judged on his ability, not his disability.
Mr McDonald said he would fly solo in his ultralight plane to South Australia, across the eastern states, over the Northern Territory and then down the west coast.It's a daunting task for the pilot in his 20s, but he said he was focused on the job ahead of him. "I try to keep myself cool about it because otherwise I'll lose myself to both fear and nervousness," Mr McDonald said.
He said he planned to land in regional towns and rural communities to speak with schools and community groups about autism and how society could be more accommodating."We are slowly getting better but it's not enough." Mr McDonald said people needed to move past viewing autism as a medical issue, an illness that inherently held those with it back, to instead focus on the barriers in society which prevented people with autism from living full lives."The public majority still treats us like we're a burden, we're someone who needs to be fixed," he said.Mr McDonald, who has a recreational pilot certificate, said he needed a Class 2 medical certificate to earn a pilot licence.
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