31 March 2023
Daydream Machine: Helping kids who are different, to shine
This Moment of Help shares the story of one young man determined to help neurodiverse kids defy labels and change stigmas, all through music and creativity.
This moment of help takes place on Ngunnawal Country, in Canberra where 16-year-old Charlotte is hitting theatrical heights in a karaoke rendition of Queen’s We Are the Champions.
Behind a glittering curtain of tinsel, on an industrial estate, eight young people are kicking back, each relaxing into their own neurodiverse talents. The room has a pinball machine, a puzzle corner, a karaoke/disco/musical alcove, table-tennis, some beanbags, a Photoshop station and an art table.
Charlotte's charisma is incredible. The line, “no time for losers ‘cause we are the champions” seems to have special resonance here. It seems to illustrate how this place, and the uplifting focus of Luke Ferguson, youth support worker (and former singer-songwriter in the ‘90s band Hammonds), supercharges the confidence of kids whose experience of being different has in most cases led to extreme social anxiety.
Luke states the sometimes-forgotten truth that, “every child is talented”, and adds that neurodiverse people have the benefit of being “passionate about very particular things”. Over many years of working in youth support of kids who’ve been labeled disabled, his aim has been to uncover and foster their passions. He elevates their skills, teaches them how to plan and promote events at which they’ll showcase those skills, and leverages his many contacts in the arts community to bring their talents to the fore.
He calls this welcoming, boosting, super-fun phenomenon, Daydream Machine — a business he started a little over a year ago after he won the 2022 Australian of the Year ACT Local Hero award for his work at The Woden School, empowering students with disabilities via a school-wide music program.
The award gave him the encouragement he needed to invest his savings in creating an after-school clubhouse, with a vibe that his young charges would appreciate as, “the coolest place in Canberra”.
This is only the third week that 15-year-old Jesse has come to Wednesday’s session of Daydream Machine, but today sees a notable change in her confidence as she arrives wearing the clothes and makeup of a performer.
Luke sets up the karaoke machine and synched lighting for Jesse to belt out The Cranberries’ song, Zombie. Luke is thrilled by her transformation: “I get such a kick out of seeing their confidence grow, and the lightbulbs that go on when they realise they’re capable of doing very cool things.”
Inclusiveness is a theme in many of the participants’ work at Daydream Machine. Fifteen-year-old Nat is an extraordinary illustrator in the comic-book style. They create characters of different nationalities, who are often living with challenges: one-woman character is blind in one eye, another was born with only one arm “and was bullied because of it, but now she’s OK with it”, and a third has a prosthetic leg. “I like to be inclusive,” explains Nat.
They also illustrate most of the posters that advertise Daydream Machine events, are working on a comic book and thinking of creating a game featuring some of their characters.
Removing stigma, changing people's perception of what young people with a disability are capable of, is so important to me
Logan is 17 and has been writing stories and poetry for the past four years. Her business card in the display near the front door describes her as Author and Ambassador for Neurodivergent Youth.
Logan is currently working on a novel, Sydney Convict, and has another in the pipeline set in the bushranger era. “Through Luke, I’m making one of my books into an audio book, which I thought would never happen,” she says.
I’m staring at a blank wall, trying to go through, ‘cause I am different, how about you?
Luke has always been involved in making music, even during a long period of running his own retail businesses, before he settled into his passion for teaching and working with young people. He says music is “such a good leveller, and a great way to form connections”.
He has been working with 12-year-old musician, singer and artist, Grace — stage name Charlie Grace — since before Daydream Machine was formed, when Grace was in Year 5. She’d had a brutal time negotiating primary school, knowing she was different; but, undiagnosed as being on the spectrum until last year, she didn’t understand why. When Luke heard her sing, he says, “I really wanted to flip that experience for her”, by amplifying her talents.
In 2022, Grace’s last year of primary school, Luke helped her put in an entry for the Edstart Achievement Award in the Performing and Visual Arts category. She won. The accolade came with $1,500 in funding to further her career in music, which has allowed her to buy recording equipment to put together her first album. According to Luke, once shy Grace “sang in front of everyone, and left primary school on a high.” Two of her album songs, Blank Wall and Stuck in My Dreams are already available on Spotify.
Her mother Lilias says, “Grace wouldn’t have any of that experience or knowledge without Luke. He targets everyone’s talent and runs with it.”
The Power of Help is within us all. Communities are stronger together. Share your Moment of Help here or to create your Moment of Help, join the Australian Resilience Corps, as we create the country’s largest army of helpers.
