Brilliant artist Chris Baker has Asperger's. Being on TV changed his life...
Chris Baker is an incredible artist from Cardiff who for 14 years barely spoke because he has Asperger's Syndrome.
Since featuring on ITV News in August 2015, Chris has turned his life around and has even exhibited his drawings at the Wales Millennium Centre.
Watch the Wales at Six report below:
I was about to start this article by saying that I first met Chris Baker just over a year ago.
That's certainly when we first filmed him and his incredible photo-realistic drawings, but I didn't really get to meet him at all.
Chris has Aspergers Syndrome and would find communicating very tough and social situations incredibly stressful.
His condition meant he left mainstream education early and spent more than a decade pretty much isolating himself from the outside world.
He spent much of that time in his room creating amazing pencil drawings, sometimes spending more than 70 hours on a single project.
So last summer I went to the family home to meet his parents Sam and Stu who wanted to show the world just how talented Chris was.
Chris also wanted to share a pride in his work but we were strangers in his space. A bloke off the telly and a camera man in the house was a real challenge for him.
There were no handshakes and no small talk. I stayed in another room when Chris agreed it would be okay to film him drawing but from a distance.
Chris knew we were blown away by his work. He was listening to my reaction through the door and by the time we left the house he gave us a little wave which his mum said was actually a really big deal.
I felt happy Chris coped so well with his first TV experience.
The report went out in Wales as Six and online so hundreds of thousands saw his work and felt that same sense of amazement I did.
I told my colleagues at Good Morning Britain and a week later the Bakers were on breakfast TV talking about their gifted son while he watched from the wings of the studio.
The fact he was even there in the bustle of London was another massive step.
A year on I met Chris and his parents in Cardiff Bay and it was so obvious he has turned his life around.
He was comfortable walking around and had a huge smile on his face.
He laughed at my jokes (even the bad ones!) and we talked about our mutual appreciation of a certain U.S zombie series!
It was incredible to see how far he has come and how proud his parents are. they have a lot to be proud of.
Chris has Asperger's but he also has huge talent and now a career.
After a tour of our studio Chris left with a big smile after a handshake.
There's no stopping him now!