00:00He can scream and he can just lie on the floor.
00:03And then to the public, they look at him and then
00:07find out why he's like that.
00:09Then we have to find a way to explain to them his conditions.
00:18My name is Sitoh Sajieh.
00:20I'm 37 years old. I've become an artist.
00:22Hi, I'm Jason, his father.
00:25Hi, my name is Wendy, his mother.
00:29Actually, when he was born, he was very quiet.
00:32He was very quiet compared to anyone.
00:34And then even compared to his brother.
00:37And until one to two years old, we realised that actually he's too quiet.
00:41And his behaviour is also a little different.
00:43He doesn't even call us Papa, Mama.
00:46Even his brother, actually, one year old can call us Papa, Mama.
00:50But he doesn't even call us.
00:51So we realised that actually he's a bit different.
00:55And then we brought him to see a doctor.
00:58The doctor said, no, he's still very young.
01:01Okay, then we said, we'll just leave it and then we'll observe.
01:05And try to monitor him.
01:07And after that, we went to the nursery.
01:10About four years old, then the teacher asked us to bring him to check.
01:16So after that, then he was diagnosed autistic from then.
01:20From young, I think about nursery
01:24We sent him to those normal preschools.
01:29But they tried for two, three months.
01:32I think the teacher kept on complaining, saying he's not suitable.
01:37So we got no choice.
01:39We find another one, also the same thing.
01:42Finally got one preschool, accept him.
01:45But after that, he also cannot cope very well.
01:50So they suggest we all go to Rainbow School.
01:53After Rainbow, about nine years old
01:57then he went to Park Flight School.
02:00From young, we have difficulty for him to wake up early.
02:04And when we want to wake him up early
02:06he may be knocked down, he may lie on the floor or make a lot of noise.
02:11And we have to find things to calm him down, like food.
02:17Then you wake up now, later I bring him to eat.
02:21And this is part of it, in the morning.
02:24And when he's out outside, then he likes to dash around.
02:30And we always ask him to not dash around, it's very dangerous.
02:34But he doesn't listen to us.
02:36When you want to stop him, it makes it even worse.
02:40He can scream and he can just lie on the floor.
02:44And then to the public, they look at him and find out why he's like that.
02:49Then we have to find a way to explain to them his condition.
02:53Not many people understand.
02:55Because from his outlook, you don't look disability.
03:00Even our relatives actually don't really understand why he's autistic.
03:04We tell them that autism is something that they live in their own world
03:09but it's a spectrum, not everyone is the same.
03:12Whatever they did, they thought was right.
03:16So there's no wrong.
03:17So when they offend you, they don't know he's wrong.
03:20Initially, we asked him to say sorry anyway.
03:23And if those are unreasonable, then we also have our temper.
03:28So we'll tell them off.
03:29People also educate what your autism is, what your special needs are.
03:33You can watch movies.
03:35And it's good that organisations and even the media
03:40can have more of this kind of movie for disability.
03:46So to make people know that there are a lot of disabilities.
03:49But for them, it's a bit different because it's just a disability.
03:52That's invisibility.
03:56We are harder than those, actually, can be seen.
04:00So we have to still tell them, you know, he's autistic.
04:05So with all these organisations like Purple Parade, Running Hours
04:09and even some part-time schools
04:11actually, they are doing a very good invention.
04:14And then Purple Parade, every year, they have this awareness
04:19that there are disabilities in this world.
04:22And Running Hours actually is helping the disability.
04:26So with all these organisations, we are very thankful
04:30and you cannot force everyone to accept.
04:33And we go slowly, one step at a time.
04:36Due to his conditions, when he likes something, he really goes deep into it.
04:41Like when he likes dinosaurs, he draws it and then he sculptures the dinosaurs.
04:48And anywhere, anytime, even in the school.
04:53The teacher says, you know, now it's school time, you're supposed to study.
04:57Sometimes he ignores them, he keeps on doing it.
05:00And the teacher also knows his conditions.
05:02So to give him a short period, after he finishes, he comes back to the class.
05:07I think his favourite dinosaur is the Tyrannosaurus rex.
05:15He lived in North America during the late Cretaceous period before extinction.
05:21From even Lost Adventures, episode 17, Allosaurus appeared in the Marina Bay.
05:33And episode 18, Rampage in the Marina Bay Bridge.
05:43Imaginations.
05:46Create his own story.
05:49Create your own story.
05:50And also episode 17, a lot of stories.
05:53So many episodes already.
05:55He writes stories.
05:56In the Marina South.
05:59After he joined the ADP, the school asked his faculty
06:05whether they were interested to bring the merchandise.
06:07And they liked one of the drawings of his dinosaur motif.
06:11So he brought it into a dino pouch.
06:13Initially, this dino pouch was in the school for a long time.
06:18Not many people bought it.
06:19But at one event, Madam Ho Ching came to.
06:23So she bought the dino pouch at that event.
06:26The second day, he brought this dino pouch to the USA
06:29and showcased it during the welcome ceremony.
06:32And then this dino pouch suddenly became very famous.
06:36Actually, Shen Jie didn't really understand.
06:38Because he first knew about this dino pouch carried by Madam Ho Ching
06:42was by one teacher.
06:43She WhatsApped me and said,
06:45Do you know Madam Ho Ching carried this dino pouch in the USA?
06:49I said, I don't know at all.
06:50So after I saw the news, I told Shen Jie on the way back.
06:55And Shen Jie didn't really know what was happening.
06:59Shen Jie, do you remember Madam Ho Ching carrying your dino pouch?
07:04To where?
07:05USA.
07:06USA, yes.
07:07That photo, can you remember?
07:09At PAF, we carried the dino pouch.
07:15Take photo together, you happy?
07:17So how you feel?
07:18Happy.
07:20Until today, they have many products actually
07:22into this pattern, the dino pouch pattern.
07:25But he also draws on other things that are also made into merchandise
07:29like rabbit and beetle.
07:33Definitely, we feel very proud because actually
07:35at least he's now well-known to the public.
07:39And then people like his work and then purchase his product.
07:43So he can earn some loyalty.
07:46After this incident, actually a lot of people that know Shen Jie
07:51don't know how to draw or know that actually he knows how to sculpture.
07:54Because during the interview, he always carries this jumping clay
07:58the clay to make, to sculpture into a dinosaur.
08:01So people also noticed that actually he sculptures dinosaurs.
08:05Because of this, Lee Kuan Chien, one of the directors
08:07suddenly also asked Shen Jie to make into a dinosaur
08:11and also the museum, sculpture the museum.
08:14And now actually, he's also learning history since
08:17from this Jojo Mama, since last year.
08:19And recently, he's full-time employed by Jojo Mama.
08:23So Shen Jie role-plays in Jojo Mama now.
08:26So they keep making racing coasters
08:28and also help to do sales and do some workshop packing.
08:33And this is his first job.
08:35And last time when people asked whether he's employed or not
08:38he said he can never be employed because he cannot be independent.
08:42And now with his employment, he feels very happy
08:45and hopes in the future that he can be independent
08:48because actually now I have to be him
08:51even in the workshop or in these sales outside.
08:55And we hope that next time, he can do everything by his own.
09:00So with all these organisations that help to bring awareness
09:04to the public about disabilities
09:06I think all these platforms are very good
09:08and we hope there are more to come.
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