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Young, Autistic and Stagestruck
Ch4 1/4 Monday 12 April 8:00pm - 9:00pm
The idea here is to gather a group of autistic young people and have them put on a variety show. Think of it as a massively challenged glee club, if you like. The catch is, autism isn't one thing - it's a spectrum that covers such a range of conditions that it's hard at first to see how the very different ages and abilities corralled into in a London rehearsal room will be able to work together. Ben, for instance, sees the experiment as "a lunatic asylum". He's a 12-year-old, so-called "high-functioning" autistic, ie smart and competitive but not good with emotions. Then there's 17-year-old Andrew who has "classic" autism and, we're told, limited social skills. Nonetheless, he wastes no time in bonding with Claire, a 19-year-old with a fabulous voice but such low self-esteem she cries at the slightest criticism. Mollie, 11, spends the sessions crouching behind a curtain. I'm guessing (and hoping) that by the end of the series, she will have somehow magically blossomed.
VIDEO Plus+: 8021
Subtitled
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