Young, Autistic & Stagestruck

This landmark series follows one of the most ambitious and uplifting projects ever undertaken by a group of autistic young people.  Nine autistic children have come together from across the UK to attempt the apparently impossible feat of producing their very own musical show.  They will be doing this under the guidance of experienced theatre professionals who have never worked with an autistic cast before.  And as the children battle to overcome the severely challenging nature of their conditions, the most remarkable changes are witnessed.  

12-year-old Ben has high functioning autism - he's exceptionally bright but experiences acute loneliness: "I just feel like something has got inside of me, taken hold of my soul and he's not ... letting go."  But as the project develops he starts to bond successfully with the other children.  Andrew, 17, is classically autistic, and despite limited social skills, he is desperately keen to have his first proper relationship with a girl.  From day one he starts getting closer to Claire, 19, and takes her on the first date of his life - a night at the cinema.  Claire is a talented singer and pianist who also struggles socially.  When asked what autism is, she answers, "Autism means there is nothing wrong with you.  You are ten out of ten good and one day you will be loved for it." 

Mollie, 11, is prone to tantrums and lengthy sulks which test her mother's considerable patience. She suffers from PDA - Pathological Demand Avoidance - a pervasive developmental disorder with symptoms including mood swings, language delay and obsessive behaviour. One way her mum tries to control Mollie's behaviour is to buy cuddly toys for her impressive teddy collection, but an attempt to clear some of the toys ends up in emotional tantrums.  A talented singer, Mollie was diagnosed with autism at four and also has pica which means she compulsively eats non-food substances.  Eleven year old Jozsef - who is highly autistic - has pica as well as Echolalia - the automatic repetition of vocalisation made by another person - but his playfulness makes him endearing to others and soon turns him into the group joker.  

As the children begin to collaborate, drawing on their skills and talents, the series reveals blossoming romances, increased independence, and the first tentative and daunting steps towards working together as a group and making lasting friendships - in some cases, for the first time in their lives.  The series observes this transformative experience through the eyes of the children and their parents as the cast prepares for the performance of their life in front of a packed audience at a top London theatre.

In this series we get an insight into the parent's lives too.  Jan, Andrew's mum, says: "Some people say that they wouldn't have their child any other way, that they have a diagnosis and they embrace it.  If I could choose whether Andrew had autism or he didn't I would chose that he didn't, without a doubt.  I want normality for him and I want him to be able to be independent and ... he never will be.  And that's very sad."

In episode 2 we also meet Jonathan, 11, Alexander, 16, Lea, 13, and Alex, 20.    This extraordinary journey will leave a lasting legacy not just for the young people, like Claire who's taking part to show the world that "I do bloody exist", but also for the half a million people in the UK diagnosed with autism - that's one in 100 - who will see that it is possible to achieve more than they could ever have imagined.