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two plus two equals four. He wanted to
know why. So I showed him with four
pencils. He still wanted to know why
two plus two equals four.” Many schools
followed, with each being a learning curve
for the family. Delwin is now in a school
that can see to his needs.
Art Attack
The Cheahs only realised what a gifted
artist Delwin was when Lawrence gave
him a pad and some pencils in the hope of
settling himdown. That’s when the magic
happened. Delwin sat down and started
drawing...and drawing...and drawing.
“He will draw for 12 hours straight if
we let him. No mistakes, no erasing. It’s
always a perfect picture,” said Lawrence.
Delwin’s drawings have earned himmany
awards and a compilation book of them
even ended up in the hands of President
Barack Obama. “We are still not sure how
that book ended up at the White House,”
says Erina.
Many art teachers told the Cheahs that
Delwin was not a good artist and that his
work would never amount to anything.
Well, it looks like Delwin has proved all
his critics wrong.
Lawrence and Erina made it very clear
to me that the reason they are going so
public is simple. It is not about the money
or the pursuit of fame. They want to create
more awareness about Asperger’s and
want to let other parents know that they
are not alone.
I watched Delwin in action, as he was
sitting opposite me and drawing while I
spoke to his parents. A blank sheet of thick
paper was transformed into an amazing
drawing of three tigers in a jungle, right
before my eyes. I left the interview feeling
humbled at having met this amazing
family and I look forward to following
Delwin’s future adventures.
aggressive. Erina said that he was quite
aggressive when younger, and he needed
constant supervision. Delwin, was how-
ever, by no means a slow-witted child.
A non-verbal I.Q. test showed that the
young man had an I.Q. of 114. Lawrence
had this amusing story to tell. “I tried to
help Delwin by giving him an answer to
one of the questions. He told me that I
was wrong and choose another answer.
The doctor laughed and said the Delwin
was right and I was wrong!”
Many teachers could not cope with
Delwin, who never took an answer at
face value and kept asking question after
question. Erina said, “I told Delwin that
Tough Road
As one can imagine, having a child who
has Asperger’s cannot be an easy thing.
The early years were hard for the Cheahs,
who were not quite sure what they were
dealing with. Delwin is 12 years old now
but during his early years, Asperger’s was
not as well documented as it is today. The
doctors who saw Delwin were stumped
and one even went so far as to say that he
was retarded. Lawrence admitted to me
that he was in denial initially, saying that
Delwinwas just a slow developer and that
there was nothing wrong with him.
Normal schools could not deal with
Delwin. They found him disruptive and
Delwin and a friend
The magical
creation of
Delwin
The Cheah family
looking good