Children in Need: From delayed speech to singing for the nation
BBCPopping moves and singing along to Michael Jackson tunes, 16-year-old David is quite the showman at his youth club in Dagenham, east London.
It's run by the charity, Enabling Independence, and until David started sessions with them when he was eight, his mum Itohan said he could not even say "mummy" and "daddy".
David was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was three and experienced speech delay.
Now though, he is part of the BBC Children in Need choir, performing live to the nation on Friday - and his friends will be cheering him on.
Emma Middleton, from Enabling Independence, said "they'll be so proud of him" and "glued to that screen watching".
David was keen to show us some new skills when we went to visit him at home in Uxbridge, west London.
He cooked up a scrambled egg sandwich with a sprinkle of chilli powder for his lunch.
David told me what he is learning at Barking and Dagenham College, where he started going in September.
He does science, English and maths, he said, but loves football in the playground most of all.
And when I ask if he also likes to sing and dance, he answers "yes!" with a smile and a little shimmy.
The next time we meet, it is at Launchpad, a free weekly youth club for people aged 11 to 18 with high-level special educational needs and disabilities, which is part-funded by Children in Need.
It is run by Enabling Independence alongside Saturday respite sessions and holiday camps.
The one-to-one support David gets has helped him to develop his speech.
Itohan said: "Gradually he started talking.
"He came home one day and said 'mummy, daddy', he told me that he wants to eat. And I was shocked because it was the first time David was telling me 'mummy can I have my food? I want to eat'.
"[Before] David could not make a sentence. For me it was a huge jump."
The youth club is a safe space, free of judgement, where the young people can develop at their own pace.
Middleton, who is head of fundraising and community engagement at the charity, said: "I really believe that every child should be able to go to a youth club and these kids just can't cope in a mainstream youth club.
"Here, it doesn't matter. If you want to have a running race, you can have a running race. And the staff will join in."
The key to engaging the young people is to find what they are interested in.
That, for David, is music, and while he sometimes finds social interaction a challenge, his confidence shines when he performs.
Which made him a perfect candidate for the BBC Children in Need choir, so he's been learning the songs.
They will perform a special medley featuring Myles Smith's Stargazing and You Got the Love by Candi Staton and Florence and the Machine.
David practises online with the rest of the singers, led by musical director Mark De-Lisser.
Last year's performance raised £490,000 for grassroots charities across London and the UK.
David will head to Salford, Greater Manchester, for the big fundraising show on Friday, but back in east London, his friends will be watching.
Middleton said: "It's just giving him an opportunity that would probably seem really out of reach to many of the kids who come here.
"You're not just affecting one child with the choir, you're affecting all of these kids who are like 'wow, if David can do that, maybe I can do that'."
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