Brydi's story

Hi, BTN. I'm Brydi and I'm 11 years old. I live in Brisbane. And this is my family. There's Mum, Dad, my two brothers and my sister. And this is my wheelchair.

For the past three years, I've been wheelchair racing competitively.

Brydi's coach: You've got this, baby girl! Keep going!

And this year, I've started playing wheelchair basketball too.

My favourite thing about wheelchair racing and wheelchair basketball is I can go super fast, and for wheelchair basketball, it's really tough.

Some of you guys might have seen me before on BTN with some of my favourite wheelchair athletes, but today I want to tell you about something else that I've been doing.

You see, while being in a wheelchair hasn't ever held me back, having a disability can sometimes make it hard for kids at school.

When I started school, I didn't really have any friends, and a lot of the other kids used to bully me, to the point where I didn't feel like being at school.

I work hard on my self-esteem, and don't let the bullies get to me.

Sports coach: Three, two, one, launch it! Go!

A little while ago, the children's charity Variety approached me to be part of the programme called Just Like You.

Children: Just Like You!

Since 2015, it's been teaching primary school kids around Australia how to accept and include people living with a disability.

It gives kids with a disability a chance to share our stories with other kids, and it helps them to understand that, really, we're just like them. 

Now the programme has come to my home state, Queensland. I'm excited to be in the programme so I can teach kids that they can overcome bullying ...

… while also showing able-bodied kids that people with a disability can do awesome things like I'm doing.

My biggest goal is to go to Paris for the Paralympics in 2024.

Brydi's coach: So proud of you, babe! Keep going! You're doing really amazing!

I'm training really hard with my coach and former Paralympian Louise Sauvage to make it to the Games.

I want to compete in the 100m, 200m and 10km races, and want to be in the wheelchair basketball team. No matter what happens, I'm going to put in my biggest effort and achieve big things.

© ABC