Preparing for her Role: Kyley had never heard or Rett Syndrome and had to learn as much about it as she could. She met Sara, a 15 year-old-girl with Rett Syndrome, and her meeting with Sara prompted her to donate 10% of her earnings to the Rett Syndrome Society and help buy Sara a new wheelchair.. She also watched videos of girls with Rett Syndrome to better study their movements and on her own time, went to the library to learn more about it.
Kyley also had such little acting experience that she took up acting classes. But eventually Kyley adjusted so well to her role that even when she when the shoot was done, she would keep acting like Nikki would.
Kyley on her role:
"I went to the library to study up on Rett Syndrome to learn as much as I could. Then I spent a lot of time studying tapes of girls to make sure I got all the physcial movements right. Nikki is an amazing girl and it's such a sad story about how her mother sticks up for her." -Kyley Statham, fall of 2000
Helping Others: Kyley joined in with the cast and crew to help buy Sara and new wheelchair as well as give 10% of her wages to the Rett Syndrome Society.
School: Kyley studied for school inbetween shoots and also had a private tutor to make sure she didn't fall behind.
Filming: The filming of the movie took approximately 5 weeks and was started in early October. It was filmed at a small farmhouse just north of Winnepeg. The playground and classroom were filmed in Linwood School during the 3rd week of filming.
So what is Kyley REALLY like?
I had the luck to find the email address of someone who met Kyley on the set of "Society's Child". The following information comes from Sandi Lee, the mother of Viola Lee. Viola played baby Nikki during the movie.
"Kyley is a really cool kid. She liked both the babies on the set. There were some very long days but Kyley was always positive and fun to be around." -Sandi Lee, October, 2002