Asperger's teenager Matthew Topliss is dancing for joy after beating the odds and winning two top scholarships.

The 14-year-old who tried to commit suicide at the age of nine and used to beat his own head against a wall because he wanted a new brain, has just been awarded the prestigious scholarships with the Northern Ballet and the Northern Ballet Contemporary.

Matthew, a pupil at Braithwaite Special School in Keighley and at The Wilson Centre for Performing Arts in Shipley, starts training next week.

It means the teenager will have to give up his free time after school and at weekends as well as holidays to dedicate himself to dance but he says he can't wait.

Matthew was eight when he was diagnosed with Aspergers, a form of autism, but started showing signs something was wrong when he was just five.

His mum Pauline who lives near Keighley said: "He started developing habits, avoiding things, not liking things, not wanting to play with others. He couldn't stand the rain and hated getting his shoes wet - it was over and above child faddiness.

"He was branded the naughty boy at school and put on the bad table. When he was seven his teachers said he was a Peter Pan who didn't want to grow up but I knew there was more to it."

It took three years of GP appointments and talks with teachers before he was finally diagnosed in 2000 and the family moved from Grimsby to Bradford.

Mrs Topliss said: "The relief was enormous but his problems got worse. I would have to peel him off the door frame to get him to school and then he would run away. He tried to throw himself in front of a car when he was nine but I ran after him and managed to stop him.

"It got so bad he would bang his head against a wall because he wanted a new brain that would work properly. It was heartbreaking."

She eventually withdrew him from his primary school because of his problems. But in 2001 Matthew started at Braithwaite School and has come on "in leaps and bounds" ever since says his mum.

It was a chance viewing of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance on TV that inspired Matthew's first steps.

"He always preferred music and would respond better if things were sung to him. He saw Michael Flatley on telly and could copy him closely. That was when he started dance lessons five years ago and it's just gone on from there."

When he dances, the involuntary ticks he suffers as part of Aspergers just disappear, says his mum.

"It's just magical to see him. The scholarships mean he'll be dancing most nights after school and at the weekends, but he loves it.

"Matthew is proof that no one should ever give up on anyone. Somewhere in everyone there is something they can be good at, it just needs nurturing."

His dancing teacher Gordon Wilson said: "If effort is anything to go on, Matthew deserves to get to the top. He's a lovely lad, he works so hard and is extremely dedicated."

And Matthew said: "I don't mind not having much free time, dancing is my holiday!"

FACT FILE
  • Asperger syndrome is a form of autism, which affects the way a person communicates and relates to others.
  • A number of traits of autism are common to Asperger syndrome including difficulty in social relationships, difficulty in communicating, limitations in imagination and creative play.