'America's Got Talent' Contestant with Autism Rocks Out

Jacob Velazquez performing his original song on the piano on the show “America’s Got Talent.” Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC.

Jacob Velazquez received a standing ovation in last week’s episode of “America’s Got Talent” after performing an original song on the piano and rocking out on the drums.

The 12-year-old from Pembroke Pines, South Florida said in a clip uploaded on the show’s YouTube channel, that he is diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). “I think differently than the way other kids think,” Velazquez said in the YouTube video. “I have had people at school call me weird.”

Velazquez said he’s attended therapy, gone through struggles–but most importantly–has found comfort in music.

“Music has definitely helped me especially with expressing my emotions with my piano,” Velazquez said in the YouTube video. “My brain takes those feelings and puts them into my fingers.”

He began his performance by playing an original composition on the piano. Then, Fall Out Boy’s song “Centuries” blasted through the auditorium speakers and Velazquez accompanied it on the drums with theatrical skill.

This season, “America’s Got Talent” is filming without an audience due to COVID-19 prevention. After he finished his set, the judges panel gave Velazquez a standing ovation despite the empty auditorium.

Velazquez said in the YouTube video that it’s his dream to be on the show because he wants “to show people that just because you have some kind of disability or some kind of diagnosis doesn't mean you aren't capable of great things."