By Amyra Varkisa & Jacintha Jolene
KUCHING: Lim Mei Yik shut down a donut franchise business in Hangzhou, China that she operated for 10 years and made the decision to return to Kuching to ensure her autistic son had access to formal education.
The 45-year-old recalled that her son Kelvin Li was diagnosed with autism when he was five years old.
“Initially, we didn’t plan to return (to Kuching) even after we found out that our son had autism – until when no primary school in China would accept him as he was deemed unfit to attend or proceed to primary education because he couldn’t write his name. Besides, he suffers from speech delay.
“So, I had to homeschool him for two years after he graduated from kindergarten in China,” Lim told New Sarawak Tribune recently.
“We know we need to do something as we want him to get an education just like any other children, so we made the big move even if it meant shutting down our business.”
However, it was not an easy journey even after the family decided to return to their hometown as Kelvin was rejected by eight schools in Kuching.
“It was tough but we never gave up. Kelvin eventually enrolled into SJK Bintawa, which offers Special Education Integration Centre (PPKI) after he passed the assessment.
“He is now studying at Chung Hua Middle School No. 3, currently in Senior 1 and will turn 17 soon.
“Although he didn’t get bullied physically but hurtful words were thrown at him.
“If anything bad happens, he will tell me straight away. In school, he will look for the teacher or principal to help him out.
“I’m so thankful that the school management accommodates my son’s needs and this is why I made it known to the whole school that my child is autistic. Only then, they will understand and tolerate his behaviour and befriend him.”
Lim also set up a travel agency, mainly focusing on inbound tourism, catering to families with autistic children or family members. Her tour packages include a visit to the school that caters to children with special needs, which most agencies do not offer.
By Kelvin Li
In 2019, she started printing Kelvin’s artwork after being inspired by renowned actor and martial artist Jet Li and his foundation.
“We set up our own website called By Kelvin Li, and among the products available are tote bags, cushion covers, umbrellas and scarves.
“Kelvin started painting at the age of nine and I noticed that this can be a career development for my son while the website acts as a platform to support himself in the future.”
The mother-and-son team started with selling umbrellas. More than 800 units were sold to countries like Singapore, United Kingdom, the United States of America, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. They proceeded to sell tote bags, cushion covers and scarves, with Kelvin’s drawings printed on the products.
In March, By Kelvin Li had an exhibition at Kelvin’s school and collaborated with the special needs communities.
Almost 90 per cent of Kelvin’s paintings are of animals because that was his ultimate mission, to make everyone love and protect animals.
Kelvin would also make his debut on the silver screen soon as a movie titled “The Acceptance” will be released somewhere in the middle of this year.
“My son is the main actor. All the other actors and actresses are locals too.
“This movie has a message, that if the public see a disabled individual, they should be seen as Orang Kepelbagaian Upaya because they can do something out of your expectation,” Lim explained.
Besides managing the website, Lim is also the founder and president of Kuching Association of Talent Development and Welfare of Special Needs (KATSN), which was registered on Dec 24, 2021.
Lim’s advice and hopes
She advised parents of autistic children not to give up easily when the going gets tough.
“Most of the time, the children do not develop further because the parents give up so easily. Our special needs children need someone to guide them constantly.
“If we give up, who will help them develop themselves to be better? We must remain persistent in order to see hope and light at the end of the day.”
Lim also hoped that there would be more awareness programmes on autistic children and advised parents to not be in a state of denial.
“Some parents don’t realise that their child belongs to the person with disabilities category so they missed the golden opportunity to educate themselves.
“If only the parents let more people know more about this, people will give more resources and help them out.”
Lim also hoped that the government would provide more grants to support businesses by the special needs community.
