I am writing to let you know that my daughter Caitlin who is 12 and has autism has last weekend (10th May) successfully completed Autism’s got Talent 2014 and along with a few other acts represented the UK at the national event in London, at the Mermaid Theatre. It was the events 3rd year, and has drawn increasing crowds every year it has run. The theatre was full to the rafters, and people were queuing outside in the rain!
The event which was a national talent search run by Anna Kennedy, a charity founder and autism ambassador, attracted autistic talent from as far away as Italy and beyond. It was arranged to raise awareness of Autism and to show people just how talented people with Autism can be. Often perceptions of those with disabilities won’t amount to much but Caitlin and a few others certainly proved that theory to be false! Caitlin was overwhelmed by all the support that she was given and celebrities such as Jo Redman, David and Carrie Grant, and Lennox Lewis were just a few praising the talent on the evening. Although Caitlin was very nervous she performed to ‘Defying Gravity’ from the musical Wicked, and she quite literally defied gravity!
Caitlin has suffered bullying and some of the bullies were particularly unkind and called her names because of her disability. Performing to ‘defying gravity’ was very symbolic to her, the lyrics…’something has changed within me, something is not the same, I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game’ and ‘I’m through accepting limits, cause someone says they’re so, some things I cannot change but til I try I’ll never know’ mean such a lot to her”.
There were singers, dancers, musicians and performers all with various forms of autism, some of the performers had such severe autism they were unable to speak, but their ability to perform, dance and sing was phenomenal and blew me and the rest of the crowd away! The other performers and their families from the show have now become great friends and are an incredible support network to each other already. The show has given Caitlin a platform upon which to build and show everyone that she is incredibly talented regardless of her disability. Within the gym all the barriers and obstacles she meets in everyday life just aren’t there anymore, she gets treated just the same as everyone else.
As a result of being on Autism’s got Talent, Caitlin has already been selected to take part in future events, and an exciting forthcoming event is that she is performing at the national Autism Show, held at the ExCel in London on the 13 and 14th June! We hope to see as many of you there as possible. Caitlin is very keen to take on any further challenges to raise the awareness of Autism and her talents and welcomes any ideas anyone may have.
Jennifer Churcher
