Christine Horvath has no idea what she inspired. A teacher and head of junior school at Wantirna Secondary College, she passed away from cancer in late 2005, just as one of her students, Chris Varney, was completing Year 12.
Her untimely passing meant Christine didn’t get to see Chris fully blossom. He had been an autistic boy struggling to cope, battling anxiety and depression, before she, along with other helpful teachers and his parents, nurtured and coaxed him out of his chosen invisibility, changing his life. Chris became a law graduate, an Australian youth representative to the United Nations, and a World Vision volunteer for more than a decade, opening his eyes to what he calls “the other side of the story: if you didn’t have a Christine Horvath, what would happen to you?”
“I realised there were people with my same functions who were very anxious and felt like they were total misfits, didn’t ever find a place to belong,” Chris said. “That was confronting, and I realised we needed something to bridge that huge gap.”
Young people with autism are seven times more like to engage in self-injury than their non-autistic peers, according to research from the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre. They have a suicide rate seven times the national average, and education is a major challenge. More than 32 per cent of children with autism do not complete year 10 or above, and only 8 per cent manage to achieve a university qualification.
Essential to autistic children enjoying a more satisfying, positive life is building networks, participating in activities, listening to and taking part in student presentations, being informed about education and employment pathways beyond school.
In 2013, along with two autistic friends, Chris created the I CAN Network, a not-for-profit organisation with the mission statement of having the world embrace autistic people by proving what they can do, rather than negativity about where they might struggle.
Now with 108 staff and embedded in 191 Victorian schools, along with national programs, I CAN works to create Christine Horvath levels of positivity for autistic kids who might be battling to find their way in the world.
The size of the achievement was on show on 9 October 2025 when the I CAN Expo, supported by the Newsboys Foundation and celebrating I CAN’s 10th anniversary, was supersized to triumphantly host 750 people at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre.
“That space says a lot, if you take an event there,” Chris said. “The Expo is a chance for our autistic and neurodivergent kids to share their amazing uniqueness with the world and celebrate what makes them special. At I CAN, we believe in a rethink of autism that moves young people from a mindset of ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’.”
Delivering a public presentation is a terrifying prospect for most autistic young people, which is the whole point. The annual Expo is where they can gain self-acceptance, a sense of identity and confidence in their unique abilities, also building social connections, and a sense of belonging.
The theme in 2025 was: “I CAN Be Me”, with renowned community leader and I CAN patron the Rev Tim Costello – who met Chris at World Vision, when Chris was in Year 10.
Rev Costello opened the event with a passionate speech about the need for all of us to consider separation and connection, referencing the Danish writer Søren Kierlegaard and saying there is no “me” without “we”, essentially we are only happy when we are open to the world and to others.
“There are two audiences at the Expo,” Chris explained. “There are the kids who definitely don’t want to talk, reluctantly give the talk and then say it’s the best thing they’ve ever done in their whole school life. It’s a huge win for some kids who otherwise go through their entire schooling never hearing their name read out at assembly or receiving recognition. It’s hard, though. We’ve had people give talks and then go to the bathroom and vomit, as a result of anxiety. To present is bravery bursting through the seams.
“Then there’s also the audience that like to talk but struggle with listening and the game is to get them to listen to others,” he said.
However, a third audience also exists at the Expo: the families. They watch in astonishment as their autistic child steps out from a lifetime of invisibility to deliver their mini-Ted Talk. It is powerful to witness.
“I’ve sat with one mum and dad who had tears in their eyes,” he said. “It was the first time they had seen their son authentically win at school. It wasn’t that a teacher was being nice and giving ‘pupil of the week’ as a token. This kid was up on stage, owning the room. He captivated everyone. It was so great, and this is what the event is about: creating a space for you to kind of genuinely be you and for people to say, wow, there’s something great about that kid.”
Newsboys Foundation has supported I CAN for years across several projects, from the Expo to running camps, to helping create a formal business plan, to exploring how to extend I CAN’s reach and effectiveness.
“Newsboys are so great at working alongside organisations like ours,” Chris said. “They have been such an important supporter and continue to be. We are very grateful.”
Nick Place