Living with autism spectrum disorder

By: Anel Herrera

Jaehwan Seong’s artwork is full of detail. His work ranges from the mechanical parts of motorcycles and cars, to the realistic features of birds, bugs and mammals. Seong's interest in art started in 1995 when he started drawing.

"My parents brought me a sketchbook when I was very little, and I used crayons," says Seong. "I liked to draw landscapes."

Seong is a slander man with straight black hair in his early twenties. He wears a Carl Sandburg Orchestra shirt and faded blue jeans as he works.

Twenty-two-year-old Jaehwan Seong is 6,526 miles away from his native Seoul, South Korea. Seong and his family moved to the United States when he was eleven years old.  The family now live in suburban Orland Park. Seong has found a new home as an artist at Project Onward when he joined the gallery on June 2, 2012.

Project Onward is an organization dedicated to supporting the development of artists with mental and developmental disabilities. Serving as both a studio and gallery for the artists, the organization supports the artists by giving them a platform from which to work from.

"They do what they love and have so much talent," says Monica Schmidt who has visited the gallery several times. "You are greeted with the happiest hello and goodbye that makes you go back."

Nearly half of the artists at Project Onward are affected by autism spectrum disorders, Seong is one of them. His work is featured in "Smile with Your Mind: Autobiographies of Autism. According to its online site, the exhibit "hopes to replace mysteries and misconceptions about autism with authentic glimpses into individual experiences living and working on the spectrum."

Autism spectrum disorder and autism are both terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized by difficulties in socializing, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.

Scientists don't know the exact causes of autism spectrum disorder, but research suggests that both genes and environment play important roles.
Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classify around 1 in 68 American children as on the autism spectrum.

ASD affects over 2 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide Studies also show that autism is four to five times more common among boys than girls.

Many people with ASD have verbal issues. But in Seong’s case, he expresses himself through visual art. Seong prefers to work with color pencils, as he sees paint as too messy and quickly to ruin a piece. Of all his pieces, Seong is most proud of his tiger drawing.

"The detail in this picture, I love it," says Seong of the piece. "This is a very nice painting, the background and the tiger fur. The tiger nose is my favorite, it's very stylish."

At first, Seong did not believe he was capable ofcompleting the piece. Once he got started, he realized the real challenge was believing in himself.

"I saw and the picture and I said, 'no, I can't do that,'" says Seong of his favorite portrait which took him weeks to complete. "But Robyn said, 'yes you can Jaehwan! Trust you[rself].'"

Robyn Jablonski, artist coordinator of the gallery, was not the only one impressed with his work. Seong says customers love his animal pieces and his mom always compliments him on how realistic they are.

"My mom [asked], 'how did you do that? You can draw animals very, very good. It looks real...real animal.'"

Seong says the secret is simply practicing. Practicing makes the drawing process easier and makes objects a more realistic feel.

Aside from art, Seong also expresses himself musically.

Seong joined the Carl Sandburg Orchestra, a high school in his hometown of Orland Park.

"I'm very interested in Orchestra," says Seong. "I'm very interested in [Ludwig Van] Beethoven music and [Antonio] Vivaldi the pianist. Classical music, violin music, piano music and all kind of instrument music I put on my iPod touch. I listen everyday [while] exercising, walking, running."

Learning the piano was significantly harder than learning the violin for Seong.

"I first started playing the violin in 1997. Learning the piano was very hard. I tried to practice the piano but I was very tired. My piano teacher said 'Jaehwan wake up! Don't sleep, wake up! Keep practicing.' I am better at the violon, [at the] piano not too good."

Exercising is also another interest of Seong, he exercises while listening to his music regularly. He also enjoys Taekwondo and swimming.

Seong and the other and the other artists at Project Onward sell their pieces and receive 50 percent of the sale. But, business has been especially hard for the artists since their move from the Chicago Cultural Center in the summer of 2013. The group moved to the fourth floor of the Bridgeport Art Center. While the traffic is not nearly as high, the artists can now work without all the distractions.

"It is very different," says Seong. "At the Cultural Center, lots of costumers. Here, it is very quiet. No more customers here in Bridgeport. It's slow business. It's hard business to make money."

Amelia Sawyer, who has worked at Project Onward for three years says the organization has expanded events and partnerships to attract more people into the gallery.

"We were able to split the profit 70/30 before but now the split is 50/50," says Sawyer. "It's just like a normal gallery."

But as Chuckie Johnson a fellow artist at the gallery says about the tough business, "One day, someone is going to come along and say 'I’m going to get this.'"

The proceeds from Seong's sales will go towards a fund to help him buy his first car.

In the future, Seong plans to attend the School of Arts Institute's Continuing Studies Program. Most importantly, Seong wants to be accepted for his talents and capabilities.