Travis is an amazing 9 year old kid, but his parents Kevin and Brenda noticed that around the time he turned one he was a little different from other children. He was always louder than other kids and more emotional.
She explained that if he became angry his crying would be louder and would last longer that other children. When he turned 2 his anger became to much for him and he would hurt himself by biting himself or raking his face. By the age of 3 doctors described him as explosive, but decided he was still too young to be diagnosed with ADHD or autism. They did however suspect this is the was the case.
This all changed when Travis started school. Within a month his ingenious ways lead him to escaping leaving the doctors with no doubt that he did in fact have ADHD and anxiety. Things soon became more intense. Travis’ emotions became to much for him to cope with and he became even more explosive with one of his big issues being crowds and loud noises making him panic and run. However Travis’s school and community resource groups were quick to help and have been there for him ever since.
Things changed again in grade one. He started to get thoughts about hurting himself when his emotions got too much for him to handle. Once again doctors, his school and community resources stepped up to help him, and for the next two years everybody worked with Travis to help him cope with his emotions. Eventually he developed enough coping skills that the emotions didn’t get so big for him to want to hurt himself, but sadly by this time the children at the school had become scared of him and he had very little friends outside of it.
To help him cope Travis started Tae Kwon Do at Burlington Sidekicks and this has helped greatly with his confidence, self control and focus. He is working hard to gain the trust of other kids and is now making friends. All of his hard word has paid off as he has had his first after school hangout with a friend this year.
Music has always been something that Travis was able to relate to and his favourite genre of music is hard rock. With all this you can imagine Travis’s parents surprise when he informed them that he wanted to go to the Sound Of Music Festival to see his favourite band the Headstones perform. Although they were worried he would not be able to cope with the large crowds and loud music they decided that after all his hard work he deserved the chance to try.
The day of the show came fast and Travis set off for his first ever concert.
Once the concert started Travis had a moment of panic when the crowd surfing started, but with the fast thinking of his dad and the help of other fans Travis was placed over the barrier and began to calm down.The best part of Travis’ day came when Hugh Dillon (lead singer) of the Headstones went strolling through the crowd and actually came up to met him. He shook his hand, gave him a high five and said “Hey little man.”
After the show Travis and his parents wanted to thank Hugh for taking time out to stop and see Travis. They went on the singers Facebook page to properly thank him the singer replied.
“HE was hard to miss- HAPPY AND EXCITED and seemed to be such a warm, kind little kid — AND like me .. no place else he would rather be in that moment – thank you for sending YOUR STORY you made my day!
This is what it is all about, that connection with fans and making a difference. Travis is a remarkable young man who is working hard to cope with his illness and shows us determination does pay off. This shows music overcomes all boundaries and brings fans old, new and young together with one aim, to enjoy it.
Follow our Twitter to keep updated on all the latest celebrity newsand updates! @CelebMix