Abdul-Rahman al-Asaad (L) walks with his father, Hassan al-Asaad, back home from school in Homs city, central Syria, Feb. 17, 2020. TO GO WITH "Feature: Autistic Syrian boy wows family with amazing visual memory" (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
by Hummam Sheikh Ali
HOMS, Syria, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- It only takes Abdul-Rahman al-Asaad a couple of minutes to memorize the shape of a complicated building to put it later on paper in full details.
The 11-year-old has wowed his family and all those who know him by his detailed drawings of buildings and streets at such an early age.
The boy was first discovered to be special at the age of four when his father and siblings watched him writing down the English alphabet and numbers while speaking them loud without any previous knowledge.
The boy's father, Hassan al-Asaad, recounted to Xinhua that one day he was awakened to the calls of his children, urging him to come to see what Abdul-Rahman was doing.
"I was astonished when I saw him in front of a big piece of paper on which he wrote English letters and numbers and he was also reading them out loud," he recalled.
At the time, the family believed the boy must have had exceptional mental abilities that enabled him to do that.
Afterward, the father took him to doctors before he discovered that Abdul-Rahman has Asperger syndrome, a form of Autism that does not cause learning difficulties.
The father spent time on the Internet, reading about his child's condition and how to help him develop his skills.
"I found out that the Asperger type is the type of geniuses and inventors. I started thinking and visualizing that Abdul-Rahman could become like Picasso or Albert Einstein of Syria," he said.
Lacking financial support, the father took his son to experts in Autism, who would help without asking for money.
The boy continued to grow up and started drawing complicated buildings in Homs just by looking at them while he is out with parents.
Though a pen and drawing book are all he can offer his kid, al-Asaad said he is ready to go to the end of the earth to give support and help to his son.
"Abdul-Rahman has more than a talent I hope he will get help here or abroad to develop his skills," the father hoped.
Abdul-Rahman's condition wasn't understood on a larger scale, particularly at schools as several schools refused to enroll him with normal kids.
He spent years before he was accepted recently in a private school for normal kids. He is now 11-year-old but got enrolled in the 2nd grade with kids much younger than him.
But the principal and teachers acknowledged that what Abdul-Rahman has is a special talent, not a disability and he seems to enjoy his school life.
Once home, al-Asaad brings his son the drawing book and asks him to start painting and he does that every day. The father keeps all of the drawing books and shows them to all his guests and those curious about Abdul-Rahman.
The boy's first drawing was for a commercial tower in Homs city. He drew the exact details, including a broken window in one of the offices in that building.
The father took the drawings to the engineering university, where university professors were baffled by the accuracy of Abdul-Rahman drawings.
Reem Bukai, an Autism expert who has been working with Abdul-Rahman for five years, told Xinhua that the boy's condition is close to normal kids and his talent is so promising.
"I have known him for five years and when he showed up at our center, he surprised us with his abilities as he has an amazing visual memory," she said.
The expert stressed that the special talent of Abdul-Rahman needs to be academically studied in order for him to make use of the abilities he possesses.
The boy has no major behavioral or social difficulties, assured the expert, adding that however, the boy's talent could go to waste or remain undeveloped if he wasn't helped academically with people who are specialized in his case.
"If the boy succeeded to enter the engineering faculty, it would be great for him," added the expert.
