Ethan Walmark, 6-Year-Old With Autism, Plays 'Piano Man' By Billy Joel

Ethan Walmark, 6, was diagnosed with autism four years ago.

"It feels like yesterday. Four years. It feels like an eternity," his parents, Michael and Allison, wrote on their Autism Speaks fundraising page.

Ethan has a rare musical gift that also serves as therapy -- Westport Patch reported that he could play the Beatles' "I Will" on the piano by ear when he was 4. At the 2011 Autism Speaks Walk, Ethan wowed an audience of 15,000 with his impressive skills. And now, a new YouTube video of Ethan playing the Billy Joel classic "Piano Man" has gone viral. Commenters agree that he's both amazing and inspirational; Gawker called the video a reason to "wake up smiling."

Watch the video above and see for yourself.

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Comments

[Deborah Sue Coleman]

12:33 AM on 05/08/2012

amazing!!

[Davene Fahy]

05:01 PM on 04/30/2012

Ethan you are the best boy when it comes to music. I wrote a book about a little boy who is autistic but has special musical talents. It's called, ANTHONY BEST. But you are better than ANTHONY BEST.
Yeah for you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Davene Fahy, MA
Author of Anthony Best

[Maryanna Barb Hall]

11:26 PM on 04/29/2012

To be blessed by seeing and hearing one of my favorite songs played by this son and father duo (especially the adorable son) gives me warm fuzzy feelings. Thank you Lord, for giving this young man to the world to bring much needed joy and knowledge to the world.

[soarist]

06:57 PM on 04/29/2012

Can't wait till he starts writing his own music!

[HotDamndrea]

04:58 PM on 04/29/2012

What a hoot! And great talent to boot! Ladies and gentlemen, a stah is bohn!

[triffid98]

01:54 AM on 04/29/2012

Autism doesn't mean what most of you think it does. It's a catch-all term that refers to quite a lot of conditions. In some cases it means children who have serious cognitive problems, in some cases it means gifted children with behavioral deficits. I should know, I was one of those children. So were (arguably) Bill Gates and Nicola Tesla. We didn't have the term then, this is something that's only really been diagnosed in the last 20 years except in severe cases.

In my personal case, I couldn't (and still can't) read people's emotions by looking at their faces, likewise I'm generally unable to visibly feign emotions I don't feel. These are basic acts that most of us do without even thinking about it. Socially it caused (and still causes) a lot of problems for me. On the other hand I was reading at college level by the age of 9, I'm a highly skilled engineer, and I'm sure I could have done a mean 'Piano Man' if we'd had a piano in our house.

[Carl E Cook]

11:11 AM on 04/29/2012

fascinating comment

[mrsL]

12:01 AM on 04/29/2012

He'll be one to watch ! Good job!

[sasophie]

10:22 PM on 04/28/2012

Wow. One amazing kid!

[Blodo]

09:33 PM on 04/28/2012

Very cool. I would love to see him do a duet with Derek Paravicini.

[roger g]

09:12 PM on 04/28/2012

Unfreakin believable---Absolutely beautiful---Autism is sure a hard thing to figure out---He not only plays note for note but his pronunciation is clear--I can barely play a comb and wax paper---I hope this kid has a great future--Would be nice to see an autistic child be a role model for others.

[TCancian]

06:35 PM on 04/28/2012

beautiful beautiful beautiful .... beautiful Ethan! Thank you.

[Fumi Bankole]

05:51 PM on 04/28/2012

I love this! :)

[Angie Daniels]

05:29 PM on 04/28/2012

Good for his parents, they found a great outlet for him. I had a roommate whose son was autistic and he was in the choir at his high school. When I was young (and sometimes even now) I suffered from depression and was able to find a home in my school's theater department both high school and college. It's so important to have the arts accessible to children.

[shannonbixler]

04:39 PM on 04/28/2012

Ethan Walmark, you are an Angel on Earth!

[safeinhell]

02:08 PM on 04/28/2012

What was particularly impressive to me was that Ethan had his own unique musical interpretation of the song and that he had mastered the execution of the complex lyrics.