Autistic teen finds his forte in music thanks to determined mum
SIBU: Bryan Lau was born with high-functioning autism and his parents had always wondered whether he had any ability to acquire skills like normal people do.
A few years ago, his family discovered that he was sensitive to music and would shed tears when listening to sentimental songs.
His mother Wong Kung Yien, a Chinese subject teacher, said it would be the path she hoped Bryan could take in the future.
“He loves music and I think he can do well in it. I want him to walk this journey. He cannot do well in academics but if there is something that can help him cope with life, I want it for him,” she said in an interview recently.
According to Wong, Bryan, who is now 16 years old, was diagnosed with high- functioning autism at about two years of age. He could not communicate with his parents.
“He could not tell us what he wanted, but only took what we gave him,” she recalled, saying they initially thought Bryan was just being obedient.
“Later, we noticed that he could not communicate with us. He did not call me ‘ mother’ or his dad, ‘ father’. That was something unusual about him.
“He did not know when it was time for meals, and he seldom told us what he wanted. That was when I realised he had a disability,” she said.
Her neighbour, who has two autistic sons, advised Wong to send Bryan to the Methodist Care Centre ( MCC) for help and to get a diagnosis.
It was a blow to her to know that her son was autistic, but it didn’t take long for her to accept it.
“There was no use being sad or depressed about it. I decided to help him to cope with life,” Wong recalled.
“I did research to find out more about high-functioning autism.
“Helping Bryan taught me to be patient. I need a lot of patience to understand his way and go along with it.”
Wong began to see his needs and that was when she discovered that Bryan loved music. She then found him a piano teacher.
“Many teachers gave up teaching Bryan because they could not get through to him.
“He’s not like other kids; you need different methods to teach him.
“Later a teacher took up the challenge to teach Bryan to play the piano which he picked up pretty fast,” Wong said.
His forte in piano was witnessed at the World Autism Awareness Day at Methodist Pilley Institute last Monday when he gave a remarkable performance.
Asked if she is worried about Bryan’s future, Wong answered in the affirmative, but hastened to add that she trusts God and knows God has a better plan for Bryan.
Bryan’s sister, 18-year- old Alicia said her sibling is a caring person.
“He is very willing to share what he has,” she said, expressing hope that people will respect and care more for children with special needs.