ZONASULTRA.COM, KENDARI – Born with autism, Benny (21) continues to hone his skill in the art of drawing. For him, there is no day without drawing the objects he wants to draw, mostly in the form of precise black and white sketches.
At first glance, Benny looks like any other 21-years-old youngster. He has a burly body and a height of about 180 centimeters. Like people with autism in general, his speech stammers and his eyes are not focused when someone speaks to him.
Benny is classified as hyperactive autistic, which is a condition that is difficult to control so, he requires the full role of parents.
For his parents, Kiswanto and Ivonne, their child, Benny, has shown good development in communication, writing, and reading. Especially for the talent for drawing, they continue to provide support.
Because Benny continues to draw every day, Ivonne, who is a housewife, continues to prepare all the materials needed from HVS paper, pencils, pens, and dyes.
In order that Benny wouldn't lose his spirit, Ivonne didn't throw away his works but bound them like an album, for safekeeping. The works he produces are neatly stored in the room.
There have been around 1,500 drawings made by Benny, none of which were discarded.
The drawing that Benny produces is also quite precise, as can be seen from a number of his drawing in the form of a plane made without using a ruler. He is adept at using a pencil in the form of straight lines or forming certain patterns without additional tools.
In addition to black and white sketches, Benny is also interested in drawing anime characters. In her mother's binding, there are many anime pictures that look like pictures in Japanese comics.
Ivonne said that her third child, Benny, started drawing from a young age, when he started holding a pencil. The child drew whatever he saw, and sometimes also drew what was asked. Benny has the ability to save what he sees in the form of imagination to later be drawn with precision.
As in the meeting on Friday (11/6/2021), at their home, Amoito Village, Konawe Selatan (Konsel) Regency, Benny swiftly drew a sketch of his father sitting on a chair. In just a few seconds he was able to draw the sketch even though it wasn't very precise because it took time to draw good details.
“His daily activities are drawing. For example, if we take him for a walk, he draws what he sees when he comes home. So, if he draws what he has seen, the results are good, it's different if he only imagines, the results are not quite good," said Ivonne.
Drawing is a routine for Benny who rarely leaves the house to avoid unwanted things. Even if he leaves the house, Benny is always accompanied by his parents.
Ivonne continues to support her son's talent which may be useful for his future. Moreover, drawing or sketching is a special skill that will still be needed. For example, there is a face sketch painting service, or in the police, there is a criminal's face sketch artist.
Ivonne saw a significant development in her son, who is now in grade 1 at the high school level at the State Special School (SKHN) 1 Kendari. With the right treatment so far, she is optimistic that the autism in her child will disappear even though it takes time.
For Ivonne, children like Benny really need parental support. So far, she has focused on taking care of his child without using the services of a household assistant. Previously, she was a private worker who then left her job to focus on taking care of Benny.
Ivonne hopes that parents who have children with disabilities will continue to pay attention to their own children. Especially if there is talent in the child then that is what must be encouraged to be developed.
In line with his wife, Kiswanto also provides support for his son's drawing skill. Kiswanto also fulfilled the needs for drawing equipment.
Kiswanto noticed the excellence of his son's drawing in terms of accuracy from the original object and what he drew looked more precise. He saw that most of what his son drew were black and white sketches.
"So, every day, he works, for himself first before for others," said Kiswanto, who is an entrepreneur.
For now, Kiswanto has not really involved his son in participating in drawing competitions if the location is outside the school environment. Because Benny is not ready to face the new, unusual environment.
Even Benny was asked several times to represent the school in participating in drawing competitions but Kiswanto did not allow him because Benny was still not controlled to deal with new things such as competitions, especially if he was outside the area.
As parents, they are now more focused on paying attention to Benny's education at school. In this pandemic time, Benny is studying online from home. While before the pandemic, Benny was always accompanied to and picked up from the school with a distance of about 20 kilometers (Amoito-Kendari).
Kiswanto feels that having a special school like SKHN is very important to support the development of children with special needs like Benny. Unlike before, when he was in grade 1 elementary school, Benny couldn't adjust so that when he was in grade 2, he was returned to study at home.
Kiswanto feels grateful that SKHN is suitable for his son, where the ability of the teachers to understand their field of work is higher. Although the distance between school and home is quite far, it will not be a problem for Kiswanto as long as his child can develop in the right school. (***)
