Esabella Strickland's star is rising.
The Vancouver teen is an accomplished actress, author, and screenwriter. In March she even won a $250,000 US international screenwriting contest.
Strickland also has ADHD, dyslexia, and social anxiety. However, learning differences aren't getting in her way.
"It can be a superpower if you look at it that way," she explains.
Her first co-written young adult novel, Then and There, Here and Where, is now being adapted into a movie, which will begin filming early next year. The sci-fi fantasy story follows a character with her own disabilities.
"Finding that experience in reading about someone who has that same challenge and finding that connection is really important for people," says the author.
But Strickland isn't stopping there.
Her other screenplay, Death Noise, is also being developed for the screen. The 1970s-set horror story is based on an urban legend and described as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind meets Stranger Things."
It seems like a lot for the 15-year-old to juggle but she welcomes the challenge. Strickland also has advice for other teens going through similar struggles.
"If you need help, then you should ask for it, even if it's really scary and knowing that you trust someone to help is really important for that."
With files from Elana Shepert
