Visit puts spotlight on autistic designer
Print Edition
THE autistic youth who designed a dinosaur-print pouch that the wife of Singapore’s prime minister took to the White House has little idea how much of a celebrity he has become since pictures of it went viral.
Sales of the US$11 blue-and-white pouch have soared since Ho Ching was photographed carrying it during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to the United States.
Ho bought the purse last weekend at a fundraising event for the Autism Resource Center in Singapore, for which she is an adviser.
The dinosaur motif was designed by See Toh Sheng Jie, 19, who attends the Pathlight school for students with autism run by the ARC.
Photos of Ho holding the pouch on the White House lawn sparked huge demand, with Pathlight saying its stock of 200 sold out within a day and it was now on back order with a two-month wait.
Ho, also one of Asia’s most powerful businesswomen, garnered praise on social media for her unusual choice of accessory.
“So good of Mrs. Lee to use it at such a high-profile occasion! Great job ADP artist Sheng Jie!” wrote Facebook user Su Yeo.
Another user, Leong Geok Hoon, called it a “world-class fashion of the heart” while others noted that while Ho could have chosen any other designer, she went with one from a cause she supports.
“It gave such great mileage for the artists on our Artist Development Program and The Art Faculty merchandise,” said Pathlight principal Linda Kho.
See Toh’s family has also been overwhelmed with media attention but for the autistic teenager, the son of a taxi driver with a love for dinosaurs and beetles, it makes little difference.
When reporter visited the family’s suburban government-built housing flat, he nonchalantly sat at a table in the living room drawing his favorite dinosaurs and watching television.
The youth has an encyclopaedic knowledge of dinosaurs and must watch every dinosaur movie he comes across. He also makes intricate dinosaur toys from polymer clay.
“We just let him do what he likes because you can’t force him to draw when he doesn’t want,” his mother Wendy See Toh said.
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