Breaking the shackles of autism
Fifteen years ago, Nikki Furey was told her 4-year-old son Liam would never grow up to be an independent adult because of his autism.
Just as well they never told Liam that. Now aged 19, he has spent this week packing up his room in Lower Hutt, ready to move out of the family home and into a flat in Wellington so he can begin a music degree at Victoria University.
Furey has been a musician nearly all his life and questions about how maths and music are weaved together perk him right up.
‘‘When you break down the basic concepts, a lot of it is based on maths,’’ he says.
He moves to the piano in his family’s living room and starts demonstrating musical notes. Speaking fast, he explains how each relates to a frequency, and how the frequency between notes relate to one another.
‘‘This is living with autism,’’ Nikki Furey says.
At 5 years old, her son had learned multiplication but could not cope with loud noises or being touched. A psychologist in a child development team said Liam would not be able to live independently when he grew up.
‘‘Liam got angry a lot of the time. When I talked about his diagnosis, he got really upset. But who he is now is not who he was,’’ Nikki Furey says.
Her son has come a long way over the years. As a child he would have ‘‘meltdowns’’, especially if his routine changed.
Now he admits he finds social situations with large groups of people difficult, but he is ready to try life out on his own.
‘‘It’s an unknown, which I dislike. I dislike unknown very strongly. But once I get into the swing of things it’ll be good.’’
On the other hand, he says autism had given him his strong work ethic and his focus on music. ‘‘Performance has provided me with the opportunity to come out of my shell.’’
At age 11, Furey developed a love of piano. He would listen to classical pieces and compose his own music, heavily inspired by the likes of Beethoven. He has always gravitated towards music.
‘‘I don’t really know the reason why. I think it’s that sort of thing for everyone, where they naturally go towards something. That’s the case for me.’’
Growing up, his mum decided to take him out of traditional schooling and teach him at home instead. It is something she has experience in – along with her education background, Nikki Furey’s other son is also autistic.
‘‘My boys, at one stage, have both said ‘this is me, I’m disabled’ and I said ‘no you’re not’. They don’t have a disability, the world disabled them,’’ she says.
As she schooled Liam, she started teaching him music. But he soon outstripped what she could teach and a music teacher was brought in.