The recent removal of the Autism Consultancy early intervention centre from a gated community in Cheras, highlights the tip of the iceberg of the challenges autistic children face in a world that glorifies perfection and accepts only “normal people”.

 

But autistic child Delwin Cheah Wien Loong has broken barriers and shown that people like him can have the courage and strength to strive in a “normal” world.

 

Delwin, 12, recently received a letter, his second, from United States President Barack Obama, thanking him for his “thoughtful gift”.

 

He received the first “praise and recognition” letter from Obama ( left ), on  Aug 11 last year.

 

“I always appreciate when hearing from young people like you and I encourage you to set your sights high and aim for excellence in all that you do,” wrote Obama in the quick note to Delwin this time.

 

The boy was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at age five, and has an IQ of 114, but that did not stop him from having an illustrious profile, strongly based on his drawings, which he has been working on since he was three.

 

His favourite drawings are of animals and plants in safari settings.

 

Among the highlights of his artistic career, Delwin was certified and listed in the Malaysian Book of Records for being the youngest artist to hold a visual exhibition of more than 60 pieces.

 

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng presented Delwin, in the company of his parents - Lawrence and Erina Cheah - the MBR certificate on 15 May 2013.

 

On Nov 18 that year, Delwin was certified as “World Youngest Savant Artist” to hold a solo exhibition by Record Setter in USA.

 

Three days later, he presented his masterpiece to Rosmah Mansor ( left ), the wife of Prime Minister Najib Razak, at the groundbreaking ceremony of Permata Kurnia Negara, in Kuala Lumpur.

 

On April 30 last year, Delwin won the Malaysian Book of Records 2014 “Most Outstanding Personality” in the Art Category at the “Nation Salutes You” Gala Night in the country’s capital.

 

Much of his achievement come from his learning at the Lighthouse Academy, an international learning centre, at Batu Feringghi. It has 70 students and 15 teachers.

 

70 percent are regular students, between four to 17 years, while 30 percent are kids with special needs like Delwin.

 

Established three years ago, the academy follows an American syllabus, and its mission is to accept all, including “rejects”.

 

Teachers here are not to train students to have straight As but to provide them a space to grow and learn in their own pace. 

 

“Let them bloom in a wonderful environment, warm and accepting, with passionate and dedicated teachers, who are like pearls,” said owner of the academy, Dr Chew Yu Gee ( right ), who hails from Kulim.

 

He has one question he likes to pose to those who belittle special kids by calling them handicapped or retarded “Who is actually the handicapped? Who is the retard?”.

 

Chew said as society advances, there is place for every human, animal or plant to survive.

 

“One of the first steps to deal with children such as Delwin is not to place them with other autistics. 

 

“How they can they learn from one another?” asked the 55 year old well-known paediatrician in an interview with Malaysiakini .

 

Personal interest

Chew said, he and his wife Melody, have a personal interest in starting the school. Their second son is autistic.

 

Today, Chew’s son has graduated from Monash University as a doctor, and is planning for his wedding which will take place in November this year.

 

“This is our dream, if it could happen to my son, why not others? As Christians, we believe that God has a purpose for us and for this place,” he said.

 

Chew said never to label children with special needs “retard” or even “stupid” as that would most certainly push them into hiding and oblivion, nor should regular children be taught to shun them.

 

“If mainstream children are snobs, and cannot handle children like Delwin, it is the failure of the education system,” he said.

 

At the academy, the regular kids love and hug Delwin, who seems comfortable with the environment.

But not everyone is happy at Delwin’s achievements or that he has been given so much coverage in the media, or that he is being home-schooled in a regular learning centre, with normal children.

 

His parents have heard belittling accusations that Delwin is a “retard” who should be sent to a handicapped school, with others like him.

 

His father, Lawrence, lament that he was too often accused of being a “publicity freak” for promoting his son’s achievements, with critics questioning why Delwin needs to send his art pieces to several political leaders.

 

One of the worst backlashes he received was being told that Delwin should be “taken away” from his parents due to the way they have used him increase their popularity.

 

“Eeveryone has seen only Delwin’s glory days, but we as parents, are with him in his darkest moments,” said Lawrence, who is a business consultant.

 

Lawrence said Delwin was once rejected by an art class, after having him only for 30 minutes! 

 

His parents felt intense rejection but did not blame the class as the teachers may not have been trained to handle children like Delwin or other parents may have complained about him.

 

“But what was even worse is that the teacher told us that Delwin is the worst artist and he cannot make it. 

 

“Tears welled up in my wife’s eyes when the teacher told us that,  and we stopped sending Delwin to any more art classes as we do not want to feel rejected twice.”

 

“It took some time for us to recover. However, if I meet the teacher again I would say “it is okay, he is now a world class artist”.

 

Lawrence said Delwin is here to show the world that autistic children have hope, that with the right company and learning, with enough love and encouragement, they took can be like him.

 

“We may not be able to change lives by sharing Delwin’s stories or display his artworks, but we hope to tell other parents that their kids are not retards, that they can be guided to achieve what they want with the right learning.”