Video: Deaf Fife girl’s bid to join Lewis Capaldi on stage

Niamdh Braid, 10 with mum Sam, dad Steven and brother Billy.

Niamdh Braid (10) was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and now relies on hearing aids, sign language and lip reading to communicate.

When she learned her Capaldi was performing at the Tartan Heart Festival she took it upon herself to learn his first UK number one ‘Someone You Loved’.

Her mum Sam (37) filmed the rendition and is now sharing it on social media in the hope that Capaldi or festival bosses will allow her to perform the track on stage.

Niamdh said her dream would be to sign the song as Capaldi sings it at the festival held at the Belladrum Estate near Inverness in August.

She said: “It took me a day and a half to learn it.

“I would be so happy and excited just to perform with him.

“I love him loads, he’s really good.

“My friends said it would be cool to go on stage with him and how lucky I would be.”

Niamdh, who attends Pitteuchar West Primary School in Glenrothes, has been going to the music festival since she was four-years-old.

This week, mum Sam sent Niamdh’s request to the festival bosses and they thought it was a good idea.

But she has to wait for confirmation from Lewis’ management team.

On Saturday Sam posted a video on social media of Niamdh signing to the hit single and it has already been shared more than 200 times.

Sam, a family support worker, added: “We go to Belladrum every year. She has gone since she was four and she loves it.

“It’s the best weekend of the year.

“We found out Lewis Capaldi was playing – Niamdh and my son love him.

“They listen to him constantly in the house.

“The plan was to put her on my shoulders so she can sign the song to him.

“But we thought it would be even better to get her on stage with him.

“I just hope Lewis sees the request and makes my little girl’s dreams come true.

“She embraces her disability, she decorates her hearing aids.

“At the moment they are bright red and purple.”

Niamdh has always loved signing but she can’t get anyone to teach her because ‘she’s too young’.

But although she can speak, Sam feels it is vital for Niamdh to learn British Sign Language (BSL) so she can communicate with her deaf friends.

Sam, who is also a mum to Billy, eight, added: “She is the only deaf child in my family and the only one at her school.

“She uses two hearing aids and other assistive hearing aids at school so she can hear her teacher.

“If there is too much background noise, she has to rely on lip-reading.

“I’m currently learning BSL so I can communicate with my child but I have to pay for it.

“She’s doing BSL with us and spending time with other children.

“I can’t get an instructor to come and teach her because she’s too young.

“One instructor said they will take her on at 12.

“She uses subtitles on the TV which has improved her understanding.

“Her speech is brilliant but she needs BSL so she can communicate with her deaf friends.

“She is self-taught at the moment.”