Leong Z-Keen
The Kuching Autistic Association (KAA) held an autism art exhibition in The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching, from November 3 to 6, 2022, to raise public awareness of autism and to showcase the talents of autistic people.
Various paintings and handicrafts were displayed and sold in an effort to raise funds to support KAA’s efforts to reach out to autistic individuals throughout Sarawak.
“Our oldest is over 40 years old, and they cannot speak or communicate well, which is important when they go out into the world, so we try to find suitable activities in which they excel, and at KAA, we have a variety of activities for them to participate in. Then, a few years ago, we tried painting and discovered they were talented artists,” said Sheila Kho, 62, a full-time employee at KAA for 10 years and the association’s art instructor.
She added that most people with special needs, or OKUs, have low self-esteem and lack confidence, but that both will improve dramatically if the individuals find something other than art in which to cultivate their talents and self-development.
“We held an art exhibition in 2018, but it took us a while to collect the pieces because everyone worked at their own pace. Some people may take weeks or even months to complete their artwork, so it may take us years to collect enough to hold an exhibition,” she said.
Individuals in KAA were given art tools such as colouring pencils to begin with, and materials from the Internet were used as inspiration. Kho will then encourage and teach the individuals to create originals, and once they are ready, the association will allow them to explore and expand their repertoire by incorporating their own style of art.
The association’s journey was not without bumps. Kho said that finance is always a recurring challenge for them because not only do they need money to cover wages, which are around RM700 depending on the teacher’s programme, but the association also needs to subsidise RM300 for student fees.
Furthermore, Kho recalled previous events held prior to COVID-19, such as the Autism Run and food sales, which raised approximately RM100,000 to RM200,000 but were insufficient, leaving the association with a deficit of RM700 to one million ringgit per year.
“Another reason for our deficit is that the general public is becoming more aware of autism as a disability. We have done motivational talks and events to raise public awareness in the past years, which have been successful, but it has resulted in a long waiting list to admit individuals because the public is becoming more aware of autism through the Internet,” she added.
Kho also mentioned the plan to build another KAA block next to the current education block to house more autistic people, saying that a single teacher may be unable to effectively manage ten people.
To conclude on a positive note, Kho advises the public, particularly parents of autistic children, to accept them for who they are and not discriminate against them by becoming furious at their every action.
• This article was written by a student from the Strategic Communication Programme of the Faculty of Language and Communication, UNIMAS.
