“I was diagnosed with level 2 autism po. Tsaka siguro yung first words no’ng bata ako, lumabas yung first words ko around six or seven years old po ako.”
This is what singer LA Santos said during an exclusive interview with RAWR Nation.
The 21-year old singer was diagnosed with level 2 autism, which required substantial support as he had difficulty communicating. He also had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which affected his attention, self-control, and ability to sit still.
According to Santos, he had a hard time expressing his thoughts because of his disease.
“Parang naging ganoon ang sakit ko po eh. Parang everytime na hindi ako makapag-communicate nang maayos, parang nagta-tantrum po ako or nagdadabog po ako. Ganoon ako nung bata,” he shared.
What’s even more challenging is that Santos did not know of his condition when he was young.
“Nung bata po kasi, kaya rin po ako nahirapan, nung time kasi hindi ko po alam na may sakit akong ganoon.
“Parang ang nangyayari sa akin noon, kahit anong bagay na gawin, kunwari sa school mga gano’n, mga bagay na ayoko, hindi po ako makapag-focus po. Kahit anong gawin ko, parang ang utak ko sobrang lumilitaw, pasok sa kaliwa, labas sa kanan.”
However, the good thing about having ADHD is that he became more focused on something he likes.
Still, it was hard for him, especially when he was still discovering his aspirations in life.
“Kaya doon po ako nahirapan kasi hindi ko alam nung una na ganoon po ako. Kaya nung time na hinahanap ko pa ang mga passion ko, mga gusto ko sa buhay, mahirap.”
But this challenging chapter in his life could not be beaten without the support from his mother, Florita Santos.
“Pero doon ako naging super thankful kasi ang nakapagpagaling din sa akin is the love of my mom po.
“We did therapy po, like pagamot po, mga ganoon. Growing up po nakita ko na pinaghirapan talaga nang mommy ko lahat,” continued Santos.
The support that his mother showed Santos also made its way to inspire him into music.
“Kaya do’n na rin ako na-inspire sa music ko po kasi yung mommy ko po talaga, siya ang nag-push sa’kin na mag-start sa music ko po.”
He even revealed that he did not like it at first but fell in love with music when he first stepped on stage.
“No’ng una, ayoko po talaga. Pero nung time na nakapatong na ako sa stage, na natikman ko na ang stage, grabe, parang na-love at first sight yung feeling ko po no’n sa music.
“S’yempre with the support and the love of my mom na rin, mas na-push pa po natin ang career ko dito. Doon po ako super forever mai-inspire dahil sa mommy ko talaga.”
Three years from being diagnosed with autism and ADHD, Santos has now progressed to have a wonderful career in music.
He is among the artists of ABS-CBN Music’s newest music label, 7K Sounds, launched in 2020.
Santos already has released a full-length album at just a young age, paired with numerous singles such as Tinamaan, Hibang, One Greatest Love, Miss Terror, Ikaw Kasi, Bakit Pag-ibig, and Mine.
