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MEET BRITTANY!
Living for the Applause
Lynn Nickles
By Musical savant Brittany Maier lights up the stage
Photography by Jeff Amberg
Renowned musical savant Brittany Maier loves applause. And she knows exactly how to hit the applause button on the TransAcoustic device underneath her Yamaha baby grand piano. When she hears the recorded applause, she smiles broadly and says, “Thank you. Thank you very much.” It’s almost as good as real applause, but not quite.
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When she heard music coming from the speakers, she wanted to get to where it was coming from," says Tammy Maier, Brittany's mom. "She wanted to touch it. She started learning how to crawl just to get to the music so that she could be as close to it as possible.
"Witnessing a miracle in this day and age is a rare occasion. Some may go searching for them, but most of the time they happen unexpectedly. Brittany Maier is blind, autistic and has a rare and remarkable gift for music."
Bill Budris, Ability Magazine
Dateline NBC's article featuring Brittany by Sara James
Weighing just over a pound, Brittany Maier was just given only a 5 percent chance of survival. It was touch-and-go for months, but Brittany somehow hung on. But all of that oxygen in the ventilator that kept her alive had a price: It took her sight.