Orlando, FL - ^Featured Artist - Will be performing the National Anthem prior to headliner Saturday Night!
Bethany Burnette's Biography
I have always loved fairy tales. You know the ones where the girl gets the prince and they live happily ever after? And how dreams do come true if you just believe? Well, I have lots of dreams, and I am here to tell you that it is very important to follow those dreams and go for what you want to do, no matter what challenges you may face. I do that every day. I was not supposed to. You see, I have Autism. Here is my story.
I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music. My mom was a professional country singer since she was a little girl, so I got my love of music from her. I guess I always loved music. Even when I couldn’t talk, I would dance every time I heard music. I didn’t talk much. In fact, the doctors were worried and sent me to speech therapy. Worse than that, though, I was scared to death of other kids. I would not look at them, and I wanted nothing to do with them. I avoided them like the plague. If a kid came within five feet of me, I would hang onto my mom for dear life. I never looked at people, and I preferred to sit on the side and just watch everyone else having a good time. Maybe I wanted to join in, but I just couldn’t. Even when I started school, the kids would go up to my mom and ask her what was wrong with me. She told them that I was very shy. I never said a word. Also, I had learning problems, so the teachers suggested to my parents that they have me tested. Well, the psychologist just said that I was slow and needed special education. Every three years I was tested, and every time, they said the same thing. There were always meetings with my parents and school officials. They said that I probably would not be able to graduate from high school. I guess they thought that I was just a dumb kid and to not expect much from me.
Well, my parent didn’t like the results of my tests. They knew I wasn’t dumb. I could put a puzzle of the map of the United States together when I was two, and I could tie my shoelaces on my fifth birthday. Also, I could learn difficult modeling routines and perform them in pageants when I was three and four. My mom put me in tons of pageants because she discovered that I shined onstage. I was crowned “Tennessee State Tiny Miss Southern Charm,” “Nashville Cinderella Toddler,” “Our Little Miss Nashville Baby Petite,” “Imperial Miss Overall Most Beautiful,” “Nashville Cinderella Tot Beauty,” and so many others. One national pageant was held in Memphis to raise money for Special Olympics, and I won everything in my age group! My parents had to rent a van just to bring home all of my awards, including a ride-on Barbie car, and four huge bags of toys! I loved being in pageants. I still love them! I also loved doing fashion shows, and I could really strut my stuff on the runway! My mom got me an agent, and I did a lot of print work. My biggest job was a SAG commercial for Tennessee Valley Authority where I was featured as a little girl in the Depression. I was five years old. I wore a ragged old dress, and the make-up lady put dirt all over me—my hair, my face, and my arms and legs! I had to look extremely sad in my scenes, and the director kept telling my mom that I was living my part and that I was a wonderful little actress! My mom was so proud! That commercial aired on television for months, and it was fun seeing myself looking so pathetic! From that day on, acting was my life!
When I was five, I started violin lessons. I could play by ear, but for some reason, I could never learn to read music. I also took dance classes, but it wasn’t until I was about eleven that I discovered how much I liked to sing. My actual first performance was when my school asked me to sing “The National Anthem” for a basketball game. Everyone cheered, and at that moment, I was bitten by the singing bug!
My family and I moved to Orlando, Florida, and I continued to struggle in school. There were more tests, and more meetings with my parents, and more results that I had a severe learning disability and just would never make it through school. No one could diagnose my problems. I still could not make eye contact with people, and I could not carry on a conversation. I was obsessed with certain things, such as shoes, and I would talk about them all day long. Also, I worried myself sick about illnesses, and I would ask my mom a thousand times a day if she felt dizzy. I worried that I had a heart condition or that I was dying of some disease. These thoughts consumed my daily life. I would develop attachments to certain teachers. Each year I had a “favorite” teacher, and I would talk about that teacher every second and drive my parents absolutely crazy! In fact, I would write letters that were pages and pages long to these teachers every day. I am sure that they appreciated that! I also would sit in restaurants with my family and write down not only our conversation, but the conversations of people in tables all around me. I would give those to my teachers or hide them in the bathrooms at school. I would walk around with my hair covering my face. I would flap my hands when I got nervous. When I did talk, I didn’t always know the right thing to say. I got bullied a lot in high school because the kids probably thought that I was weird.
You know how I said that the doctors and school officials said that I probably would not get through school—well, they said that I would not get through Algebra I for sure. Well, I set out to prove them wrong! I was in the ninth grade, and I not only got through Algebra I, but I got A’s and won an Algebra award at the end of the year! So much for those people’s opinions! But I continued to have so much difficulty in social situations that my parents set out once more to have me tested to see what exactly was causing all of my problems. A teacher had suggested that I could be Autistic, so my parents took me back to Nashville to a doctor who specialized in pervasive development disorders. Sure enough, as I sat there in his office with my hair covering my face so that he couldn’t see me, my parents got my diagnosis. Autism. Why didn’t anyone ever diagnose me before? The doctor couldn’t believe that I was in high school and had struggled so long without any intervention. He suggested the stage for me—for my parents to get me involved in drama! I was already doing school plays and stuff, but he meant to really get involved in it!
That is exactly what happened! My parents moved me out of my public high school and enrolled me in a private Christian school because I was hiding in the bathroom every day. I joined a local youth theatre group, as well as an acting class, and I started to come out of my shell. My teacher in my acting class gave me long monologues to perform, and I memorized them and made people believe that I was that character. I was cast in many productions at my youth theatre. I performed my dream role of Eponine in Les Miserables! My wonderful teachers and new friends came to see me in that show and cheered me on! And I graduated from high school and sang at my graduation!
Since then, I have been performing all over! I have been in more musical theatre productions, I sang a solo at The White House with the group Orlando Kids On Stage (and lots of other shows with that group), I have performed at all kinds of local festivals, fairs, conventions, and events. I sing “The National Anthem” at charity events, sporting events, festivals, conventions, and even political events. I have released a brand new single called “Secret Crush.” I have performed for tons of charity events, and I especially love performing for Autism events or for people with other challenges. I want to be a role model for young people with Autism. I want them to know that it doesn’t matter what anyone tells them—just to follow their dreams. This is not to say that I don’t still struggle with Autism every day. I do. It doesn’t go away. I still have trouble making eye contact or having conversations with people in person. That is very hard for me. I still like to get away into my own little world. But I am working hard at overcoming these things as much as I can. I talk to people who call to book me for shows every day on the telephone, and I am proud to say that I do most of my bookings all by myself! So, dare to dream! After all, dreams can come true if you just believe!
