Boy maps life from disabled to designer
THE toy cars, double-decker buses, stuffed toys and pillows on his bed are meticulously ordered into neat rows, but Matej Hosek still inspects his room with a frown, looking for shortcomings.
He pushes one car back by a millimetre with satisfaction, then opens a folder with dozens of transport maps he has drawn as part of his battle with autism.
Diagnosed with severe Asperger syndrome, the 13-year-old boy has found peace and order in the sophisticated maps he makes.
Not only that – they have also turned him into a fashion designer of sorts.
“Matej was a noisy child, crying 23 hours a day, mother Michaela Hoskova said, recalling life in a Prague flat where neighbours regularly banged on their walls.
The family moved to a house in Cernosice, southwest of Prague. Then he discovered maps. “We used to get kicked off trams, because he was yelling all the time,” Hoskova said.
“Then one day, on a tram, I gave him a map to read – and he calmed down.”
Matej started to ask for tram and underground rides to check if the transport maps were correct.
He started to copy maps before drawing his own.
Picking Cardiff for its cool name, Matej drew an underground for the Welsh capital, other cities followed – and the plans improved.
Hoskova, a former journalist, said: “With some cities, he said their system had no logic – so he started to redraw the metro plans.”
The family’s life began to change, as Matej’s condition improved – they even started to go on holidays, unthinkable when he was small.
“We go to the information centre first, because we need maps,” Hoskova said.
Matej started coming to terms with his condition.
Lenka Michalikova, an adviser to autistic people, said: “Children with the syndrome have a problem with verbal communication.
“When they see things in a picture, they are easier to understand.
“Structure and visualisation serve as an anchor in their uncertainty. They give predictability, a clue.”
With his anxiety, Matej needs an assistant at school but his results are above-average.
When he passed and had to move to different classrooms, he struggled – until he drew a map of the school.
“I like everything to be precise,” he said, explaining how he measured the maps he copied with a ruler.
“Every time I look at a map, I calm down. It’s interesting.”
Inspired by a film on the Christian Dior fashion house, Matej once wrapped one of his maps around a mannequin at his home as decoration.
Hoskova’s magazine at the time partnered with Prague Fashion Week – and in 2016, Matej found his underground design shown on the catwalk at a Prague department store.
The income went to a project called Autist for Autists.
Katerina Sokolova, Miss Czech Republic 2007 and AutTalk founder, said: “This is unique, using Matej’s work to help other kids with autism.”
The Hoseks have started a small family company selling clothes and other items such as backpacks, cups and mobile phone cases with Matej’s underground designs. –