Sydney, the fashion designer

DR RADICA MAHASE

SYDNEY is 12 years old and she is a talented fashion designer. This young fashionista started drawing when she was about seven years old, after looking at YouTube channels and television. She doesn’t only draw the characters that she sees on her screen, she actually creates new characters.

Her mom Venessa noted that, “Because Sydney cannot read, she draws to tell her story. No one taught her how to draw. I bought her a journal and she started drawing her story and then she would use the drawings to explain about herself. She draws on her own and whenever she has an idea she sits and draws. She uses various items as inspiration such as chocolate and strawberry milkshake, eggs and all kinds of random items.”

Sydney was officially diagnosed with autism when she was four. She attended kindergarten for one year and then a private school for children with autism for about three years. However, when her dad lost his job, the family could not afford to send her to school and Venessa decided to try home-schooling.

About three years ago Venessa noticed that Sydney started undressing her dolls and redressing them with clothes that she made herself. “Sydney would make her own clothes for her dolls. She chooses her material from stuff that she has such as paper towels, gift paper, cotton balls and wool and she paints them into vibrant colours using her regular art stuff such as paint and markers.

"Whatever material she uses, for example, the paper towels and scrap paper – she would glue them together or use wool to tie the paper or cloth together. Sydney would paint the paper towel or paper, then make her design and then dress the dolls by tying or gluing the material in place. Sometimes she doesn’t even draw the designs, she just makes it from the images that she has in her head. I bought her fabric but because it is difficult for her to sew the fabric, she continues to use the materials she finds easy to work with.

"She learnt all these things on her own, we never taught here anything. She comes up with her own designs and makes the outfits without any help from us. Her designs are all hers, in fact, she doesn't want me to help her at all so she goes in her room, draws and creates her designs.”

Her mom believes that she has great potential and with the right guidance she can really develop her talent and become a successful fashion designer.

Venessa noted, “We are very proud of Sydney and we are amazed by her imagination and talent. She is surrounded by a very close-knit family who loves and supports her. We do not force Sydney to do ‘regular’ school work because she gets frustrated when she doesn't learn the way people expect. Instead, her father and I encourage her to draw, to create and to do what makes her happy. We buy whatever materials, books and art supplies that she wants. She is known as the ‘fashionista’ in our family.

“I want her to be happy and I want her to feel confident in what she does. She loves it when she knows that she has made us proud and we tell her how proud we are all the time. I want to give her all the tools she needs to have a bright future, with all the love I have. I would like to find someone who is willing to work with her, to help her fulfil her potential. Once I can afford it, I will let her pursue it. The main challenge we face is finding someone to work with Sydney so that she can become a fashion designer; someone who will understand her unique characteristics and who will learn to communicate with her at her level.

“I believe that parents should not force their children to do what society expects of them so that they can fit in the ‘norm.' Instead, listen to your children, pay attention to their interests and help them develop what they are interested in, not what you want them to be interested in. Help them to build on their strengths and manage their weaknesses and above all love them unconditionally.”

Sydney is a creative, talented little girl with so much to offer and we hope that someone will see her potential and be her mentor. All the best Sydney!

Dr Radica Mahase is the founder/director of Support Autism T&T