Corey Burke, a 25-year-old man with an intellectual disability, is promoting disability awareness through music.
Corey is a singer and guitar player in the band The Outsiders, made up of young adults with a disability.
As a founding member of the Sunshine Coast band, Corey is using his platform to promote the abilities of people with disabilities, and to create an “inclusive place” where people can enjoy music and feel that they belong.
Corey hopes the message of the band will be better communicated through music and help people understand that “disability doesn’t have to hold you back.”
“There is nothing better than being up on stage,” Corey said.
“You get to take off all of your disability hats and just be you.
“You’re not ‘autistic’ anymore, you’re just a musician, like everyone else.”
Corey is particularly passionate about sharing information about the everyday reality of disabilities and dispelling myths through his songs.
“Something needs to be done to educate people because otherwise you could sit there and in 10 years’ time, there would be no change for people with an intellectual disability,” Corey said.
“I wanted to help change that.”
“We [the band] have a lot of knowledge to contribute, we just need people to give us the space to share.”
The band wasn’t initially aiming to become as well-known they have, in fact, Corey said the band had no plans when they first got together.
“We didn’t know what we were at first,” Corey said.
“We just knew we liked music and we wanted to have the chance to pursue that.
“We had a real passion and drive and just wanted to give it a go; without that passion and drive, we wouldn’t be here today.”
The band has written a range of songs together, with their shared experiences with disability being a common source of inspiration for their songs.
The band’s first song was Outsider Blues, a song inspired by the perceived outsider status the group felt.
Corey credits his bravery and confidence to his college, STEPS Pathways College, where he has been going for two years.
It is the first and only boarding college Australia-wide which teaches life skills to young adults with a disability, with the ultimate goal being students living lives of independence.
Speaking of the college, Mr. Burke calls it “amazing”.
“STEPS has just been really good; they’ve been really supportive of me and very supportive when I struggle with things because of my intellectual disability.”
“They’re very good at putting it in a way that I understand.”
Mr. Burke said he was excited to graduate from the college and begin his “exciting plans for the future”, including moving out and living independently with his girlfriend, 2021 STEPS Pathways College graduate Kate-Lyn MacKenzie.
As for his next issue of interest, Mr Burke said he sees himself becoming a motivational speaker.
“I want to get into motivational speaking, I’m confident when I’m doing my music so I would love to do something different with that and speak.
“I think it can make a real difference.”
