Student with autism steals the show with inspiring graduation speech
“Do the unexpected. It is your life that you are living, not anyone else’s."
A high school student with autism delivered a powerful speech that brought the house down at his graduation ceremony.
Sef Scott, a graduating senior at Plano Senior High School in Plano, Texas, does not usually speak in public. But he stepped up to the podium at his graduation ceremony to deliver a speech, much to the surprise of his classmates.
"I would imagine that to the seniors that know who I am that it is entirely unexpected that I would be standing here giving a speech," Scott began.
"I have autism and a social communication disorder. Just by my being here, speaking to all of you —- that alone is unexpected," he continued.
Scott said he was inspired by his brother, Sim, who survived a brain tumor and has given speeches about what he went through.
"My brother Sim is a 9-year brain tumor survivor who has given dozens of speeches to raise money for various children's charities since 2009. So with his help and that of my mother, we worked sentence by sentence to make my voice heard," Scott told the crowd.
The result was a powerful and inspiring speech to Scott's fellow seniors about how to live their lives to the fullest.
"Don't follow someone else's dreams. Don't waste time on something you never wanted. Do the unexpected. It is your life that you are living, not anyone else's. So do what fulfills you. Don't fear the future. Don't fear the unknown. Will it be unexpected? Yes. Yes, it will. But that does not make it wrong," Scott told the audience.
Scott ended his speech to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. The school district uploaded a video of it to Facebook, where it has been viewed almost 500,000 times and shared over 7,000 times.
