Nico Tay (24 years) is the third recipient of the Dare to Dream scholarship at the LASALLE College of the Arts. Halfway through the Foundation year, he has enjoyed his course so far, putting in much effort in his assignments and projects, and is looking forward to starting on his specialism in Animation.

But it has not always been smooth sailing for Nico. When he was in kindergarten, he was assessed by a family physician to have autism. His parents were advised to delay his enrolment into Primary 1 so that he could have more time to catch up on developmental delay disorders associated with autism. Nico recalled having repetitive language, a tendency to talk to himself, slurred or mumbled speech and also lacked eye contact. At one-on-one special needs classes, he learnt speech skills and reading so that he could be better prepared for primary school.

Delaying entry into Primary 1 was both an advantage and disadvantage. He was better equipped with speech skills. But with weaker speech skills than his classmates, he became the target of bullies especially since he was a year older and yet vulnerable to both physical and verbal abuse. He lacked the social skills to form friendships. Schoolmates did not understand his autistic condition. The bullying continued in secondary school. Nico did not have close friends. He often felt lousy, lacked self-confidence and had poor self-esteem. He gradually learnt that he should keep quiet, withdraw and ignore the bullying as a coping mechanism. He described his time in school as "painful".

Despite the bullying, he recalled bright spots during unhappy school days. One was the dedication and understanding of two class teachers at critical phases when he was in Primary 6 and Secondary 3 & 4. They treated him with respect and encouraged him despite the mistakes he made. His Sec 3/4 class teacher taught him mind mapping skills to tap on his visual strengths so that he could grasp information for problem solving and better internalise instructions.

The other bright spot was his strength in art which was his favourite subject and one that he fared well in. Speaking animatedly and with confidence, he recounted that his work earned the praise of his teachers and classmates. He felt that he could express himself through art and put his imagination and dreams on paper. Playing with colours and shapes, he experimented and explored different media. His favourite subject has been imaginary and legendary figures, which are drawn intricately, and creating a story based on them to make them come alive.

At LASALLE, Nico is developing new interests and skills to deal with more abstract subjects and learning the use of new software for his art. In an environment where his peers have a common interest in the arts, and lecturers and instructors are understanding, approachable and helpful, Nico's dream is that he will get the requisite training to find a job as an artist or designer after graduation in order to support himself and his family.

Nico displays the qualities of an enthusiastic, self-assured and polite young man. Being high functioning, he has awareness that his autistic characteristics will not go away but he has come a long way and tries hard to work on appreciating and adjusting to his environment.

Nico asks that more in society will understand that autism is a genetic disorder and that behavioural traits of autistic persons are often not within their control. He asks that we be sensitive to the behaviour of special needs persons, instead of being unfriendly or unkind, and try to put ourselves in their shoes to appreciate their personal battles, struggles and difficulties in coping. He also suggests leaving trained experts to teach and handle those with autism. But if we are familiar with people with autism and want to help, try to identify what their interests are and use these to connect with them.

Nico's wish is for fair treatment, dignity and unconditional love for autistic and special needs persons. It sounds straightforward enough.

January 2017