Autistic Malaysian artist co-authors children's book with his own illustrations

Danial holding the recently released children’s book which is inspired by his painting, 'The Ocean Fish'. Photos: Rohani Ahmad

Autistic artist Danial Kushairi Mohd Idris, 19, has added a feather in his cap by showcasing his talent other than on canvas.

Recently a children’s book, entitled Ben Saves The Day, featuring his creative and colourful illustrations was launched.

Danial, who has mild autism and speech limitations, co-authored the book with writer Akmallina Athirah Mohamad Zaharin, 23.

His mother, Rohani Ahmad, 54, is incredibly proud of his achievement. She says it proves that people with special needs can harness their talents and have a chance to shine.

“I am very happy for Danial. I hope this book will inspire people with special needs to persevere in developing their talents and using their different abilities to achieve success.

“The book release gives Danial an avenue to communicate his ideas and expand his talents.

“Hopefully, this can serve as the beginning of many more ventures for Danial,” said Shah Alam, Selangor-based Rohani via email.

'Ben Saves The Day' features Danial’s creative and colourful illustrations and is co-authored with writer Akmallina Athirah Mohamad Zaharin.

The 24-page book is inspired by Danial’s painting, The Ocean Fish. It is about a quiet and artistic fish named Ben who is always teased by his classmates because he stutters when he speaks.

One day, a naughty classmate named Joe lands in trouble and Ben helps to rescue him. After the incident, Joe realises his mistake and apologises to Ben, and they eventually become best friends.

The moral of the story is about speaking the truth, and learning to accept and respect the differences in others.

With the book, Rohani hopes to create awareness among students about children with special needs, including those with autism, Down Syndrome and other learning disorders.

“People are of different races, skin tones and abilities. It is important to teach students to embrace their peers without prejudice.

“Empathy and acceptance must be imparted to students while they are still young so that they will grow up to be thoughtful and compassionate individuals,” said Rohani, a former Universiti Teknologi Mara (Shah Alam) lecturer who quit her job in 2008 to raise her son.

Rohani (left) is proud of her son Danial's book and hopes people with special needs will persevere to develop their talents.

The mother of four believes that individuals with special needs may have talents that can be tapped, developed and diversified.

“Danial’s talent may revolve around visual arts. However, other individuals may have similar or other talents. Thus, it is the responsibility of people related to these individuals, such as parents or carers, to observe closely the possible skills that these individuals can perform, irrespective of how small they are. Unlock, develop and diversify the skills.”

Danial has been a professional painter since he was 16. His works have been featured in three online international art exhibitions – ArtWorks Together (Britain), ParaArt Tokyo (Japan) and Qingdao International Contemporary Art Exhibition (China).

It was Danial’s creativity and detailed artwork that inspired Rohani to release the book.

“Danial is the happiest when he paints because it allows his feelings and emotions to flow naturally.

“His paintings are very detailed and well organised. It is like there is a story behind each painting. “Based on a good friend’s suggestion, I asked Danial to tell the story of his paintings step by step.

“It was very challenging for him to explain them since he has limitations in speech. But by prompting him with a series of ‘wh’ questions (what, when, where, why and who), we could understand the storyline behind each painting.

“That gave us the idea to help Danial share his stories with others,” said Rohani, adding that the book is priced at RM40 and is available at oyezbookstore.

Danial is the happiest when he paints because it allows his feelings and emotions to flow naturally.

Rohani is happy her only son has found an interest in art to showcase his talents.

“For someone who finds it challenging to verbalise his thoughts, art is an outlet for Danial to express his feelings and emotions.

Furthermore, participating in art exhibitions elevates his self-confidence as people appreciate his artworks.

“He is now more confident and appreciates his own talent as he is aware that it benefits others not only through his paintings but also through the storybooks.

“Despite his speech limitations, Danial knows that he can still share or communicate his ideas and feelings by diversifying his art,” said Rohani, who shares photos of her son’s journey as an autistic artist on Instagram.