PETALING JAYA, Feb 4 ― Setapak boy Don Zayyad Amzar Mohd Sharrel, 10, loves spending hours in his room sketching and drawing logos that he sees on television.
From the iconic Walt Disney logo to fast food restaurants like Pizza Hut, Don Zayyad memorises colour schemes and shapes before drawing them.
Born with moderate Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), his parents were surprised to find out that at the age of five, he would sketch his room walls and cupboards with cartoon drawings.
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His father Mohd Sharrel Fahmi Baharum, 40, told Malay Mail that sometimes while watching a cartoon show, his son would use his fingers to draw and visualise the shape of cartoon characters in the air.
“When he first started drawing, he would draw Doraemon pictures but there were very rough sketches back then.
“As he grew, he would improvise on the sketches and become better at it ― and had a keen interest in logo artworks and made it more detailed as compared to his first artwork.”
The 10-year-old has been attending the National Autism Society of Malaysia (Nasom) since he was three and has been polishing his art skills through his art classes.
“He is unable to form sentences because he has non-verbal autism and so whenever he wants something, he would just say a particular word.
“But luckily, he has been doing well in the school’s art classes and even his teacher can see that he’s passionate about his logo artwork and wants to be better at it.
“During one of the Hari Raya celebrations, he helped his teachers make the design of the duit raya money packets.
“He even contributed his logo artworks for the school’s corporate social responsibility project.”
Mohd Sharrel added that it was important for him and his wife to always find creative ways for his son to continue doing his art such as buying white boards for him at home and coloured pens for him to explore his art.
“We want to explore other types of art for him so that he can try them.
“As a parent, the most important quality that one needs to have is to be patient and to be willing to guide them in their talents and pursuits,” he said.
