Doing tricks I can listen & look & multi-task & talk...it's MAGIC

Cillian, 13, shows autism won't get in his way

- MICHELLE FLEMING

HE'S the teenage magician whose mesmerising performance on Britain's Got Talent left Simon Cowell speechless and the judges in tears.

He has already clocked up more than 140 million views around the world.

And this week, 13-yearold Cillian O'Connor invited us to his wizard's cave at home in Mornington, Co Meath, for a private audience.

On his last appearance on the show, inspiring Cillian told the audience: "Having autism is not a disability, it's an ability. When I was younger, I was unable to interact with people.

"After discovering magic my life changed. It was like a light switch coming on inside my head.

Last week, Cillian wowed the Irish Mirror as proud parents Elaine and  Ritchie looked on. And he told how magic is a means of communication for him - the key to the social world.

He'd like to inspire others with the same struggles to find something they love that can give them confidence.

Cillian said: "I let the magic speak for me. I always have a pack of cards or a Rubik's cube.

"I can narrate the trick and people ask questions vering and I can talk then. Before, I didn't know how to join a conversation."

Upstairs, in Cillian's "cave", are magic wands, vanishing boxes and a collection of 100 of his favourite card decks filed away in categories on a shelf next to his vast library containing hundreds of books CONNOR about illusions.