Denmark non-verbal teenager Tyler Hartfield hosts his own radio show to share his passion for music

Tyler Hartfield might be non-verbal, but that has not stopped him hosting his own radio show to share his passion for music with his Denmark community.

The 18-year-old was born with cerebral palsy and is a non-verbal communicator who uses an app on his iPad to verbalise his thoughts.

He made national headlines after his song The One You Feed, a collaboration with his fellow Denmark Senior High School students, went viral online and was mentioned in Rolling Stone magazine.

His song drew inspiration from musician Nick Cave — and it caught the famous Australian’s attention.

Cave responded to the teenager’s song online, praising his lyrics “as smart and as true as something can be, and the final verse is as good as it gets”.

As the end of high school was nearing, Mr Hartfield’s support worker reached out to Denmark FM station manager Matt Sivyer about the possibility of collaborating with the local community radio station.

“Back in September last year, one of the student support officers that worked with Tyler got in touch to say they had a student who was finishing Year 12 and was wanting to look into different experiences and opportunities around town,” Mr Sivyer said.

“Because Tyler communicates through an iPad we figured there is nothing stopping him from producing his own show.

“He types his script on his iPad and we get the audio out of the device and then I chop it up in an audio editing software and mix it in with the music to make it sound like a live radio show.”

Mr Hartfield said his love for music came from the same place as his love for writing poetry.

“I like sharing the songs that I enjoy listening to,” he told the Advertiser.

“I just think about what songs people might want to hear.”

Mr Hartfield works on his show “Tyler On Air” from home where he compiles a diverse playlist of songs, and writes and records his own radio script.

“He was in the studio when we played the first episode and we had it cranked up on the studio speakers,” Mr Sivyer said.

“He was so stoked and he was even typing on his iPad that this was the best day of his life.

“It gave me goosebumps, there was truly something special happening that day that a non-verbal guy like Tyler was debuting a radio show.”

Ms Sivyer said the 18-year-old was a natural radio presenter.

“He loves exploring new music and he has some favourite artists like Pink and Ed Sheeran,” he said.

“He has a really diverse taste in music so it’s always exciting to see what he’s come up with.

“His show is already developing with a little bit more storytelling and he is taking on feedback and improving.”

After the success of his first song, Mr Hartfield has been busy writing his next track which is expected to debut exclusively on Denmark FM.

Mr Hartfield said it was a great experience working with the team at the local radio station.

“It’s great, they are really supportive,” he said.

“(I’ve received) some great feedback, my friends and family keep giving me requests.”

Mr Hartfield’s third “Tyler on Air” show will air on Denmark 99.7 FM on Thursday.