He later performed as a lead musician with the metalophone as his instrument during a World Youth Day celebration. He then took up the marimba and, after only four months, was a special guest artist of the Philippine Madrigal Singers in a concert on the main stage of the Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. At the O.B. Montessori Center in the Philippines, Tum Tum is a consistent honor student. This discrepancy between verbal and performance scores shows best abilities on tasks that do not rely on verbal elaboration of concepts or percepts. Language deficits in terms of language processing remain.
Social skills are the main deficit.
The most recent evaluation applies a diagnosis of Autistic Disorder. Proceeds from the album will be donated to a special educational fund of the Autism Society of the Philippines for the benefit of indigent families who cannot afford educational intervention and other therapies for their special children. Tum-Tum, with the effort, support and encouragement of his dedicated, and grateful family, has done much to raise awareness about autism in the Philippines, and now internationally, donating countless hours to fund raising activities for the Autism Society of the Philippines and other organizations for the handicapped. As with other prodigious savants, Tum-Tum's extraordinary ability has served as a conduit toward normalization for him through the unique, flexible and innovative educational approach used in conjunction with the other therapies provided him as well. There have been continuous gains in language and social skills.