This is from the AGE. Really touching stuff. NOVEMBER 09, 2013 - 4:00 AM ARTICLE 13 OF 18 Two of us If Mum wasnt there, Id be lonely. Thank you, Mum … Tim Sharp with his mother Judy. Photo: Paul Harris INTERVIEWS BY HELEN CHRYSSIDES Judy Sharp, 54, refused medical advice to institutionalise her three-year-old autistic son more than 20 years ago. Today, Tim Sharp, 25, is an internationally recognised artist. Judys story May 9, 1988, was the happiest day of my life. Thats when my first son, Tim, was born. But in the first few days things started to fall apart. He was unsettled and unhappy and there was nothing I could do to comfort him. I asked the doctor, Whats wrong with my baby? He hasnt slept for three nights. They thought there was something wrong with me, that I might have post-natal depression. Tim cried all the time. Noises frightened him and you could see fear in his eyes. He was a beautiful-looking child but always distressed. His brother, Sam, was the complete opposite. One day Tim was screaming and I thought Id stabbed him with the nappy needle. I ripped off his clothes in a mad panic and there was nothing wrong. But as soon as I put the clothes back on, he started again. It was the texture of the clothes. When you undid the Velcro strap of the car seat, hed jump out because he didnt like the sound. Id seen 24 doctors before Tim was three and no one knew what was wrong with him. Then, in 1991, a psychologist told me Tim had autism and that hed never speak, never go to school, never learn anything. He said the best thing I could do was to put Tim away in a home, forget about him and just get on with my own life. Those were the cruellest words I ever heard. I knew Tim was very intelligent, but you just couldnt communicate with him. If I could get him to speak, then Id know what was upsetting him so much. We started with speech therapy and he went from two words to 200 within a month. Then I left my husband and there was no money. I drew stick figures to explain things and he loved it. Id say, Were going to a birthday party, we give a present, blow the candles out on the cake, and come home. But as soon as you did whatever you said, you had to come home. After a while, Tim picked up a pencil. It was a revelation to see what a good eye he had for detail. At four, he went to an autism centre, which was dreadful. I took him out and found a small regular school with 120 kids prepared to give him a go. That changed his life. One day he was drawing and said, When I grow up, Im going to be Laser Beak Man. We had to go to a friends birthday, so Sam and I asked Tim, What would Laser Beak Man say? Have a filthy disgusting birthday, Tim said, so he drew it as a card and that was the start. Sam and Tim adore each other. They both tell each other I love you about half a dozen times a day. Sam says that Tim is the biggest hero he knows, and an inspiration for his life. When Tim was 16, he was the only Australian picked for VSA [Very Special Arts], the worlds largest arts festival for the disabled, in Washington DC. We mortgaged the house and flew there. Since then, nothings stopped. Theres an exhibition about him in the National Museum of Australia and hes the first person in the world with autism to have his creation turned into a TV show. Laser Beak Man screens on the ABC and the Cartoon Network. Last April they showed a film about Tim in New Yorks Museum of Modern Art, and hes had Brisbanes William Jolly Bridge lit up in his honour. Tims most popular drawings are Laser Beak Man tells the Wiggles to Shut Up and Laser Beak Man and the Barbie Queue. In autism, language has a literal meaning. We were going to a barbecue and I asked Tim to draw it. So he drew a line of Barbies in a queue, waiting for a barbecue. No one looks at a barbecue the same way any more. Tims the sweetest boy, easy going and even tempered. He finds joy in everything, nothing worries or upsets him. The art has made Tim confident. Now hes more than happy to go out into the world. But he still requires a great deal of care. And were always together, always. I worry about what happens when Im not here. You hear so many horror stories, the world really hasnt moved forward a lot. But Tims happy now and hes healthy, and thats all I want for him. Tims story The first drawing I did was a long time ago. Laser Beak Man appeared 13 years ago. Hes a superhero. Laser comes out of his beak. And he does whatever he wants. He lives in Power City. He protects Power City from villains. Mums really nice to me. Shes kind to me. We are never mean to each other. I like hanging out with her. I bake her chocolate cake. Mum cooks me my favourite meal, beef stir fry. I gave Mum a One Direction CD for her birthday. We see movies together. I like the Three Stooges. We go to lots of places. We take my two Jack Russells, Coco and Sugar, for walks on the beach. Shes sitting next to me when Im drawing, shes just watching me. Can I draw without her sitting next to me? No. Definitely not. Drawing makes me happy. I use Texta Wind-Up crayons. It takes me about 30 hours for each drawing. I have lots of characters, like Evil Emily and Edward Bigmouth. In 2004 I went to Washington DC and won an award at the Very Special Arts Festival. I was the flag-bearer at the Kennedy Centre and the only Australian. My brother Sam is a champion swimmer. Mum and I flew to Adelaide last year when he was in the Olympic trials. Hes strong and cheerful and I love to watch him swim. The Ghost Ballerinas are a band from Nashville, Tennessee, and they found me on the internet. They Googled colourful happy art. I drew them an album cover, Play Me on the Radio. Mum and I flew over to meet them. Flying is good. You can look through the window. We wrote a Laser Beak Man song and its on iTunes. I travel all over Australia. Ive met Wayne Bennett and Alex Perry and lots of other people. They say hello to me and they like my art. I can remember everything. But I only want to remember the good times. Happy times I remember are friends at school. I like making new friends. Cate Blanchett is my friend. We laugh a lot together. Mum is kind. Beautiful. Excellent. Fantastic. Polite. If Mum wasnt there, Id be lonely. Thank you, Mum. And thank you, Laser Beak Man.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 22:42:09 +0000
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