How mentoring and public speaking help people with intellectual disability build confidence and find belonging.
For Asteria Grace, advocacy begins with understanding.
Long before she stepped onto a stage or into the public eye, Asteria was already teaching people about difference, confidence and inclusion.
She was learning how to explain her lived experience in ways that helped others feel seen, understood and valued.
Today, Asteria is a disability advocate, Miss Australian Legacy and a mentor who uses her voice to empower others. She also has autistim.
Through public speaking, mentoring and community engagement, she helps people with disability recognise their strengths and build confidence in who they are.
This article explores how mentoring helps people with disability build confidence and belonging in their communities.
At Endeavour Foundation, we believe the strongest advocacy comes from lived experience and genuine human connection.
Asteria began public speaking at a young age, sharing her experiences of autism and difference with a wide range of audiences.
Over time, those conversations evolved into mentoring, where the focus shifted from telling her story to helping others understand their own.
“Everybody is different,” she says. “And that is not something we need to fix.”
For Asteria, mentoring is about helping people move past the idea that they need to fit into a mould.
Instead, she encourages people to recognise their individuality as a strength and to see their differences as something to be understood, not hidden.
This philosophy reflects the work Endeavour Foundation does every day, supporting people with intellectual disability to build confidence, develop skills and participate in their communities in ways that feel meaningful to them.
One of Asteria’s strengths as a mentor is her ability to speak to different audiences.
She tailors her message depending on who she is speaking with, whether that is young people, families, educators or professionals.
What remains consistent is her focus on inclusion, understanding and belonging.
“When people understand difference, they stop being afraid of it,” she says.
Through mentoring and public speaking, Asteria helps people rethink assumptions about disability and neurodiversity.
She encourages questions, honest conversations and reflection, all of which are essential to creating inclusive communities where people feel safe to be themselves.
This approach closely aligns with Endeavour Foundation’s commitment to inclusion across all areas of life, including home and living supports, work opportunities and community support services.
For Asteria, mentoring is a powerful form of advocacy because it creates change one person at a time.
“I love seeing that moment when it clicks for someone,” she says. “When they suddenly realise they are capable and powerful.”
That moment of realisation is often the first step toward confidence, independence and opportunity. It is also where advocacy moves beyond awareness and into action.
At Endeavour Foundation, mentoring and skill-building play a critical role in helping people with intellectual disability work toward their goals, whether that is employment, community participation or greater independence.
Mentoring helps people believe in themselves.
But it also needs to help people move forward in real life, with the right support.
Asteria’s work as a mentor encourages people to imagine what is possible, while Endeavour Foundation helps turn that confidence into practical pathways.
Together, this creates a bridge between belief and opportunity.
By sharing lived experience and offering guidance, Asteria helps people build the confidence to take next steps.
Through tailored supports and services, Endeavour Foundation helps ensure those steps are supported, achievable and sustainable.
Mentoring is about belonging, being heard and understood, and knowing you matter.
Asteria’s way of mentoring shows how sharing lived experience can help others feel understood, supported and confident.
By working together, Asteria and Endeavour Foundation are helping create spaces where people with intellectual disability feel confident to speak up, explore opportunities and shape their own futures.
Because when people are supported to understand their strengths, advocacy becomes more than a message, it becomes a shared experience.
Learn how our services support people with intellectual disability to build confidence, find belonging and shape the life they choose.