Carly Fleischmann is an autistic woman who can’t speak, but that hasn’t stopped her from pursuing her dreams of becoming what she calls the “first-ever nonverbal celebrity talk show host.” And from the short package that introduced her segment during Night Of Too Many Stars, she has succeeded with the help of technology and some creative thinking.

Can you believe the people that people magazine interviews in their publication? They'll interview anyone… https://t.co/9q2IGlCOq4 — Carly Fleischmann (@CarlysVoice) November 16, 2017

Her appearance during Night Of Too Many Stars was meant to demonstrate this, but it ended up demonstrating the importance of the telethon instead and why we need autism education. The interview doesn’t go as planned due to the realities of autism — unlike the rest of the night which seemed to suffer from the hazards of live television. And while the comedians could easily joke their way through the rest of the show when things didn’t go as planned, it wasn’t the same when things got serious.

PS: to reiterate, @CarlysVoice is awesome and it was so nice seeing her on the show. I wish circumstances had worked out so she could have done her bit, but I'm glad she was there and surrounded by people who wanted to support her and not put her down. #NightOfTooManyStars — Michael Cook, Jr. (@thoroughlyme) November 19, 2017

Luckily Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart handled it wonderfully and highlighted the message of the night. Colbert kept calm and did his best to support Carly throughout and then Stewart spoke after the show returned from its break, praising Fleischmann for her genius and how she’s managed to persevere despite everything.

Colbert returns later next to Fleischmann in the audience, letting folks know that her distraction wasn’t due to her autism but was instead due to her OCD and the golden confetti on the stage. But while addressing this, he promises to do the interview in the future and teases the questions she wrote specifically for him. It’s a great moment all around and folks online agreed.

Stephen Colbert handling that wonderfully and calmly is exactly why he’s one of my favorite celebs always & forever. #NightofTooManyStars — Laura (@Lmtrendy88) November 19, 2017

I absolutely love how Jon Stewart addressed that. It's a reality for people with autism to have fixations, and it absolutely is not shameful. #NightofTooManyStars — Chloe Muir (@ChlosephRenee) November 19, 2017

To close out the show, Jon Stewart summed up everything that happened during the night and what it meant to those involved.

(Via HBO)