An autistic child writes an autobiography

An autistic child writes an autobiography

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"Say it out loud, I'm an autist and I'm proud," said Oscar
Yura Dompas, last Tuesday at a book launching of his own
autobiography titled Autistic Journey at QB World Book Plaza
Semanggi, Central Jakarta.

The 25-year-old shared his darkest and brightest moments in
his life after he was diagnosed with brain damage, which later on
was identified as autism, at the age of four.

Oscar, a student at the English Education Department in
Atmajaya Catholic University, said writing a book helped him ease
his mind when expressing his thoughts, which is often difficult
for an autistic person to do.

"I love writing and as long as I have a "healthy" way of
thinking, no matter what my minuses are, I should be proud to
show my skills," Oscar said.

Autism is a severely incapacitating lifelong developmental
"disability" that typically appears during the first three years
of life.

There is no data available on the number of autistic people in
Indonesia, but it is assumed that for every 10,000 births there
are 15 to 20 autistic children born.

However, the word "disability" seemed somehow inappropriate to
describe the achievements that Oscar has made throughout his
life.

He mastered guitar and bass, joined a basket ball team at his
high school, learned Australian football, when he was enrolled at
the English Language Center at the Sydney University of
Technology in 1997.

"That's why I wrote the book in English, because I am used to
writing in English, thanks to piles of assignments that I had to
do while I was in Aussie," the young man said.

Oscar colored his book with stories of romance, the moments
when he felt love, and heartbreaks during his teens.

"I fell in love for the first time in 1992 ... I knew nothing
about how to have a relationship with her so I kissed her in
front of my friends after school. She was very upset and told her
mother," he wrote in his book, which was published earlier this
month.

Born on April 11, 1980, he has earned praise from
psychologists and those who observe autistic behavior.

"There was nothing different about Oscar. His academic
performance was perfect. The only thing lacking was the lack of
eye contact between himself and the people speaking to him," said
Gerda Wanei, Oscar's lecturer at the Atmajaya University.

Tika Bisono, a psychologist who observes autistic behavior,
said that Oscar's book would not only inspire other autistic
persons to keep improving their capacities, but also would
promote awareness among families of autistic patients to organize
an ideal companion.

"His parents are wonderful. They did a great thing by
distributing duties among themselves and their three children to
accompany Oscar. So no one would become too exhausted looking
after him," Tika said at the launching. (006)