'I'm extra special': Shields 8-year-old with a rare genetic condition has become a 'star' on stage

Alice Todd has ectodermal dysplasia, a condition which only affects one in every 25,000 people.

It means her hair does not grow properly because the roots in her scalp are not strong enough to allow the hair to come through

But the 8-year-old uses it as inspiration to tell the world how special she is.

Whenever she can, she proudly holds her Child of Courage trophy and tells the world ‘only special people like me get this’.

She was a winner at the Best of South Tyneside Awards and hasn’t stopped progressing ever since.

Alice played the role of the star in the Nativity at Holy Trinity CE Academy and even sang on stage.

She is showing great promise in her dancing sessions at the Holy Trinity After School Club.

She is making friends with more people than ever.

Proud mum Michelle Hudson said: “It was a shock when she won the award especially when I heard the stories of the other children in the category.”

“She took the trophy in to school to show it off to everyone and said ‘I am extra special. Only special people like me get this’.”

A medical breakthrough for Alice?

There may be more good news on the horizon.

Tests have shown Alice has a condition called Trichorrhexis nodosa which means she has brittle hair that breaks easily.

Michelle said: “When they have looked under the microscope, there are follicles under the skin and Trichorrhexis nodosa is not allowing her hair to come out.

“They’ve said that in the future, she might need steroid injections to help strengthen the roots to allow the hair to come through."

‘She’s a little miracle’

"There’s a chance that it still might not work and they can’t give her injections until she is 12. But she is a little miracle.”

Alice was born with the condition but she ‘doesn't let this get to her’. She doesn’t let anything get her down, mum added.

She gets her inspiration from the epic film The Greatest Showman.

“From watching the film, Alice would point to her hair and say ‘this is me’ and know that it was okay to be different,” Michelle told the Gazette earlier this year.